Seasonal asthma: what to know

Seasonal asthma is asthma that becomes harder to control when triggers such as pollen, mould, cold air or respiratory infections increase. Symptoms can include wheezing, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath. A seasonal pattern does not make asthma harmless: airway narrowing can worsen quickly, particularly during exercise or at night.

Inflamed airways become more sensitive to triggers. Pollen may irritate the airways outdoors, while dust mites, indoor mould or poor ventilation can matter indoors. A runny or blocked nose from [Allergic Rhinitis](/conditions/allergic-rhinitis/) can accompany asthma and make breathing feel more difficult. Record symptoms alongside weather, location, activity and medicine use so a clinician can look for a pattern.

Asthma symptoms can vary from day to day. Feeling well between flares does not mean prescribed preventer treatment should be stopped without a review.

Keep your written asthma action plan available and check that inhalers are in date and used with the correct technique. Take regular preventer medicine as prescribed and carry your reliever when advised. During a trigger season, reduce exposure where practical, avoid smoke, and discuss a pre-season review with your clinician. Do not borrow an inhaler or change doses based on someone else’s plan.

Follow your action plan if symptoms begin. Seek urgent help if the reliever is not helping, breathing remains difficult, you cannot speak comfortably, your lips look blue or grey, or you become drowsy or exhausted. A nebuliser may be used by healthcare professionals in acute care, but it is not a substitute for emergency assessment when symptoms are severe.

Ask which seasonal triggers matter for you, whether your inhaler technique is effective, when to increase treatment under the action plan, and how to distinguish asthma symptoms from a chest infection.