DALLAS — While Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, the cold temperatures could also be irritating your airways, making it harder to breathe. Doctors at Texas Health offer tips to breathe easier this winter.

A recent study published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal looked at the effect of cold winters on the risk of new asthma.

Asthma is a chronic disease that makes it harder to move air in and out of the lungs. It leads to breathing difficulty such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing.

Researchers found evidence that a cold winter with below-normal average temperatures increases the risk of developing new asthma during the following one to two years.

“Asthma is more likely to be diagnosed if a patient is more symptomatic during the winter,” said Andrew Tomlinson, M.D., a pulmonologist on the medical staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and faculty member at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine (IEEM).

Winter can also cause flare-ups for people who already have asthma. Patients should use their rescue inhaler, such as albuterol, to treat wheezing and shortness of breath, Tomlinson added.

Even well-managed asthma can get out of control.

“The issue with respiratory emergencies is that a seemingly innocuous event, such as an asthma episode, can turn into a major event quickly,” said Andrew Morris, D.O., emergency physician and chair of emergency medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.

Morris said patients with underlying lung disease are at an increased risk of serious illness.

“It is important to stay current on your flu shot and to speak with your doctor about any other recommended vaccines,” Morris said.

Pneumonia, COVID and shingles vaccines are among those that might be recommended.

“I would also recommend that asthma patients speak to their doctor about an ‘asthma action plan’ and make sure they remember all of their medications and supplies while traveling this holiday season,” Morris said.

He said people struggling to breathe or while talking should call 911.

Other signs you need to go to the emergency room include:

• Lips or nails are blue
• Fever over 101
• Coughing up yellow or green mucus
• The skin between your ribs or at the base of your throat appears stretched every time you breathe in
• You are taking 30 or more breaths per minute

When people do venture out into the cold, Tomlinson said, wear a cloth covering such as a scarf or neck gaiter pulled up over the mouth to trap heat and moisture.