Smoke Ready Week 2020

Wildfire Smoke and Your Health

It’s Smoke Ready Week. Time to prepare yourself for the smoke and wildfire season that is hot on our heels!

Yesterday, we posted about what is in wildfire smoke and one of those pollutants is particulate matter. Particulate matter can cause a lot of problems such as:

• Increased risk of hospital admissions and premature death in those with existing heart and lung diseases –asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart disease, or ischemic heart disease. Older people are especially susceptible.
• Increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, likely including COVID-19.
• Aggravation of existing respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic bronchitis.
• Lung irritation and inflammation, causing coughing and shortness of breath, especially for people with existing lung disease and children (whose lungs are still developing).

Come back tomorrow to learn about how you can create cleaner indoor air quality for yourself!