Fire Season and Air Pollutants
By Phebe Alley, MD
Fire season brings many hazards to our area, one of those hazards is the air pollutants from the fires. At high levels, these can lead to significant health risks to everyone, but at lower levels these can still post significant health risks to specific groups of individuals including children, those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease. The air concentrations of pollutants are measured and published daily with air quality and forecasts in the setting of the AQI or Air Quality Index. Pollutant concentrations are reported on a normalized, color-coded scale of 0 to 500 to convey the levels of air pollutant and related health concerns. The AQI value of the day is the highest individual pollutant AQI value.
When the AQI is high, you can reduce your risk by spending less time outdoors and limiting your level of exertion in outdoor activities. For every person, the benefits of avoiding exposure to a high AQI should be weighed against the potential harms of reducing physical activity.
Those who are at increased risk have specific health risks. Those with asthma and COPD can have exacerbations triggered by the worse air quality. When the AQI is higher than 100, patients with asthma or COPD should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Even when the AQI is 51 to 100, some unusually sensitive people may benefit from reducing exposure. People with heart disease are susceptible to cardiovascular effects of air pollution and can have increased risk of heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure exacerbation or stroke. Children are more susceptible to air pollution as they have a higher relative ventilation rate and less likely to perceive and report respiratory symptoms. This can result in increased medication use and hospitalizations among child, especially those with asthma.
During fire season, it is a good idea to check the AQI often to help guide your activity choices especially if you have an underlying health condition such as asthma, COPD, or heart disease.
