Six new automated pollen counters are being rolled out in Victoria to help improve forecasting for thunderstorm asthma.

Thunderstorm asthma refers to episodes of asthma symptoms that occur when high pollen levels are combined with a thunderstorm.

The pollen particles are broken down in even smaller levels than normal, allowing them to get deeper in the lungs and potentially triggering serious asthma attacks.

“You can get really grass pollens being really sent for long distances and exposed to the environmental triggers,” Australian Medical Association President Dr Tony Bartone said on Weekend Today.

“And they can get very get really deep into the lungs of asthma sufferers in particular, and bring on fairly serious asthma episodes.”

Significant events can even cause serious attacks in people who do not regularly have asthma; one such event in Victoria in 2016 led to 10 deaths as emergency services were overwhelmed with the number of calls for people suffering asthma attacks.

Bartone said the new pollen counters are an aid for asthma sufferers, but stressed they also needed to have their own plans in place.

“It’s about being prepared for those days and understanding what are your triggers,” he said.

“How to use your puffers or your other reliever medication or your preventer medication regularly and appropriately if you’re susceptible. And having an understanding of the action plan that you put into place.

“Understanding the signs and acting early if you are feeling tight, if you’re feeling short of breath, if you’ve got that cough, if you’ve got that wheeze, they’re the signs that you’re experiencing an asthma episode.”

Bartone also warned sufferers of hayfever to be aware of their symptoms, saying the crossover between asthma and hayfever is high.

“This is the time of year where we have a lots of people complaining [about] the streaming eyes, the runny nose, the sneezing, it’s the high pollen counts,” he said. 

“But there are other triggers for hay fever as well that sufferers suffer from.”