Where There is Fire There is Smoke

The hazardous smoky conditions that we endured in southwestern Ontario made us acutely aware of the disastrous effects of climate change on human health. Those living in the areas in northern Ontario dealing with the fires faced incredible loss and health consequences.

Sadly, this is not likely going to be an isolated one-time occurrence. As wildfires in B.C. and Europe have shown us, this is likely to occur again.

How can we protect our health in the future when this occurs?

The three areas of preventive management can loosely be classified as avoidance of smoke, optimizing indoor air quality and medication management for those with respiratory conditions.

1. Keep an eye on the air quality index (AQI). When it is elevated or when there are warnings on the news, pivot outdoor activities to be indoors.  Avoidance of the smoke is the key to avoiding poor health outcomes. If you have to be outdoors, use an N95 mask. These remove 95 percent of particles while surgical masks only remove 20 percent.
2. Smoke can filter indoors as well. Keeping windows closed can help but also using HEPA filters and placing AC on circulate mode can lessen the number of particles in indoor air.
3. People with COPD or asthma may need to increase their inhaler use and seek medical guidance to prevent exacerbations. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk of respiratory difficulty. Eye irritation and corneal abrasions can also occur with particle exposure so watch for symptoms of eye pain or foreign body sensation.

Wildfire smoke particularly is more worrisome than poor air quality from urban smoke due to the particle size in the smoke. An AQI due to wildfire smoke has greater health risk than a comparable one due to urban smoke. Stay safe and stay healthy as this summer’s crisis is not likely to be the last.

 

Dr. Bhooma Bhayana is a family physician in London and the mother of two young men and proud grandmother of three! She continues to find wonder and enjoyment in family practice despite more than 30 years on the job!