The Impact of Recent Fires on Breathing
The Impact of Recent Fires on Breathing
by Henry Yeates, MD
Central Utah Clinic Allergy & Immunology
With the recent wildfires raging all around Utah Valley and the skies grey with smoke and ash, my wife asked me if it was safe to walk outside. That is a question that has been troubling many people during the past week.
The breathing of smoke polluted air can cause health problems. As the smokes enters the lungs, the smoke causes irritation and inflammation leading to bronchitis and asthma and will even increase sinus congestion. Some studies that suggest that air pollution increase the incidence of heart disease. The actually risk of illness will vary from one person to the next. The people who suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases like asthma, bronchitis, and heart disease are much more likely to have symptoms from the smoke exposure. It is especially important that these people avoid the smoky air.
The probability of smoke causing illness is proportional to total quantity of smoke inhaled. During exercise the respiratory rate increases, outdoor exercise increases the risk of illness.
The best treatment is to avoid the smoke. One should stay indoors in an air-conditioned dwelling and keep the windows closed. A second option is to travel to a smoke free location (It is not a good time to go to the Colorado for the clean mountain air. But the air on the beach is usually unpolluted.) But most people are not in a situation to pick up and leave their homes. Air filters clean the air, but they are limited in the volume of air they can clean. Many of the smoke particles and some of the most dangerous particles have a very small diameter, less than 10 microns. And therefore a very efficient air filter is required to remove smaller particles. HEPA filters are generally recommended.
Wearing a mask or surgical mask outside will remove some of the larger smoke particles and is helpful in very smoky air. A mask will not filter out the smaller particles.
So the best solution is to put out the fires and clean up the air. As the old joke says, “if we were meant to breath smoke, the Lord would have put a chimney in our heads.”
