In case you were wondering: Humidity and Shortness of breath

[Mike 03]

The coronavirus pandemic has made me more self-conscious about my breathing. Our weather abruptly shifted from warm and dry to rainy and humid and while walking my dog this morning I was having trouble filling my lungs and experienced mild shortness of breath. Were it not for the virus, I might not have even noticed, but this morning it did cause me some alarm. When we got home I googled it. Most of you probably know this, but for anyone who doesn't, humidity can cause or worsen shortness of breath, especially during allergy season.

Hopefully, some of you can breathe a little easier now.

Humidity
High Humidity is also a cause of increased complaints of shortness of breath. There are
a few possible explanations for this phenomenon.
The amount of humidity in the air (water content) on the oxygen concentration. As water
content increases, this reduces the oxygen content (called partial pressure) of oxygen in
the air. Thus it would make sense that during humid conditions, less oxygen is available
in the air. There is only one problem with this reasoning, the air we breathe is heated
and humidified by our upper airway (i.e. nose, mouth, throat, windpipe, and larger
bronchial tubes). By the time the air reaches the air sacs in the lungs (called alveoli), it
is 100% saturated with humidity, even when we breathe very dry air. So breathing dry
air versus humid air has no effect on the partial pressure of oxygen reaching our lungs.
A second explanation is more likely. As humidity increases, the density of the air
increases. More dense air creates more resistance to airflow in the airway resulting in
an increased work of breathing (i.e. more shortness of breath).
Another possible explanation is that as humidity increases, the prevalence of many
known airborne allergens increases. Dust mites and molds both increase in high
humidity. My wife never experienced asthma symptoms in her life until we moved to an
old house with a damp, moldy basement. She also had difficulty breathing anytime we
visited the Climatron (a large, tropical dome with lots of humidity and mold) at our local
botanical garden.

https://www.rotech.com/respiratory/documents/Weather.pdf

High humidity levels may exacerbate symptoms for a variety of reasons. The body must work harder to breathe when humidity levels are high, especially when the air is hot.

Humid air is dense, due to the high water content. This density can increase airway resistance in the body. As a result, breathing may require more effort, which can worsen COPD symptoms, including shortness of breath and fatigue.

Humid, hot weather also requires the body to work harder to stay cool. Expending this energy requires more oxygen, which can contribute to feelings of breathlessness.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323657#can-humidity-trigger-copd-symptoms

For most of us, a humidity of 30 to 60 percent feels comfortable. Anything over this range is usually considered humid.

The higher the humidity, the more uncomfortable you’ll feel. Because humid air is so saturated with moisture, your sweat doesn’t evaporate efficiently to cool you off. That’s why you feel hotter and stickier on humid days.

Humid air is also harder to breathe, which can be a problem if you have asthma. In asthma, your airways become narrow. This narrowing makes it more difficult to pull enough air into your lungs. You may feel short of breath or cough and wheeze.

https://www.healthline.com/health/humidity-and-asthma

[Girard442]

1. I remember one hot day as a healthy teenager doing some groundskeeping work after a summer shower.

It felt like there wasn't nearly enough air in the air.

[magicarpet]

2. With COPD here,....

Thank you for the reminder to pace one's self during humid weather which will be here full blast soon enough.

Summer humidity,... still better than the snow and cold north wind.