Warm weather causes trouble for asthma patients

Doctors say the recent spring weather has caused an uptick in emergency room visits for asthma patients because tree pollen and other common allergens have increased in western Connecticut. Doctors say asthma patients can't delay getting medical attention when an attack hits. They say during an asthma attack, the patient's airway goes from the diameter of about a quarter down to the diameter of a straw, so they struggle to get air in and out. At Norwalk-based Allergy Center on Conne...

News 12 Staff

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Apr 28, 2017, 11:51 PM

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Updated 2,802 days ago

Warm weather causes trouble for asthma patients

Doctors say the recent spring weather has caused an uptick in emergency room visits for asthma patients because tree pollen and other common allergens have increased in western Connecticut.

Doctors say asthma patients can't delay getting medical attention when an attack hits. They say during an asthma attack, the patient's airway goes from the diameter of about a quarter down to the diameter of a straw, so they struggle to get air in and out.

At Norwalk-based Allergy Center on Connecticut, Dr. Phil Hemmers says he sees "allergic asthma" mostly in young people and that it's imperative that the adults in their lives stay on top of a plan for them.

"You need to have the inhaler and it needs to be available all the time," Dr. Hemmers says. "If you're running around playing baseball and soccer, running around breathing in the pollen, it's going to be really high risk."

Dr. Hemmers says those asthma patients can prevent attacks by using medication to keep their airways open. He says they shouldn't rely solely on a rescue inhaler when wheezing sets in.