How Wildfire Smoke Affects Your Health—and How You Can Protect Yourself

Like a TV series As massive fires continue to burn across the Los Angeles area, blanketing neighborhoods in smoke and forcing thousands of people from their homes, air quality remains unhealthy in many parts of the county.

Smoke from forest fires is a mixture of water vapor, gases and microscopic particles known as particulate matter. The smallest of these particles, known as PM2.5 because they are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, pose the greatest risk to human health. They can settle deep in the lungs and sometimes enter the bloodstream. Earlier this week, PM2.5 levels in the Los Angeles area rose to “hazardous” levels, the highest warning in the world. USA Air Quality Index.

“Wildfire smoke is dangerous for everyone, especially when the particulate matter released is present in large quantities for a long period of time, like what is happening now in California,” says Zachary Rubin, a pediatric allergist in Chicago and a spokesman for the American Public Health Organization. College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Inhaling fine particulate matter can cause inflammation in the body. Symptoms can range from mild ones, such as burning or itching eyes, runny nose, sore throat, and headache, to severe respiratory problems, including difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing, fatigue, and chest pain. It may take several hours to several days after infection for symptoms to appear. In the most serious cases, it increases the risk of premature death.

Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with heart or lung disease or a weakened immune system are at higher risk of developing serious side effects. But Rubin says anyone, regardless of health status, can suffer respiratory effects from exposure to wildfire smoke.

“Any level of air pollution, including from wildfires, can be harmful to your health,” says Laura Corlin, an environmental epidemiologist at Tufts University School of Medicine. The severity of the hazard depends on many factors, including your health, proximity to the fire, and length of exposure. “A good rule of thumb is that the more exposure, the worse,” she says.

The composition of a wildfire can also have an impact on human health. As fires in California burn through homes and businesses, smoke in the region likely carries chemicals released from synthetic building materials that are more toxic than those released by burning vegetation.

People in Los Angeles County and other parts of the US can check airnow.gov to learn more about the current air quality in your area. Because air quality can change quickly throughout the day, you should monitor readings regularly if there is a fire in your area and try to limit your exposure to outside air when air quality is poor. View debt The app is a good resource for checking for fires near you.

How to protect yourself and others

“The lungs clean the air we breathe and send it to the heart, and the heart pumps it to the rest of the body,” says Shazia Jamil, a pulmonologist and professor of medicine at Scripps Clinic and the University of California, San Francisco. Diego. Jamil helped develop guide for the American Thoracic Society on how to stay healthy during wildfires.

She says if someone has shortness of breath, wheezing or rapid breathing due to smoke inhalation, it causes the heart to beat faster and can worsen pre-existing heart problems. Even healthy people can experience chest pain and shortness of breath due to smoke inhalation.