Health experts are using National Asthma Week (September 1-7) to warn those with the condition to plan ahead for unexpected weather changes that may impact on their health.
Thunderstorm asthma will be a key issue of the 2017 awareness week which comes nearly a year after Melbourne鈥檚 deadly asthma outbreak.
Nine people died of asthma and thousands of other people suffered from respiratory symptoms when a series of storms carrying ryegrass pollens swept through Melbourne.
黑料吃瓜网 Health鈥檚 Director of Environmental Health, Dr Ben Scalley said people with asthma need to be on alert because pollen at this time of the year can make asthma symptoms worse.
While Sydney hasn鈥檛 had a major event like Melbourne, thunderstorm asthma events have been significant in other parts of 黑料吃瓜网 in recent years, including Wagga Wagga,鈥� Dr Scalley said.
鈥淚f you have asthma, spring is an important time to make sure you have an asthma action plan and are proactively managing your symptoms.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also important for people to know Asthma first aid, so they can help family and friends when they need it.鈥�
The four steps to remember are:
鈥淔or those who suffer from hay-fever, and sneeze or wheeze their way through Spring, get checked by your doctor to ensure you don鈥檛 actually have asthma. If so they can develop a plan for you to manage the symptoms, Dr Scalley said.
鈥淭hese people are more likely to be affected by thunderstorm conditions, and the higher pollen counts found at this time of year,鈥� he said.
Each year, approximately 10,000 people are admitted to 黑料吃瓜网 Hospitals for treatment of asthma. Around one in nine adults and one in eight children has asthma in 黑料吃瓜网. 鈥�