Scientists probe mystery of 'thunderstorm asthma' event that sent thousands to the ER
By Nicoletta Lanese - Staff Writer 8 hours ago
Calls to emergency departments spiked in the wake of a thunderstorm that swept over Melbourne, Australia, in 2016. It was a rare outbreak of "thunderstorm asthma," the most severe ever recorded.
Now, a new model, published April 14 in the journal PLOS One, hints that a combination of lightning strikes, wind gusts, low humidity and popping pollen grains may be to blame for the surge of asthma attacks following the storm, which contributed to the deaths of 10 people.
As the name suggests, thunderstorm asthma outbreaks occur when a passing storm disperses allergen particles in the air, triggering asthma attacks in susceptible people, according to the American Lung Association. Those most at risk include: people with diagnosed asthma, particularly if their condition is poorly controlled; people with undiagnosed asthma; and those with seasonal hay fever or a rye grass allergy, according to a 2017 report from the Victoria State Government's Chief Health Officer.
Although thunderstorms rumble through the sky fairly frequently, thunderstorm asthma events are quite rare. Since the first recorded thunderstorm asthma event in 1983, 22 accounts of the phenomenon have appeared in the medical literature, first author Kathryn Emmerson, a senior research scientist at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), told Live Science in an email.
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once I figured out that my asthma was caused by my allergies, I'm able to manage it so much better.
sometimes, only popping some allergy meds does the trick, but in the bigger long lasting storms, yeah the inhaler helps. 
