Lung Patients Are Suffering From Smoke, Particles in Air
Posted on: Thursday, 19 January 2006, 12:00 CST
By NICOLE NASCENZI World Staff Writer
Smoke and debris from grass fires in the Tulsa area are causing health problems for some people with respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"The smoke has already started to irritate our patients' airways to a degree, and I think it is only going to get worse," Dr. Mark Boomer, a lung specialist, said last week.
People don't have to live or work close to wildfires to be affected by the far-reaching smoke, said Boomer, who practices with Pulmonary Medicine Associates.
Dr. Mark Hamra of the Allergy and Asthma Center of Broken Arrow said airborne irritants such as wildfire smoke affect people differently.
Some of his patients have required only small increases in their medications, but one patient had to confine himself to the innermost room of his house and stuff rags into any cracks that let in outdoor air so he could keep away from smoky pollutants.
"For someone with allergies, it only takes minute amounts of smoke exposure" to cause problems, he said.
The best thing people can do is avoid or limit exposure to the wildfire smoke when possible and visit a doctor if symptoms worsen, Hamra said.
Dr. James Phillips, a children's lung specialist at St. John Medical Center, said that although it may seem obvious, he reminds patients "not to go look at the fires" and to take their medications.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality measures particulate matter in the air at different points across the state, said its spokeswoman Monty Elder. More information is available online at www.deq.state.ok.us.
Particulate matter consists of either tiny solid particles or fine liquid droplets in the atmosphere, the Web site says.
Dr. Donald Nader, the director of Oklahoma State University's Center for Respiratory Medicine, said the particles humans can inhale are small -- between one and seven microns across. For comparison, a human hair is about 100 microns in diameter.
The particles can irritate tissue in the nose and lungs and cause everything from wheezing and sneezing to chest tightness and itchy eyes, he said. Patients with underlying health conditions are the most at risk for developing problems.
Some people with asthma may need to increase the amount of "rescue medications," such as Albuterol inhalers, they use, and others will have to see their doctors to get prescriptions for additional medications, Nader said.
Nicole Nascenzi 581-8315
nicole.nascenzi@tulsaworld.com
Source: Tulsa World
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