How to stay healthy and avoid colds, viruses amidst summer crowds

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia area is on center stage this summer with all the events for America's 250th birthday, on top of the usual events.

Whether it's 4th of July fireworks, a Phillies game, or time at the shore, summer fun involves crowds.

And though we think of respiratory miseries like colds as winter-time illnesses, Dr. Eric Balaban, a Temple Health pulmonologist, says they're around in summer, too.

They're one of three main hazards.

"The first one is infectious," Dr. Balaban says.

Summer cold viruses actually thrive in warm weather. So do the bacteria for walking pneumonia and Legionnaires' Disease.

And COVID is still around, putting dozens in the hospital each week.

It could be a rough summer for your lungs, even if you don't have breathing problems. And anyone who already has lung conditions is especially vulnerable.

Heat is another risk .

"Which, believe it or not, is actually a big part of air quality, and with enough heat, can actually worsen the air enough to make someone sick," he says.

Dr. Balaban says pollen and allergies are the third risk.

He says to have fun but be safe, stay up-to-date on vaccinations, including COVID and RSV.

There are also preventive medications.

"If you're taking inhalers to control asthma or COPD, for example, make sure you're staying on top of those inhalers," he says.

And keep your inhaler readily available for any flare-ups.

"Make sure you have your rescue inhaler. Make sure that you have a good plan to get in touch with your doctor should you need steroids or additional medicine," he says.

Dr. Balaban says most people don't take ground-level ozone, or smog, seriously enough. However, it affects even healthy people, and not just in the lungs.

"But second to that is things like heart attack and coronary artery disease. It's a stroke risk," he explains.

Dr. Balaban says while the EPA's Air Quality Index offers a general view, Breathe Philly's 75 local sensors take it down to street level.

"You can see almost at a community or neighborhood-based level from hour to hour what that air quality is doing in Philadelphia," he says.

Finally, Dr. Balaban says we can't forget good handwashing. The majority of germs we encounter are from bacteria and virus droplets that land on surfaces.