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Anna Faszcza A Bit Under the Weather? Wait for That!

It is as clear as dayas clear as dayas clear as day that the weather is one of the most unpredictable things in life. We can never be sure what the day will be like exactly. Scientists and meteorologists try to predict it by means of different tools to know the speed of wind, the intensity of rain, or thickness of fog. They do that to warn us against dangers such as tornadoes or heat waves, but also to inform people who suffer from weather‑related pains.suffer from weather‑related painssuffer from weather‑related pains. It turns out that the weather may not only ruin our walk, but also our health.

Weather‑related pains, also known as weather pains or meteoropathymeteoropathymeteoropathy, appear when people with certain conditions such as limb injurieslimb injuries [limb injury]limb injuries or arthritisarthritisarthritis complain of a pain which occurs with the change in humiditychange in humiditythe change in humidity or barometric pressurebarometric pressurebarometric pressure. A lot of research has been done to figure out the correlation betweenfigure out the correlation betweenfigure out the correlation between the weather and the physical and mental state of people diagnosed with arthritis. It seems that warm temperatures are beneficial to them, while barometric pressure changes are harmful. Many people claim to have rain‑related pains. Surprisingly, studies show that there is no clear relation between rainfall and outpatient visits for joint and back pains.

While most people look forward to spring onset, others watch with horror as the temperature rises. The period from mid‑March to mid‑April might result in springtime lethargy.springtime lethargyspringtime lethargy. It refers to a state of fatiguestate of fatiguestate of fatigue, irritability, lowered energy,lowered energylowered energy, dizziness, headaches, aching joints, and even depression. Occasionally, such depression is called spring fever and corresponds to a change of season. It is assumed that these symptoms may be the consequence of hormone imbalance. In spring months when days get longer, the body readjusts the level of endorphinendorphinendorphin, testosteronetestosteronetestosterone, and oestrogenoestrogenoestrogen, we switch from low to higher temperatures and from food rich in carbohydrates to vitamins and protein, we may get a bit wearywearyweary from the adjustment period if done in a short time.

People with diagnosed asthmapeople with diagnosed asthmaPeople with diagnosed asthma need to be wary of thunderstorm asthmathunderstorm asthmathunderstorm asthma. Symptoms associated with it include wheezingwheezingwheezing, chest tightnesschest tightnesschest tightness, difficulty breathing,difficulty breathingdifficulty breathing, and cough and can escalate very quickly and become life threateningbecome life threateningbecome life threatening. Thunderstorm asthma can happen unexpectedly when it is hot, dry, and stormy and there is a lot of grass pollen in the air. During the storm, pollen grainspollen grains [pollen grain]pollen grains get divided into very small parts that are no longer filtered by the nose and get through the lungs causing asthma attacks. Surprisingly, people with no asthma record may also be affected by it.

To say more about storms, lightning injuries appear to be extremely dangerous. It is estimated that there are 240,000 lightning injuries yearly with 24,000 deaths worldwide. Amazingly, men are affected 4 times more often than women. The injuries are caused by a lightning strike and the first symptoms may include asystoleasystoleasystole, which appears rather quickly, and respiratory arrest,respiratory arrestrespiratory arrest, which usually is prolonged. Others include burns, blunt injuries, hearing losshearing losshearing loss and abnormal heart rhythm.abnormal heart rhythmabnormal heart rhythm. There are different types of lightning injuries: direct strikes (electrical injuries, burns from the heat), side splash (when the lightning strikes nearby and jumps through the air to reach the person), contact injury (the person touches the thing that is hit), and ground current (the lightning strikes nearby and gets to the person through the ground).

No matter how careful we are, we should always double‑check the weather forecast, especially while in the mountains or by the sea. Make sure you know how to react when the weather changes rapidly to avoid unpleasant consequences.

1 Źródło: Anna Faszcza, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.