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Comment by hhjinks | Hacker News Reader

I lived in Berlin for a year and literally can't go to big cities anymore. The pollution triggers my asthma to the point I have continuous attacks despite taking all the medication I can responsibly take. Thankfully my home town is far less polluted, but even there my asthma is being triggered. I had a meltdown after having an attack _from opening my window for 30 minutes_. I can't imagine how terrible it must be for people without easy fallback options.

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I had a similar situation with London. Ironically I moved to California as the new annual fires started.

California was much worse in the 70s/early 80s, where it wasn't forest fires but car exhaust and power plants causing dirty air. A lot of my older friends who grew up in the two big California metro areas have asthma. They cleaned up the air by the late 80s, but now forest fire season is a huge problem instead.

I highly recommend N95 masks against forest fires from personal experience.

Interestingly, I found the air in Berlin to be much cleaner (easier to breathe, etc.) than it was where I was living in the United States. I found out that the pollution standards for cars in Europe are, by and large, much stricter than elsewhere.

However, on certain days, various tree pollens make the air almost unbreathable, even to someone without allergies or asthma.

I get hay fever, and I moved to a location with reliable onshore breezes. The move has definitely helped reduce the problem, although I still get hay fever on days when the wind comes from the rural inland, and there are days I can’t go into town because of pollen (for example Silver Birch trees).

If your asthma is seasonal, then try and find out the source(s)?

I have chronic bronchial asthma, and it has gotten worse three times now. Unfortunately there isn't much I can do but get a new treatment plan whenever that happens.

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