OhioHealth Doctors Weigh In on Air Quality Alert
In early June, an air quality alert was issued for numerous areas in the United States.
Tyler Anderson, OhioHealth Pulmonary Physician who practices at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital, spoke with 10TV reporter Lindsey Mills explaining that this time of year is tough for people with allergies, and now with the recent wildfire smoke, it can be an added-on layer of respiratory issues.
“Levels about 150 have been associated with causing symptoms in people even without respiratory conditions,” Dr. Anderson told Mills, “Really when you start hearing numbers above 150 do what you can to stay inside if it's not absolutely necessary to be inside.”
Symptoms to watch out for could be wheezing, trouble beathing and an increase in fatigue for kids.
Benjamin Bring, OhioHealth Program Director of Family Practice at Dublin Methodist Hospital, spoke with an ABC6 Columbus reporter regarding kids' safety during air quality alerts.
“Their airways are a little bit smaller, so a lot of times when these air particles and pollution can get into their airways, it can cause a few more respiratory symptoms than it might with adults,” Bring told ABC6 reporter Myles Harris.
Dr. Bring's advice for parents would be to monitor how well their children are breathing. He told Harris, if a child looks like they're struggling to breath, working a bit harder to breath, having difficulty talking in full sentences and experiencing shortness of breath while doing little activities, it may be a good idea to call a family physician.
We asked Dr. Bring whether or not the air quality alert could have long-term health impacts on adults and children.
“I don't think this should have any long-term effects as lung tissue is usually pretty quick to go back to normal,” Dr. Bring said, “However, it could potentially cause temporary flareups for people with high-risk conditions such as asthma or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) patients, but otherwise there should not be any long-term consequences.”
