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Feature

Clean Air Prescription Essential
for Summertime Health

SBy Laura Wenzel, MSW, Manager, Medical Advocates for Healthy Air
ummertime, with its warm, sunny days, is a great time to                 unhealthy air, at first for sensitive groups and eventually for
be outdoors, but it carries risks as well. We are familiar               everyone. AQI wall posters, handouts and wallet cards are available
with prescriptions for hydration and sunscreen, but                      at CharlotteAirAwareness.org. Weather reports often feature AQI

there’s another prescription that is becoming increasingly               forecasts, and you can view your area’s forecast at AirNow.gov, which

important: avoiding exposure to unhealthy air.                           also has phone apps, or request daily emails at www.enviroflash.info.

Why is air pollution becoming more dangerous?                              Highly-readable EPA fact sheets in English and Spanish on ozone
                                                                         and particulate matter advise patients on avoiding exposure by using
Our rising temperatures due to climate change promote
                                                                         the AQI forecast to plan outdoor activities and reducing wood burning,
increased formation of ground-level ozone and sulfate particulate
                                                                         for example. Download the fact sheets by Googling “Air Quality
matter. This invisible air pollution has myriad adverse health
                                                                         Guide for Ozone,”  “Air Quality Guide for Particle Pollution,” “Heart
                          effects and can be deadly.
Good prescriptions start    Ozone exists naturally                       Disease, Stroke and Outdoor Air Pollution” and “Enfermedades del
                                                                         Corazón, Ataques Cerebrales y la Contaminación del Aire.”
                          in the upper atmosphere.
with information, and     It forms at ground level                       CME-Certified AHEC/MAHA Healthy Air Webinar

tools from the EPA and    when sunlight and heat                           Telling patients to restrict their activity in the summertime isn’t
the NC Division of Air    react with nitrogen dioxide                    easy. Medical Advocates for Healthy Air (MAHA), an initiative
Quality can alert you     and volatile organic                           of Clean Air Carolina, works to establish
                          compounds, emitted when                        policies in North Carolina that reduce
                          we burn fossil fuels in
                                                                         man-made sources of air pollution,
and your patients when    our cars, power plants                         so all of us can breathe easier.
pollution levels become   and factories. Ground-                         Visit the Clean Air Institute at
                          level ozone can induce

dangerous.                wheezing, inflammation,                        MedicalAdvocatesforHealthyAir.
                          and lung scarring. The                         org to view a CME/CEU-certified
                                                                         webinar on “Protecting Your Patients
                          effect has been called a                       from Air Pollution.”

                          “sunburn” on the lungs.

Tiny sulfate particles, also caused by combustion and

manufacturing, get deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.        Advertising Acknowledgements
They affect the cardiac and central nervous systems, and are associated

with cancer.                                                             The following patrons made Mecklenburg Medicine possible.

Who is most at risk?                                                     Brackett Flagship Properties.....................................13

  At-risk groups include children and teenagers, whose lungs are

developing, the elderly, those with respiratory problems such as         Carolinas HealthCare System..................................15
asthma, and athletes and outdoor workers. Particles can cross the        Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Associates.......14
placenta in pregnant women. Research suggests this pollution causes

inflammation especially harmful to people with diabetes or obesity.      Charlotte Radiology....................................................3
Also, pre-existing health disparities can render people in low-income
                                                                         Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region..........14
or minority communities more sensitive to air pollution.

How can you protect your patients?                                       LabCorp.....................................................Back Cover

  Good prescriptions start with information, and tools from the EPA      Metrolina Pain & Dependency Clinic.....................14
and the NC Division of Air Quality can alert you and your patients       Novant Health..............................................................2
when pollution levels become dangerous. These include the Air            Oncology Specialists of Charlotte............................14
Quality Index (AQI) forecast, AQI handouts, as well as handouts on       PACE of the Southern Piedmont................................9
ozone and particulate matter.

  The AQI scale ranges from 0 to 500. AQI values below 51
are considered healthy for everyone. Values above 100 indicate

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