Many people may suffer from a lung disease or condition at some point throughout their life.

According to Guthrie County Hospital Respiratory Therapist Catie Gardiner, those lung diseases and conditions can change depending on what time of year it is. She mentions that a couple of diseases like asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are persistent year round, and symptoms of them can include shortness of breath when performing the simplest physical activities, like walking up the stairs. Gardiner shares that there are two times of year that these symptoms are more prevalent.

“I notice a lot of people have more issues in the summer when it’s really humid here in Iowa and in the wintertime that cold air can just trigger a lot of those symptoms.”

Gardiner explains that also in colder months, diseases like pneumonia, respiratory influenza and colds can become more prevalent.