Ozone Levels Peak in July, Often Prompting Health Alerts

PHOENIX - As ozone levels climb to summertime highs in the Valley, many people - especially children, the elderly, people with lung or heart conditions, and people who are very active outdoors - need to protect themselves against the harmful effects of air pollution.

Dr. Joe Yusin, Chief of the Section of Allergy / Immunology at the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center & Clinics in Phoenix, offers insight into why air pollution can be dangerous, or even life threatening, to many people, and things all of us can do to lessen its effects.

Ozone is a gas that plays an important role in providing a shield from the sun's ultraviolet rays, but can be a harmful air pollutant when concentrated at ground level. High levels of particulate matter - small airborne solids or liquids such as smoke, dust and car exhaust - also contribute to poor air quality. These conditions may trigger Health Watches or High Pollution Advisories by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (AzDEQ), indicating that either air quality is poor or may become so during the next few days.

Ozone levels are at their highest from May through August, and tend to be higher in the middle of the week.

Dr. Yusin explains that ozone, particulate matter and allergens (pollen or mold spores) can inflame lung tissue and cause coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain. Moreover, exposure to these pollutants may aggravate lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in older adults or trigger asthma attacks in both children and adults, he says.

Dr. Yusin stresses that people with asthma should always have their rescue medications with them, and use them as soon as they notice an asthma flare. Severe asthma symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent coughing, feeling like one is breathing through a straw, and possibly tightness in the chest.  

About 400,000 Arizona children and adults currently have asthma, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the general public, symptoms of exposure to air pollution can include:

• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Pain when taking a deep breath
• Nausea
• Eye and nose Irritation
• Coughing 
• Wheezing
• Fatigue

In addition to triggering asthma attacks, high levels of pollution may be harmful to people prone to develop or who have been diagnosed with heart disease. Even healthy people can experience eye, nose and throat irritation from particulate matter, as well as shortness of breath when engaged in physical activity outdoors.

"The best advice I have for people on high pollution days is avoidance - spend less time outdoors," says Dr. Yusin. "This includes routine activity and exercise."

"People in extremely sensitive groups should be very careful," he adds. "The difference between those with pulmonary ailments, such as asthma or COPD, and others is the amount of avoidance. If people do exercise outdoors, it's best to do so in the middle of the day, since pollution levels typically peak in the morning and evening, during rush hours."

Another precaution is not exercising near busy roads, where pollution levels are higher.

Media can arrange an interview with Dr. Yusin and a patient by contacting Paula Pedene, Public Affairs Officer for the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, at 602-222-2667.

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Dr. Joe Yusin, Chief of the Section of Allergy / Immunology at the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center & Clinics in Phoenix also serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of the University of Arizona Medical School and faculty at the AZBio Institute of Arizona State University. He is currently serving as the Vice-Chair of the Allergy / Immunology Field Advisory Committee with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Yusin is very active in the community. In 2002, he built Asthma Athletics, a nonprofit charity that offers athletic activities while educating inner-city children diagnosed with asthma about their illness. He is active in the Arizona Asthma Coalition (AAC) and currently is the president of the Maricopa County Asthma Coalition (MCAC). He also is a Board member of the Mountain Park Health Center Foundation.
 

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