The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Quality Index says the air today is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
That’s no surprise to Saint Alphonsus pulmonologist Doctor Kathleen Sutherland. She can usually see the Boise foothills from her office window, today all she can see is smoke. And it’s that smoke, from wildfires, that’s affecting her patients.
“When wood is burning, the smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles and it’s the fine particles in the smoke that are the main problems.”
As a pulmonologist, Sutherland deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract.
She has seen an increased number of patients coming in to her office, because of the smoke. As the fine particles enter the lungs, the airway is irritated and the body responds with inflammation. “When the inflammation starts, that can start a chain reaction where you then start to have spasming of the airways, bronchial constriction, narrowing of the airways, so it’s difficult to breath both in and out, oxygen levels can drop in patients who have underlying lung disease and it can create a cascade of events.”
Doctor Sutherland tells her patients to use common sense. If it looks smoky outside, or your eyes are burning, try to stay indoors and use an air conditioner to filter the smoke. If you have lung or heart disease, take your medicine, and if that doesn’t help, call your doctor.
Copyright 2012 Boise State Public Radio
