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How to Protect Your Lungs from Wildfires
Author: Sherry Harrington, RCP
While wildfires have always been a natural part of life in California, the ones we’ve seen in recent years have been some of the deadliest 最具破坏性的. Drought conditions and population growth in areas prone to fire, have added to the fire danger. 让事情变得复杂的是，充足 kindling and hot, dry Santa Ana winds in the South and Diablo Winds in the North, mean these fires move faster and are more intense, making them 更难控制.
Apart from the obvious danger fire poses to people and property, the smoke fires produce can affect the air quality and cause serious breathing complications 横跨整个州. 就像我们去年看到的那样 营火, the air was thick with smoke for weeks here in the Bay Area even though the fire started in Butte County some 150 miles away. 不仅仅是一个 inconvenience, it was directly responsible for the increase in hospital admissions for respiratory conditions that we saw here at Washington Hospital.
野火烟雾 is a harmful mixture of carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals. These airborne particles are easily inhaled, irritating sensitive tissues 在肺部深处. This can cause a variety of respiratory symptoms, including persistent coughing, wheezing, phlegm production and difficulty breathing.
Those with existing heart or lung conditions like asthma or COPD, as well as children, pregnant women and elderly individuals are most at risk for experiencing serious complications due to smoke inhalation. 然而,在 are things you can do to protect yourself.
Conditions can change rapidly and often. 这就是为什么它很重要 to check local air quality alerts 之前 leaving the house. 我们建议 AirNow.政府 as a resource for air quality reports across the U.S.，以及零件 加拿大和墨西哥的. 使用来自美国的数据.S. 环境保护 Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service (NPA), and a variety of tribal, state and local agencies, it offers accurate real-time local and national Air Quality 索引（AQI）信息.
Ensuring your health and safety is the most important part of any emergency 计划. It is essential to monitor the progress of nearby wildfires and know your community’s evacuation 计划. It is also important to have 手头的应急物资 之前 a wildfire affects your area; such as respirator masks, inhalers and medications. This will prevent you from having to hunt down these supplies when the air quality is at its worst and supplies are limited. 夏令营期间 Fire, N95 masks were quickly sold out and became unavailable. 这使得 many people without adequate protection.
It’s important to understand that not every mask is capable of filtering out the particulates that are lingering in the air. 你用的面具 to reduce the spread of the flu or the ones you pick up at the hardware store for a home improvement project will not adequately protect you from 烟雾暴露. For your protection, we recommend a N95 or P100 respirator 过滤面罩. Prolonged exposure combined with the humidity of your breath will limit its filtering effects after a few hours.
Staying indoors with windows, doors and chimney dampers closed is the best way to limit your exposure to wildfire smoke. In fact, we advise our patients to limit all outdoor activities when air quality is at its worst. 甚至 with a respirator mask, common tasks like going grocery shopping or gardening can unnecessarily put your lungs at risk.
The air quality has you stuck indoors, so you’ll want to make sure your air quality is as clean as it can be. 比如吸尘， dusting or even burning candles can kick up allergens and irritants that can reduce the air quality within your home. 保持这一点很重要 yourself safe – and that means limiting activities and exposure to irritants that put undue stress on your lungs.
Wildfire Smoke and Your Lungs: Do You Need to Worry?
发布日期：2019年11月