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TAMPA BAY - The smoky sky can cause health problems for Bay area residents. The smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases, according to a press release from the Pinellas County Health Department.
Smoke can cause:
• Coughing
• A scratchy throat
• Irritated sinuses
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Headaches
• Stinging eyes
• A runny nose
• Asthma exacerbations
If you have heart or lung disease, smoke might make your symptoms worse.
People who have heart disease might experience:
Chest pain
Rapid heartbeat
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Smoke may worsen symptoms for people who have pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as respiratory allergies, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in the following ways:
• Inability to breathe normally
• Cough with or without mucus
• Chest discomfort
• Wheezing and shortness of breath
When smoke levels are high enough, even healthy people may experience some of these symptoms.
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Posted by Christine Costella, Largo on 05/11 at 08:32 AM
May 11, 2007, 2:55 AM
After my mile walk this evening at 11pm, I felt tired and weak at the knees later about midnight my heart pounded fast and hard. I have slight chest pain, anxiety comes in waves, lying down is worse, my throat feels opened up and there’s too much cold air, my throat is scratchy and my lungs are sore. I might need to call 911 It’s now 2:45am sometimes I feel like I might die. like my heart may explode. I was OK yesterday. An hour later I was feeling better thank God! I’ve wondered if it was the smoke in the air from the brush fires. I checked my resting heart rate before and it was 100 beats a minute. Now it’s 56 beats a minute.I went to bed at 4:00am however I woke up 3 hours later 7am I started getting mild symptoms again. I found a face mask. It does help. I did some research..I found this web site.
Smoke May Cause Health Problems