Clean air saves lives
 
  

— By Judy Rupp
Commentary

You may or may not notice haze, but the pollutants in the air you breathe pose a sinister hazard that is painfully obvious to person with asthma.

More than 152 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of pollutants in the air. Hazards include exhaust fumes from motor vehicles, smoke from burning fields and soot from indoor or outdoor wood burning. Under such conditions, asthma patients are at risk of attacks, often serious enough to require emergency medical attention.

Asthma patients and others should avoid heavy outdoor exercise and stay inside as much as possible on days when the pollution level is high.

Most Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, but pollutants can leak in from the outside and the enclosed air has it own set of hazards. Some believe tightly enclosed modern buildings may be at least partially to blame for the increase in asthma.

Tobacco smoke, either first- or second-hand, is a major pollutant of indoor air. Don’t smoke indoors, particularly around children or asthma patients.

Wood-burning stoves and some gas appliances also can emit harmful pollutants. Be sure your furnace, stoves and space heaters are properly vented and inspected each year.

In addition, persons with asthma are frequently sensitive to dust mites, mold, cockroaches, pet allergens and pollens. Careful vacuuming, cleaning and laundering is necessary, and humidity levels should be kept between 30 and 50 percent to inhibit the growth of molds.

Precautions about allergens apply mainly to those with asthma, but clean air is everyone’s business. Even if you don’t start to wheeze or cough, pollutants in the air are having negative health effects on your lungs, heart and blood vessels.
Do your part to keep yourself and others breathing freely by trying to find alternatives to your solo driving ventures — walking, biking public transportation, car pooling. When you drive, avoid jack rabbit starts and idling your engine for extended periods.

Lawn mowers and weed trimmers have a negative effect on the air we breathe. Do what you can to minimize their use. Use an electric starter rather than charcoal lighter fluid to light the barbecue.

If you’re a smoker, quit. Otherwise, respect the rules restricting public smoking. They may seem like a nuisance, but are necessary to protect you and others around you.

One and a half million emergency room visits are made each year because of asthma attacks, many related to air quality. About 6,000 Americans die as a result. Keeping the air clean is a way of keeping these people healthy and alive.

Rupp is information and assistance case manager with the Northern Oklahoma Development Authority Area Agency on Aging.  


Pure Air Control
800-422-7873