Hi everybody. I’m Dr. Brian Evans, the chief medical officer here at Tahoe Forest Health System. Wildfires have unfortunately become part of our lives. And when there’s smoke, it can cause pretty serious health effects on us. And so I want to talk a little bit about how to prevent problems associated with these wildfire smoke events and really just keeping yourselves healthy and safe.
So even if you’re far from the flames, the wildfire smoke can still really irritate your eyes, your lungs, your skin. And it’s particularly the case for anyone who has underlying medical condition such as asthma, COPD, heart disease, that sort of thing. So the first thing obviously if there is a lot of wildfire smoke in the area, you want to try to limit your exposure to that. Stay indoors if you possibly can when the air quality is poor. Keep your windows and doors closed and use air filters or these portable air purifiers if they’re available. It’s important actually nowadays to really track how the air quality is doing. And there’s a variety of ways to do that. There’s actually apps for your phone that are free, such as Purple Air. That’s the one that I use and you can get a pretty good sense of what’s going on in your neighborhood based on some of those sensor readings and make decisions about when to avoid going outside. If you do have to go outside, I would recommend if it’s a very smoky situation that N95 masks are preferable to just cloth or surgical masks, but you really want to limit exposure as much as you can. And if you do start to have symptoms, that should be a warning to get inside and get out of the smoke as quickly as you can.
Symptoms like coughing, wheezing, certainly if you have any shortness of breath or chest discomfort, those are situations where you absolutely want to seek medical care right away. Come and see us and we’ll check you out. Children, older adults, and again, like I said before, people with medical conditions are the ones who really need to watch out for yourself if you fall into one of those categories, and watch out for your family members and friends as well on these very smoky days. Check on your neighbors and loved ones. These wildfires, they can be very unpredictable, but protecting your health shouldn’t be. So, really take
good care of yourselves out there, stay informed, limit exposure, and know when to get help. We’re here if you need us. Thank you so much.
