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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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