Millions of people living with lung conditions face heightened health risks this winter due to persistent wet weather and the looming “spectre” of increased energy bills, a leading charity has warned.
Asthma + Lung UK highlighted that exposure to damp and mould, exacerbated by these conditions, can trigger fatal asthma attacks, increase chest infections, and lead to hospital admissions.
The warning follows a survey by the charity, conducted before recent oil price rises, which revealed nearly a fifth of people with lung conditions were already struggling to adequately heat their homes.
With the Met Office reporting one of the wettest winters on record for the UK, including England’s eighth wettest, these damp environments create an ideal breeding ground for indoor mould.
The charity’s most recent annual survey of 9,387 patients confirmed that mould and fungi act as a trigger for a third of those affected.
This can make symptoms of conditions such as asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) worse, causing breathlessness and flare ups that could be fatal or require hospital treatment.
Some 17 per cent of people also told the charity they struggle to keep their home adequately warm.
Dr Andy Whittamore, a GP and clinical lead at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “Even before events in the Middle East raised the spectre of higher energy bills, we were already concerned about the wet weather increasing damp and mould and affecting people’s health.
“For the seven million people in the UK living with asthma and the three million people living with COPD being exposed to a trigger like mould can bring on a potentially fatal asthma attack, or cause a COPD flare-up requiring hospitalisation.”
To help combat damp and mould in the home, Asthma + Lung UK recommends opening windows and doors so air can move around, avoid drying clothes indoors and keeping the home temperature at least 18C.
It is also calling for the Government to swiftly implement its £15 billion Warm Homes plan.
Published in January, the blueprint sets out plans to cut energy bills and upgrade homes.
Dr Whittamore said: “Studies have also shown that long term exposure to mould can bring on the development of asthma in previously healthy people, particularly children, as well as other lung conditions such as aspergillosis, a condition caused by breathing in aspergillus mould.
“A damp and mouldy environment can also put people at greater risk of chest infections, colds, flu and rhinitis.”
