Lisa Hall lives with severe asthma. Since November, she has been hospitalised three times after suffering with viral infections and coronavirus.
She is sharing her experience of battling asthma after new data research from Asthma + Lung UK Cymru revealed that people are twice as likely to die of a lung condition during winter compared to summer. Winter is a dangerous time for people with lung conditions as viruses such as flu and Covid-19, and cold air from plummeting temperatures are top triggers for life-threatening asthma attacks and can cause other lung conditions to get worse – leaving people struggling to breathe.
Lisa, 42, was diagnosed with asthma when she was 28 after visiting the GP about a cough that had persisted for three weeks. She was prescribed inhalers to manage the condition but over the years it has progressively got worse and up until recently she was admitted to hospital dozens of times a year to treat asthma attacks.
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"About 18 months after I was diagnosed I ended up having a really really bad attack, it was a bit of a mess in the hospital, everyone was panicking. They could not get it under control, it was a bit frantic," she explained.
"When I was about 37 it started to get worse. My chest would be tight when I'd get out the shower from the steam. I had a particularly bad attack after returning from a holiday where there was a field with rapeseed plants. I got worse throughout the week and ended up in hospital not being able to breath."
Lisa, a senior biomedical scientist from Newport, told how it became increasingly difficult to manage the attacks from home and she would regularly end up in hospital for steroid treatments through an intravenous. As someone who lives with asthma which is treated by steroids, she has built up a resistance to it which means she'd need to spend longer in hospital for the IV steroids to work.
She described living with a condition that means your work and family life is disrupted as extremely hard, adding that she feels like a burden. She said: "You feel like you are letting everyone down. It has been really hard. When I'm in hospital and not at home that is hard, then when I'm at home and recovering, I can't chase around after my son like I'd want to.
"I do a job that I love and work grounds me, it is good for my mental health. It has a massive emotional impact on my not being able to go to work, it drags me down.
“I take ten medications daily but twice a day. Then a weekly medication to protect my bones from the effects and then an injection every 14 days. This winter has taken a toll on my mental health as it’s been a constant battle of trying to stay well and keeping out of hospital. It’s like having a full-time job.
“I feel like I can’t plan anything because I don’t know if I’m going to be well enough. I have a son and missing things like his football matches really takes its toll. I just want to be there and have fun with him."
Since the pandemic started Lisa has started to wear masks in public places. She said there has also been a shift in other people's attitudes towards illnesses, and is pleased that people she work with recognise the need to wear masks or stay at home if they are ill.
Lisa would urge anyone who is ill to wear a mask in public or stay at home, as well as practice good hygiene with hand washing and tissue disposal. She said it is particularly important this time of year due to the increase in chance of becoming ill.
According to Asthma + Lung UK Cymru, having a lung condition during the winter is twice as deadly as summer time. There is a 105% increase in respiratory deaths during the winter months. Nearly half (43%) of respiratory deaths, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), occur between December and March.
People with asthma are particularly at risk, with an increase of 93% in the number of people dying from the condition in winter compared to summer. Roughly 314,000 people have asthma in Wales, of which 59,000 are children. The charity recommends that people with lung conditions should keep up to date with their flu, Covid-19, and pneumonia vaccines if eligible, make sure they take their regular medications as prescribed, eat well and keep themselves warm according to advice from Asthma + Lung UK Cymru.
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