The Smoke Gets in Your Eyes…

And throat, and lungs.  As if it isn’t enough to have the threat of a wildfire in your backyard now people are becoming concerned about the amount of smoke in the air we are breathing.  The good thing about the smoke from this wildfire is that depending upon which way the wind is blowing you may or may not even notice it.  When the wind was coming from the North the other day you couldn’t even tell there was a fire going on.  Yesterday there was an air inversion that trapped the smoke close to the ground and I think everyone noticed it.  This got people thinking about the effects smoke can have on their health.  I did some looking into it and checked out a website that was referred to us and found some helpful information.   Smoke from a wildfire is dangerous because of the particles that are floating around in the smoke.  These particles can get into your eyes, nose and throat and cause you to cough, wheeze, have chest pain and headaches to name a few.  Some of these symptoms may not show up until several days of breathing in the smoke.  If a person has pre-existing conditions such as asthma, sinus problems, respiratory or heart problems then smoke can be especially problematic.  The smoke can be worse for older people and for children who tend to breathe in more air than adults and spend more time active outdoors.  When there is heavy smoke outside it is best to limit your time outside and stay inside where you can keep the air clean.  Over time the particles from the smoke can get inside of your house and build up.  One thing experts say you don’t want to do is to vacuum as this can stir up the particles.  This is the best news I’ve heard since the fire started!  As with everything, please use common sense when there is heavy smoke in the air.  Use this smoke to your advantage and don’t go for that 8 mile run you have been putting off and for goodness sake, leave the vacuum cleaner in the closet.