Bill Woods is joined by Professor Peter Wark, National Asthma Council Australia Director and respiratory physician, who urges Australians with asthma to be prepared as the peak thunderstorm asthma season gets underway this month as the La Nina weather event puts allergy sufferers at risk.

If you are allergic to ryegrass pollen, you need to be taking preventive asthma treatment well before the onset of springtime thunderstorms and the pollen season.

Most adults and adolescents with asthma need preventive medication all year – not just a blue/grey puffer for asthma symptoms.

What is thunderstorm asthma?

Thunderstorm asthma occurs when asthma symptoms are caused by ryegrass pollen allergy during springtime thunderstorms.

Thunderstorm asthma can happen suddenly to people in spring or summer when there is a lot of grass pollen in the air and the weather is hot, dry, windy, and stormy.

Spring thunderstorm weather can cause pollen grains to burst into tiny pieces, which the wind then blows around us. When people with pollen allergy breathe in these tiny pieces of pollen, they can go deep inside the lungs and trigger an asthma attack.

Talk to your doctor about which treatment is best for you.

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