Asthma sufferers urged to wear scarves in cold to stop attacks

Asthma sufferers are being encouraged to wear a scarf over their nose and mouth to prevent asthma attacks this winter.

Breathing in cold, damp air can make the airways tighten and trigger an attack in three out of four people, charity Asthma UK says.

This can leave people coughing, wheezing and gasping for breath, according to BBC.

The charity’s #Scarfie campaign says “a scarf can save a life” but it’s not a replacement for asthma medicines.

Four million people with asthma in the UK say that breathing in cold winter air makes their asthma symptoms worse.

Ethan Jennings, who is nearly four, and from Lancashire, has had severe asthma symptoms since he was a baby. In one year, he was rushed to hospital 17 times for treatment.

His dad, Trevor, says winter is always a bad time for him.

“When it gets cold, it’s bedlam, he’s more prone to colds and that brings out his symptoms.”

The winter when he turned one was particularly awful – “we nearly lost him”, Trevor says.

Ethan spent a week in hospital fighting for his life having been given all available treatments.

Since then, he has responded better but his parents know that they have to be particularly vigilant in winter.

“I’m just waiting to hear a cough. He hasn’t yet got the vocabulary to tell me his chest is tight, but that is coming.

“In the meantime, anything we can do to protect him when he’s outdoors – we do it.”

H.Z