It’s hard to comprehend exactly how deadly something invisible can be but I know first-hand.
Back in 2014, I had 14 life-threatening asthma attacks within the space of a year, each caused by air pollution. I was working as a hairdresser in central London and loved city life, but the state of the air was having a terrible impact on my health.
I was diagnosed with asthma as a toddler, and in my early years, I was constantly in and out of the hospital. Living in central London, Mum and Dad worried that the capital’s fumes were making my condition worse, so we moved to Canvey Island in Essex when I was eight.
Breathing in the clean sea air really helped, although I still had asthma attacks two or three times a year as I was growing up and the odd stay in hospital.
Anything could trigger my asthma from dogs, cats and dust to pollen, cold air and pollution. But back then, I bounced back quickly, and it only took me a day or two to recover from each attack
However, things really took a turn for the worse when I moved back to London in 2014 at age 25 to be with my partner Phil, who works in fire safety. After 13 years out of the city, I had hoped my asthma had calmed down and didn’t think the pollution would affect me anymore.
But it only took a couple of weeks for me to discover I was wrong. I was having an asthma attack at least once a fortnight and would end up in hospital. I was careful never to go anywhere without my two inhalers – a preventer to keep inflammation down and a reliever to help me breathe when I became wheezy and breathless.
Then, in December 2015, after 11 months in London, I had such a terrible asthma attack that I was rushed to hospital where I was told that my left lung had collapsed and that I’d need to spend five days on oxygen for it to repair itself.
It was a turning point for me as I know I could have died. Phil and I agreed we had to move as living in London was putting my life at risk.
After spending the best part of a year on steroids to open up my airways and being told by my consultant that London’s air was making my asthma worse, I couldn’t continue to put my life on the line.
So, Phil and I moved to Brentwood Essex, and for the next couple of years, my asthma improved. I went back to having two or three serious attacks a year. We now live in Romford, and my asthma is still relatively stable.
But the sad truth is that there is no escape from air pollution unless the government urgently takes bold action now. Even though my health has been better in Essex, every time I go into London my asthma flares up. Now that more people are returning to the workplace and the world gets back to some kind of normal, with more traffic on the roads, I am terrified it will get even worse.
But I can’t live my life in a bubble. And we cannot keep hearing stories of people like Ella Kissi-Debrah, the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death.
We can’t keep seeing cases like mine, of people struggling to breathe and being in and out of the hospital because of filthy fumes. It’s not just me that I’m worried about: my niece and nephew have asthma too, and I find it shocking how many children now seem to need inhalers. Previous research from Asthma UK found that an estimated half a million children in the UK with asthma find their symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and struggling for breath are triggered by air pollution.
Every year, air pollution is linked to up to 36,000 premature deaths in the UK. High air pollution can be a fatal trigger for people with lung conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
According to Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, 88% of people with a lung condition report that air pollution affects their health and wellbeing. It also reduces life expectancy, increases chances of lung cancer and stunted lung growth in children.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need to look after our lungs and that starts with the air we breathe.
I’m determined to share my story to shine a light on exactly how harmful air pollution can be and that’s why I am supporting Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation in their mission to improve air quality so that people can access clean air regardless of where they live.
No one should suffer just because the air where they live is unsafe.
This is a health emergency, and the government urgently needs to bring in bolder clean air laws so that everyone can live full lives free from toxic air.
Kelly May is sharing her story in support of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation’s ‘Clear the air’ campaign, calling on the government to cut air pollution and bring in new clean air laws. Find out more and share your story here to demand change from the UK Government: cleartheair.org.uk
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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