Lung Association: 6 Tips to Protect Lungs During Extreme Heat

As extreme heat settles over the Nashville area, the American Lung Association has released tips to help residents safeguard their health. Inhaling hot, humid air can narrow airways and promote airway inflammation, so people may experience shortness of breath.

This guidance is especially important for the nearly 300,000 Nashville residents living with lung disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer, as well as children and older adults. However, everyone has the potential to experience respiratory symptoms related to breathing in hot, humid air.

6 Tips to Keep Lungs Healthy During Extreme Heat:

1. Monitor air quality. Levels of air pollution can be very high in summer, and those with asthma and other lung diseases are at a higher risk of experiencing symptoms.
2. Ensure you are taking steps to keep your body cool, such as:
   • Drink plenty of fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty, to stay hydrated. When you are dehydrated, your nasal passages dry out, which can impact breathing.
   • Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing.
   • If you have limited access to air-conditioned spaces, seek public ones like a shopping mall or public library. Stay there during late afternoon when it is hottest. Even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay colder when you return home.
   • Stop using an electric fan when temperatures reach 95 degrees or higher. The air flow does not reduce your body’s temperature and could increase your risk of heat-related illness. Instead, take a cool shower or bath to cool your body temperature down.
3. Keep all medications with you. It is important for people with chronic lung diseases to always keep quick-relief medications with them and to follow their Asthma Action Plan or COPD Action Plan. Contact your healthcare provider if symptoms do not improve or become worrisome.
4. Prepare oxygen therapy devices for possible power outage. For individuals on supplemental oxygen, make sure you have a back-up tank and back-up power source. Check with the instructions or product manufacturer to make sure the back-up power source will work for your device.
5. Ask for help. The American Lung Association’s Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA is staffed by nurses and respiratory therapists and is a free resource to answer any questions about the lungs, lung disease and lung health, including how to protect yourself during extreme heat.
6. Help others. Check on elderly and vulnerable neighbors frequently to ensure that they are keeping safely cooled. Learn to recognize the signs of heat-related illness, including cold, clammy skin, dizziness, headache and nausea. Untreated heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke, which can be life-threatening.

For more information and to get involved, visit Lung.org/extreme-heat.