Best Climate for Asthma

Asthma sufferers often wonder if there is a best climate to better live with their asthma. Depending on whom you talk to, the answer will vary. But there are things to keep in mind when looking for a new home, if you're already planning to move, since most doctors will recommend hat moving for your asthma is generally a bad idea.

Identification

There is really no such thing as the "best" climate for asthma since it's essentially allergens and then irritants that trigger an average flare-up. When you relocate to a new area, be it from the city to the country or the valley to the mountains, you may well find a temporary respite in your asthma, but you'll eventually encounter new triggers that are different, yet still on the same level as your former home. The better location to live is really a spot that you'll encounter the least amount of your triggers. But any doctor will tell you that the best place to live is your current home, just with the use of "good asthma control."

Effects

Some people will experience a trigger based on what is referred to as "extreme weather conditions." But it isn't the weather that is the actual root of the flare-up since an allergen would need to be present to inflame your airways before the weather (a type of irritant) could ever have an effect like this on you. More often than not, to have the weather act as an irritant, it would be hot and humid, extremely cold or having sudden changes in the temperature and air pressure.

Features

Besides "extreme weather conditions" inducing problems with your asthma, there are allergens that can be adversely affected by a change in your average climate. Many researchers correlate these changes to global warming, which has worsened many people's asthma symptoms. If one of your triggers is pollen, dust or chemical fumes, you may experience greater issue with asthma -- namely if you don't have "good asthma control" -- in areas of the country that are experiencing earlier or longer growing seasons, an increase in airborne pollen or an increase in overall air pollution.

Geography

Some locations in our country have been deemed as "easier" places to live for asthmatics. Four are located in California -- Orange County, San Jose, San Diego and Long Beach. All possess fairly mild climates, without any extremes in heat and cold, and have fairly low pollen counts. West Palm Beach, Florida and Honolulu, Hawaii, also top the list for some of the same reasons as those cities in California. This is not a recommendation to pull up stakes and move. This is simply based on statistics.

Warning

Along with the "easier" places to live with asthma, there are "challenging" cities as well. Tucson, Ariz., topped the list followed by Kansas City, Montana, Phoenix and Fresno, Calif. All have fairly high air pollution levels, though relative low pollen counts. If you live in these areas and suffer from asthma, you should make sure you have "good asthma control" to keep your condition in check.