Suddenly humidity causes asthma? Or something else?

I've lived in a highly humid part of the US all of my life. On top of that I grew up in a house that was especially muggy all of the time--my friends would always avoid coming over because the air was so soupy! Two months ago I started having difficulty breathing and after going to a walk in clinic I was told it might be asthma. At first I thought it was because of anxiety, but after paying more attention to what could be triggering it humidity seems more realistic.

So if it is humidity, why now? At the beginning of the year I moved out of my parents house, and my first attack was when I was visiting them. Can something I was so used to now be causing me to have asthma? The new house I live in has a lot of ventilation/mildew problems...could I be breathing in something that is making my body more sensitive?


[EDIT: Oh yeah, also the inhaler I was prescribed didn't seem to help at all.]

Post Edited (char1243) : 7/29/2015 12:03:10 AM (GMT-6)

I live in Ohio and this is the wettest summer we've had in decades. It's also the worst summer I've had EVER with my asthma. When I tested for allergies, the only allergen that showed was mold. So, I'm guessing that for myself, it's likely the abundant mold spores from the soaking rains we've had all summer. Have you had allergy testing? Just a thought.

I've also had a very wet summer, and I'm having the worst asthma season of my life too. I'm attributing it to all of the mold spores floating around out there. It has been miserable.

You might consider a dehumidifier in your home if it feels too "soggy." I also am using a pretty high rated allergy air filter for my central air conditioning. I wear an N95 mask whenever I go outside (which is rare right now) or whenever I dust or vacuum. I read to keep it on for 2 hours after you dust/vacuum while everything settles again. I don't know if it actually helps, but I would try almost anything at this point.

I'm right next door to OH and have had much worse problems because of the torrential rains and humidity. I've got new allergy symptoms, and I take shots! I'm going to see my allergist.

A couple of years ago I suddenly became allergic to grass pollen when we had a wet summer and high grass pollen in the air. My allergist told me she had a huge influx of new patients because of it. I added it to my shots, which quickly stopped the problem.

I ordinarily don't need antihistamines. This summer, just recently, I've had to take Benadryl at night (puts me to sleep). I want to get some more tests to see if there's something else new, or I need to up my dosage, or just add antihistamines for a couple of months.

Thank goodness for Medicare plus supplement (not part C!). No copays.

Now we're in drought, but grass is blooming like crazy , along with fall weeds. Lots of dust, mold. I work outside a lot, even though I'm well past retirement.