Hot, humid weather is the least of my CF lungs’ triggers

This time of year, the cicadas at my parents’ house are loud enough that their siren call leaks through the sound of the morning news on TV. When I walk out onto the back deck, their buzzing seems to fill my bones. Then the heat hits, even in the early hours, with high humidity making the temperature feel like it’s nearing the 90s F.

I find myself thinking about a question I’ve been asked over the years from able-bodied friends and acquaintances who know about my cystic fibrosis (CF): Is it harder for you to breathe in this heat?

Before hearing this question for the first time, I hadn’t ever considered the idea of my lungs faring any worse during the summer. At times, the question has made me second-guess myself. But in fact, summers are historically my healthiest season.

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Winter, often considered the peak of “sick season,” is the most ominous time of year for me. Before I started wearing masks regularly in public to protect myself from viruses, I couldn’t go a winter without picking up whatever bug was going around. Several times, I’ve picked up a cold in the dead of winter that’s landed me in the hospital for IV antibiotics. By the time I recovered, spring’s allergy season had arrived.

My lungs seem to hate the transition between seasons the most. Each spring, then again in fall, pollen turns everything — the air, the edges of the lakes, the outdoor table and chairs — into a violent and sickly yellow. Then, after autumn’s last push of blooms, the cold kicks in, which prompts me to switch the thermostat to heat.

All winter, the heat dries out my sinuses. In fact, I suspect that the type of weather my body hates the most is dry weather. Each time I’ve been on supplemental oxygen therapy for more than a day or two, my sinuses get sensitive and inflamed about it. I theorize that, having grown up in the Deep South, my body has become accustomed to the mugginess.

It’s no wonder I was compelled to move to an area of Appalachia considered to be a temperate rainforest. In this way, living where the weather suits my body is a type of disability accommodation.

Not that summer doesn’t affect me. When I walk outside, the soggy air feels heavy pressed against my skin. The air is harder to breathe than it was during the comparably less-humid Arkansas days from when I was in my Master of Fine Arts program. But I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not any harder on me than those around me. It’s funny what our bodies can acclimate to.

Even though the summer heat is intense, I think the damp-hot weather is the least of my lungs’ triggers. And anyway, for me, this Deep South heat, complete with its soundscape of bugs screaming into the void, is what it feels like to be home.

Note: Cystic Fibrosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cystic Fibrosis News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to cystic fibrosis.