For people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, summer heat is not only uncomfortable, it can lead to dangerous complications. Extreme heat and humidity can worsen COPD symptoms, including increased shortening of breath and bronchospasms.
Here’s a closer look at the problems you can encounter with COPD in hot weather, and how to prevent serious summertime complications.
Worsening Dyspnea
One of the primary complaints of patients with COPD is dyspnea, or shortness of breath. When the temperature heats up, your level of dyspnea can sometimes be far greater than normal. Why is this?
Extreme temperatures often result in stress to the entire body. If we think about how our bodies react to stress, we may be able to better understand the phenomenon of how temperature affects breathing.
The body is always working to try to maintain a normal body temperature, which is about 98.6 degrees F. When we are exposed to extreme weather conditions, such as during the heat of summer, the body must expend extra energy to try to cool itself down in order to maintain a normal body temperature.
This extra energy requirement causes the body to demand more oxygen. If you have COPD, you are already using much of your energy just to breathe, not to mention everything else that you do during the day. So it’s not uncommon to experience a greater level of shortness of breath when you are exposed to extreme temperatures as your body is forced to use more energy while it struggles to maintain your body temperature.
By Deborah Leader, RN
Verywell.com
