The irritation of the cold dry air causes the lungs to react, resulting in more inflammation, the muscles around the airways constricting and narrowing and more mucous clogging the airways. People with asthma or COPD describe this as feeling short of breath or having a tight or burning feeling in the chest.
Cold weather, and particularly cold air, can also play havoc with your lungs and health. Cold air is often dry air, and for many, especially those with chronic lung disease, that can spell trouble. Dry air can irritate the airways of people with lung diseases.
It's freezing outside and I usually say a good rule of thumb is less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit," Dr. Rachel Taliercio said who is Pulmonologist with the Cleveland Clinic.
Walking in the winter can be especially good for your health. For starters, a study in the American Journal of Human Biology found that people burn 34% more calories when they hike in cold weather than they do in more mild conditions. Think about it: trudging through snow or walking into the wind takes more energy.
“If the temperature with wind chill factor is 18 degrees below Fahrenheit or lower, it is too cold to be outside,” says Joseph Neel, an athletic trainer with Kettering Health. “In those conditions, frostbite can affect exposed skin in 30 minutes or less.”
Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually use up your body's stored energy. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. A body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well.
High-intensity running or ski racing below -15 C can cause irreparable lung damage, says exercise physiologist who recommends three ways to prevent it.
Researchers have determined the ideal environmental conditions for COPD patients include an air temperature of 70 degrees and a humidity level of 40%. This combination can help airways stay relaxed, which minimizes the risk of symptoms.
For someone with an undiagnosed heart condition, simply breathing in cold air can lead to chest pain. During cold weather, blood vessels will constrict, which can raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Cold air inflames lungs and inhibits circulation, increasing the risk of respiratory conditions, such as asthma attacks or symptoms, worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and infection.
Cold weather also increases mucus production. Mucus is the protective layer of the throat, however, the mucus produced in cold conditions is thicker and stickier than normal. This can cause blockages in the respiratory system and also increases your likelihood of catching a cold or other infections.
What actually happens is that the wind or cold air inhaled by the nose feels colder. This cold air triggers excessive mucus production. Unfortunately, it is this excessive mucus production that traps bacteria, viruses, and fungi to develop. So, it is not cold or damp air that is the main cause of contracting pneumonia.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Inhalation of cold, dry air often irritates the airways. This can happen in individuals with healthy lungs, especially when the air is particularly cold and dry, and when the amount of air breathed in and out is increased while participating in exercise outdoors.
Cold air is generally drier, and your body works to humidify this. In that process, it can cause irritation to the airways, which results in a process called bronchospasm, where those airways narrow and tighten, and you get that feeling of shortness of breath.
What is known is that hotter air has the capacity to absorb and carry more water vapor than colder air. In other words, the hotter the air, the higher the humidity tends to be. That said, hot and humid air is thicker and heavier, and, therefore, harder to inhale.
The cold temperatures can trigger symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Even in healthy people, cold, dry air can irritate the airways and lungs. It causes the upper airways to narrow, which makes it a little harder to breathe.
Doctors say cold air can make it harder to breathe and it can also be dangerous —especially for people with asthma or bronchitis.
"Cold weather can increase blood pressure and cholesterol levels, probably by constriction the skin blood vessels, which concentrates the blood and can lower the threshold for cardiovascular events." Breathing in cold air when exercising or just going from the house to the car can affect heart health in even the ...
Can exercise cause any problems with the lungs? People who follow high-intensity training regimes, or who regularly train in certain environments, may be at risk of developing exercise-induced asthma, or a condition known as bronchial hyperresponsiveness in which the airways become blocked after exercise.
Acute (sudden) bronchitis commonly occurs during cold weather or after an illness of the respiratory tract. Chronic (longstanding) bronchitis usually occurs after longstanding irritation in the tubes (bronchi) that bring air into your lungs. Tobacco smoke and air pollution are common causes of chronic bronchitis.
You'll boost your immune system.
It's a common misconception that being in the cold can give you a cold, but it's not true. In fact, exercise is one of the best ways to strengthen your immune system.
Put simply, cold weather alone doesn't make you ill. However, it can increase your chances of becoming ill. This is partly why illnesses such as colds and flu (influenza) are more common in winter months. To understand why this happens, it helps to think about viruses, which cause these illnesses.