Spring in Melbourne brings longer days, blossoms and one of our city’s more unusual health risks: thunderstorm asthma.
Victoria’s grass pollen season and with it thunderstorm asthma season, usually runs from 1 October to 31 December.
This year it’s worth paying extra attention. After Victoria’s wettest winter since 2016 and Melbourne’s warmest winter on record, pollen forecasters say Melbourne could see more high and extreme grass pollen days this spring than last year.
What Is Thunderstorm Asthma?
On high pollen days, some grass pollen grains burst open and release tiny particles.
These get concentrated in the wind gusts that arrive just before certain thunderstorms and they’re small enough to be breathed deep into the lungs.
This can trigger sudden, severe asthma symptoms, even in people who have never had asthma before.
Melbourne knows this risk well.
On 21 November 2016, the world’s largest recorded epidemic thunderstorm asthma event left thousands of people struggling to breathe within a very short time. Sadly, 10 people died.
Who Is Most at Risk?
- People with asthma, particularly if it isn’t well controlled.
- People who have had asthma in the past.
- People with undiagnosed asthma.
- People with hay fever, especially in spring, even with no asthma diagnosis.
That last group matters more than you might think. In one hospital’s review of the 2016 event, many of the adults treated had never been diagnosed with asthma.
How to Prepare
See your GP. Get a written asthma action plan, review your medications and check your inhaler technique. Only about one in three Australians with asthma has a written action plan.
Treat your hay fever. Managing hay fever properly can help reduce your risk, and your GP can advise on the right treatment for you.
Take your asthma medication as prescribed. (Even when you feel well.)
Carry your reliever whenever you leave the house during spring.
Check the forecast. The thunderstorm asthma risk forecast is on the VicEmergency website and app, where you can set up a watch zone for your area. On high-risk days, go inside before the storm arrives, close your windows and doors and switch off any air conditioner that draws in outside air.
Know Asthma First Aid (Blue/Grey Reliever Puffer)
- Sit the person upright.
- Give 4 separate puffs of their blue/grey reliever, one puff at a time, with 4 breaths after each puff (use a spacer if available).
- Wait 4 minutes. If they still can’t breathe normally, give 4 more puffs.
- If breathing still isn’t normal, call Triple Zero (000) and keep giving 4 puffs every 4 minutes until help arrives.
If the person’s usual reliever is a combination inhaler (such as budesonide-formoterol), follow their asthma action plan, as first aid doses are different. In an emergency, call 000 at any time.
Book In Before the Season Peaks
If you have asthma or hay fever, now is the time to make an appointment with one of our GPs at The General Practitioner, Hughesdale. A single consult could make a real difference on a stormy spring day.