MADISON (WKOW) -- Doctors say the flaming hot weather in our area seems to be causing more asthma flare-ups.
Shannon Maguire of Madison has already had to change her routine because of all the high heat and humidity. She's an avid walker, but lately she's had to cut her exercising short.
"Usually we go for an hour every night after work and we do all the hills and everything and last night we had to stick to flat surfaces just so I could breathe," she said.
Maguire is one of about 20 million people in the U.S. with asthma, a disease characterized by the inflammation of the air passages in the lungs.
She says she's been doing a good job controlling it, but with the heat index in the triple digits on Monday, she had a severe attack and had to miss work.
"When it gets that bad, it pretty much knocks you out. When you have a bad attack and you're struggling for air, it really does just take a lot out of you."
Dr. John Kelly of Dean Clinic in Madison points out summer isn't typically the busiest time for asthma-related hospital visits. The busiest month is September, he says, when children go back to school.
But in recent weeks he says he has seen an increase of people coming in with asthma problems.
"Weather can be involved with that. Very cold, dry air, sometimes very hot, humid air. Any of those things can trigger the response in the lungs, and these twitchy airwaves can become more closed than open and [that causes] difficulty breathing," he said.
Dr. Kelly says the research on exactly how heat and humidity affect the airwaves is still unclear, and allergies play a role for many summertime sufferers.
He says the best way to fight back is to take controller medications regularly, stay indoors in the air conditioning, and take it easy on the exercise.
Dean and St. Mary's have partnered to offer a free asthma clinic in Madison. The clinic is on Tuesday nights from 5 to 7 pm.
Patients can get all of their medications for free, even if they have no insurance.
The clinic is located at 4633 D Verona Rd (in Madison Plaza) Madison, WI 53711
For more information, click here.
