People more likely to get thunderstorm asthma

Those who get asthma and seasonal hay fever
Those with hay fever who have never had asthma
Those with past asthma or unrecognised asthma

Common symptoms of asthma

Wheezing - a whistling sound coming from the chest while you are breathing
Breathlessness
A feeling of tightness in the chest
A persistent cough

Asthma symptoms can be different for different people.

A person's asthma symptoms can also change - sometimes there are no symptoms, like when our asthma is well controlled by preventer medication or when allergy triggers aren't around.

Thunderstorm Asthma

Thunderstorm Asthma is the triggering of an asthma attack by environmental conditions directly caused by a local thunderstorm. It has been proposed that during a thunderstorm, pollen grains can absorb moisture and then burst into much smaller fragments; with these fragments being easily dispersed by wind. While larger pollen grains are usually filtered by hairs in the nose, the smaller pollen fragments are able to pass through and enter the lungs, triggering the asthma attack.

Thunderstorm asthma can happen suddenly to people in spring or summer when there is a lot of pollen in the air and the weather is hot, dry, windy and stormy.

People with asthma and/or hay fever need extra protection to avoid thunderstorm asthma between September and January in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. This means using preventer medicine every day and always having a reliever inhaler (blue puffer) ready. See your doctor to get the best asthma and/or hay fever medication plan. See plans below:

Asthma Action Plan

Hayfever Action Plan

Spring weather can also lead to breathing problems for people who get seasonal hay fever. People who wheeze and sneeze with hay fever from pollens during spring are more likely to get thunderstorm asthma even if they haven't had asthma before.

If you suspect that your child suffers from Thunderstorm Asthma, discuss some options with your GP on how to best prepare for any weather events.

Also please be reassured that the school has resources available if ever an event occurred during the school day.

Further Resources

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