As Northern California sits under a thick blanket of wildfire smoke for days, many people are left wondering what the air quality means for their health.It is really bad, said Dr. Vanessa Walker. As a pulmonary physician with Sutter Health and Pulmonary Medicine Associates, Walker has treated COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic. Recently, she has seen an uptick in smoke-related hospital visits. To provide context, she said an AQI greater than 100 is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Right now, the AQI is well over 200. So this is unhealthy for everybody no matter who you are. And unfortunately, it just seems to be getting worse especially as these wildfires are raging out of control, she said. Here are six things to know about how smoke impacts your health according to Dr. Walker:1. What are the negative impacts?Walker: If you have no lung disease, youre probably just going to notice things like eye irritation, throat irritation, scratchy nose, watery eyes. But if you have any kind of underlying lung disease, COPD, emphysema, asthma, you can cause a serious reaction like an asthma exacerbation or a COPD exacerbation where you have tightening of your airways, significant coughing, shortness of breath and sometimes even life-threatening airway edema.2. Who are the most vulnerable people?Walker: The most vulnerable groups are going to be young children, pregnant people as well as people with any kind chronic lung condition or heart condition, and the elderly, mostly because people that are older tend to have those underlying conditions. 3. Is it OK to workout outside (even for just a short amount of time)?Walker: That is dangerous. You dont know if youre going to be somebody whos out there for 20 minutes and ends up having an asthma exacerbation or a sudden airway problem.4. What could wildfire smoke mean for contracting COVID-19?Walker: COVID is setting up an inflammatory bomb in your body. And having underlying inflammation from being exposed to wildfire smoke could actually make it harder for your body to fight because of all the inflammation thats already there. This is all conjecture because we dont know. This is all early in COVID. This is all new to us. But just understanding basic physiology, it makes perfect sense that if youre already having inflammation, that COVID could come and significantly make it worse.5. Which masks should you wear to prevent COVID versus wildfire smoke?For COVID only: Cloth or surgical masksWalker: If youre going to be indoors, youre going to be around people, youre going to be going to the grocery store, I think wearing a cloth mask is perfectly fine or a regular surgical mask. Completely adequate.For COVID & wildfire smoke: K95 & N95 masksWalker: A K95, you can get these online. A lot of people are able to get them. These are good for trying to remove particles. The only problem is they dont get as good of a seal on your face, so theyre not quite as good as a regular N95 would be. But its still a viable option if youre going to be outside.N95 great for actually both COVID and wildfire smoke.For wildfire smoke only: N95 masks with a valveWalker: If youre going to be outdoors by yourself, youre not going to be around other people, youre just going to be maybe doing some yard work, this is the time to wear an N95 with a valve. Itll make it easier for you to breathe. Itll make it so that the air that youre breathing out can exhale beautifully. Just make sure that youre not around other people because that way youre not exposing them to COVID in the event that you do have it.6. How helpful are neck bandanas for COVID and smoke protection?Walker: Unfortunately, the neck bandanas are not terribly helpful. The material theyre made of is very stretchy and thin and so that material makes it very easy for particles to go through. One of the best ways to tell if your mask is too thin is to hold it up and blow out a candle. If you can blow out the candle, youre not protecting people from your droplets.

As Northern California sits under a thick blanket of wildfire smoke for days, many people are left wondering what the air quality means for their health.

It is really bad, said Dr. Vanessa Walker.

As a pulmonary physician with Sutter Health and Pulmonary Medicine Associates, Walker has treated COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic.

Recently, she has seen an uptick in smoke-related hospital visits. To provide context, she said an AQI greater than 100 is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Right now, the AQI is well over 200.

So this is unhealthy for everybody no matter who you are. And unfortunately, it just seems to be getting worse especially as these wildfires are raging out of control, she said.

Here are six things to know about how smoke impacts your health according to Dr. Walker:

1. What are the negative impacts?

Walker: If you have no lung disease, youre probably just going to notice things like eye irritation, throat irritation, scratchy nose, watery eyes. But if you have any kind of underlying lung disease, COPD, emphysema, asthma, you can cause a serious reaction like an asthma exacerbation or a COPD exacerbation where you have tightening of your airways, significant coughing, shortness of breath and sometimes even life-threatening airway edema.

2. Who are the most vulnerable people?

Walker: The most vulnerable groups are going to be young children, pregnant people as well as people with any kind chronic lung condition or heart condition, and the elderly, mostly because people that are older tend to have those underlying conditions.

3. Is it OK to workout outside (even for just a short amount of time)?

Walker: That is dangerous. You dont know if youre going to be somebody whos out there for 20 minutes and ends up having an asthma exacerbation or a sudden airway problem.

4. What could wildfire smoke mean for contracting COVID-19?

Walker: COVID is setting up an inflammatory bomb in your body. And having underlying inflammation from being exposed to wildfire smoke could actually make it harder for your body to fight because of all the inflammation thats already there.

This is all conjecture because we dont know. This is all early in COVID. This is all new to us. But just understanding basic physiology, it makes perfect sense that if youre already having inflammation, that COVID could come and significantly make it worse.

5. Which masks should you wear to prevent COVID versus wildfire smoke?

For COVID only: Cloth or surgical masks

Walker: If youre going to be indoors, youre going to be around people, youre going to be going to the grocery store, I think wearing a cloth mask is perfectly fine or a regular surgical mask. Completely adequate.

For COVID & wildfire smoke: K95 & N95 masks

Walker: A K95, you can get these online. A lot of people are able to get them. These are good for trying to remove particles. The only problem is they dont get as good of a seal on your face, so theyre not quite as good as a regular N95 would be. But its still a viable option if youre going to be outside.

N95 [masks are] great for actually both COVID and wildfire smoke.

For wildfire smoke only: N95 masks with a valve

Walker: If youre going to be outdoors by yourself, youre not going to be around other people, youre just going to be maybe doing some yard work, this is the time to wear an N95 with a valve. Itll make it easier for you to breathe. Itll make it so that the air that youre breathing out can exhale beautifully. Just make sure that youre not around other people because that way youre not exposing them to COVID in the event that you do have it.

6. How helpful are neck bandanas for COVID and smoke protection?

Walker: Unfortunately, the neck bandanas are not terribly helpful. The material theyre made of is very stretchy and thin and so that material makes it very easy for particles to go through. One of the best ways to tell if your mask is too thin is to hold it up and blow out a candle. If you can blow out the candle, youre not protecting people from your droplets.

Read the rest here:
6 things to know about how wildfire smoke impacts your health - KCRA Sacramento