Television presenter turned radio DJ Toby Anstis might exude endless energy and enthusiasm, but he readily admits he simply isn’t built for wintry weather.
“Winter can be a real struggle for me,” says Toby, who became a household name as a children’s television presenter for CBBC in the 1990s and is now the voice of breakfast on Heart FM.
Over the last few years, Toby says he’s been “completely wiped out” by repeated chest infections, even ending up in hospital with pneumonia. “I have asthma, and although I have always been proactive about managing my condition, my symptoms can be harder to control in the winter as cold air and viruses are my main triggers,” he says.
During the recent Arctic snap in November, Toby, 53, started waking up wheezing at 4am. “I’d be struggling to breathe and would instantly need a puff of my reliever inhaler. I had a bit of a chest infection too and felt really rubbish.”
Knowing winter can be a difficult time, Toby is vigilant about having his flu jab every year and takes his preventer inhaler twice a day to give a low dose of steroids and reduce inflammation of his airways. “What I’ve learnt about having asthma is that you can be as fit as a fiddle, but breathlessness doesn’t discriminate, and when it takes hold, it can be truly terrifying,” he says.
“The couple of times I have really panicked with my asthma have been when I haven’t had my reliever with me. So now, I never go anywhere without it.
“A few weeks ago, I was meeting friends in central London. I was halfway there on the Tube when I realised I’d forgotten my inhaler, so I turned around, and headed back home to Hammersmith to fetch it.”
While Toby knows how to control his asthma, he says that having a chest infection is a completely different experience. “Although I have a fantastic diet and am serious about my fitness, I still find I am frequently ill over the winter,” he says.
Chest infections are commonplace at this time of year, with Queen Camilla having to take time out from her schedule because of a lingering viral infection which turned out to be a form of pneumonia. However, Dr Andy Whittamore, clinical lead at Asthma + Lung UK, says, “A chest infection occurs when either your lungs become infected by a respiratory virus or a bacterial infection that is spread via tiny droplets emitted through coughing or sneezing.
« They can normally be treated at home, sometimes with the help of antibiotics, and symptoms include a chesty cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, aching muscles, tiredness, a headache, and a temperature of 38 ̊C or above. While the illness normally lasts for seven to 10 days, a full recovery can take up to three weeks.”
After getting one chest infection after another last year, Toby knows now to go straight to his doctor as soon as the symptoms start. “I love my radio show and never want to miss a single broadcast, but there were times last year when I went on air feeling incredibly ill and literally had to crawl to bed afterwards,” he says.
Toby’s worst health experience has undoubtedly been pneumonia. “I was so ill, I didn’t even have the energy to call an ambulance,” he recalls. “Fortunately, my family got me to A&E where I was treated, but the experience was pretty scary.”
Pneumonia is a leading cause of emergency hospital admissions every winter. The potentially lifethreatening illness occurs when the tiny sacs (alveoli) in the lungs get swollen and filled with fluid. “Symptoms include a cough, difficulty breathing, a high temperature, chest pain, and a loss of appetite,” says Dr Whittamore. “Pneumonia requires urgent medical attention.”
As a staunch advocate of healthy living, Toby cooks from scratch every day, and swears by a pescatarian diet, with a dollop of manuka honey every morning. “I go to the gym four times a week and always find time for a weekly swim,” he says. “Whenever possible, I try to be in bed by 8.30pm so I wake up for my breakfast show feeling energised.
“Yet the colder weather is still a challenge,” adds Toby, who likes to spend as much time as possible in Ibiza where he always feels well and rarely experiences asthma symptoms.
“I just hope that by looking after myself year-round, I am helping to protect my lungs a little in the winter when they really struggle the most.”
■ Toby Anstis presents Heart FM’s Dance Breakfast weekdays from 7am to 10am and Club Classics from 7am to 11pm on Fridays.
■ For information on looking after your lungs this winter, go to Asthma + Lung UK’s winter health guide (asthmaandlung.org.uk/notjustaseason).
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