It is well known that pollution makes asthma worse. There has been a lot of information in the press about this and how there needs to be low emission zones in major cities to try and increase the air quality. Recently an inquest ruled that the death of a young girl from asthma was due to pollution exacerbating her asthma which resulted in an attack that killed her. It is scary to see just what pollution can do.
I can see the effects of pollution on my own asthma. Since getting my smart peak flow meter I have been able to track my peak flow for a prolonged period of time. Previously I have always done my peak flow but did not record it (mainly because I am lazy and printing off a peak flow chart on paper was a faff and when I did print it off it would get wet as I keep my peak flow etc in the bathroom with my medication so I just gave up) so having the result blue tooth to my phone has been great.
I have had to ability to print off the charts month at a time or even week at a time if I want. The most useful thing I have found by doing this is the ability to identify points where my peak flow may have dropped or increased and then refer to my diary and see if there was anything that may have caused the dip.
For example the picture below shows my peak flow. The 2 yellow arrows mark when I went to London which shows a significant drop in my peak flow which then increased again once I returned home to Edinburgh. This drop was despite wearing a carbon filter mask to try and protect myself as much as possible.
I am not sure what else I can do to try and protect my lungs from the pollution in London other than not travel there. The mask I use is high grade, I take my medication, I also try to make sure the windows are shut and I am outside as little as possible so I am not breathing in too much toxic air.
Conversely to this I was recently up in Thurso- just about as far north in mainland Scotland that you can go (except Dunnet Head) where pollution levels are very low I noticed my peak flow actually increased. Perhaps a combination of being at the far north of Scotland, away from major roads, away from major cities with large amounts of traffic and being right on the coast with sea air (sea air has historically been promoted as good for the lungs- it might be an old wives tale).
The chart below is my peak flow and the yellow arrow is when I was up in Thurso.
I think from this I can clearly see the impact of air quality on my lungs. Edinburgh is a real mixed city as there are some areas which have horrific levels of pollution and other areas that are not so bad. I am fortunate in that I live fairly near the coast and not right in the city centre but it is still fairly polluted where I am.
What steps can I take to improve my lung health and avoid pollution?
- I would love to move away to the country somewhere near Loch Tay as I love it up there and the clean air would really benefit me. There is little traffic and no big industrial sites near by. Unfortunately due to the nature of my asthma this would not be feasible as there is no major hospital near me so if I was to have an attack it would be a long wait/trip to get help and to a hpspital
- Try and ensure I wear my mask when I need to so I am breathing the best air I can. Despite having a complex about wearing my mask I need to protect my lungs at all costs and if this means wearing a mask then I must.
- Keep an eye on the pollution levels and act accordingly. If I know the pollution levels are rising I should perhaps increase my inhalers to counter act the symptoms I may get (I will check this with my team before acting on this).
- Get out and about as much as possible down to the coast to breath in good clean air and not stay stuck in the city all the time.
Essentially there is no easy way to avoid pollution but I can see the detrimental effect pollution has on my lungs via my peak flow results. It would be wrong of me to recognise this and not act on it. I must get a plan and put it in place to protect my lungs from more damage which breathing in toxic air might do.
(Me on the left wearing my Cambridge mask while in London at the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research Annual Scientific Meeting)
ANONYMOUS-ASTHMA 