Something in the Air

The human body and the atmosphere meet at one of the most magical and complex intersections in the known universe. That the weather intensifies or even causes human pain and discomfort is a truth held to be self-evident through the ages by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. From arthritis to asthma, allergies to the flu, Vitamin D deficiencies to seasonal affective disorder, to feel ill or be sick is to be “under the weather.”

Something in the Air is a conversational, historical, clinical, and factual tour of the science of biometeorology, addressing what is known about weather-health interaction and separating reality from folklore. Once an arcane discipline, biometeorology’s revived popularity is evident in the daily “health” forecasts for arthritis, migraines, and allergies that appear on the sites like Weather.com and AccuWeather.com.

In this inviting and intriguing book, author and veteran Philadelphia Inquirer weather writer Anthony R. Wood takes readers on a comprehensive exploration of the history and state of seasonal conditions, interviewing patients and the adventurous medical researchers and practitioners who have done the hard and often frustrating work of seeking the answers, from meticulous pollen collectors to the international arthritis expert who consigned those under his care to an experimental chamber worthy of science fiction to prove that weather changes intensify pain.

Broken into sections covering each of the four seasons and their respective and assorted ailments and featuring an appendix summarizing strategies and remedies for mitigating the effects of the various seasonal conditions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and other certified medical organizations, Wood gives an approachable and useful survey of how – any why – our health changes with the seasons and what we can do about it.