SAN DIEGO —
The Santa Ana winds picked up over the past few of days in the East County and as a result some people have reported feeling sick, but doctors say there are things you can do to mitigate those symptoms during weather events, such as the Santa Ana's.
Kaiser Permanente family medicine doctor Heidi Meyer says the symptoms some people experience are similar to that of a cold. Your sinuses try and make up for the dryness by producing extra mucus.
"When the Santa Ana's come, the humidity drops precipitously and so our sinuses and respiratory track aren't built to handle that big swing,” said Dr. Meyer.
"There's a lot more matter in the air so you get a lot of symptoms,” said Dr. Meyer. “So, patients need to keep nasal passages moist by using nasal sinus irrigation, Neti pods, hydration and over the county anti histamines as well."
Dr. Meyer also says San Diegans are often at risk because we're simply not used to these types of conditions.
"If we lived in this humidity all the time, over time we would all get used to it, but in San Diego because of the ocean, the humidity is usually quite high,” explained Dr. Meyer.