Serious asthma, allergy attacks from pollen can be triggered by thunderstorms

The thunder and rain lashing Delaware this week can create the perfect storm for asthma attacks and allergy symptoms. 

When rain from thunderstorms hits pollen grains, it breaks them up into small pieces and blows them all over, said Dr. Michael Wydila, a doctor at Allergy Associates in New Castle County. This makes the pollen smaller and easier to inhale, often triggering serious asthma attacks.

Wydila points to this week's rain and thunderstorms as the reason his practice has been busy this week. 

"That's the understatement of the year," he said. 

Wydila said humid weather can also aggravate asthma symptoms because it's the kind of weather in which dust mites and mold thrive. 

Asthma-related emergency room visits increase nationally after thunderstorms, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Studies have found a connection between mold, thunderstorms and intense, sometimes deadly, asthma attacks.  

Delaware allergists expect people to face more severe allergic reactions than usual this year because cold weather persisted well into spring. The late Nor'easters led tree buds to remain dormant, which meant pollen was not released on schedule. 

That meant that instead of different types of pollen releasing at staggered times, it's hitting people all at once this spring, Wydila said. 

Allergists recommend people regularly take their allergy medicine, even if they haven't started to feel symptoms yet. They also recommended closing windows and using air conditioning in their homes. 

Allergy season typically lasts from March to July and then picks back up in intensity in August through Halloween.

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.

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