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Toronto Star

22 Jul, 7 tweets, 4 min read

@Alex_mckeen

This is what wildfire smoke is doing to your body.

@Alex_mckeen spoke with Dr. Chris Carlsten, Professor and Head of the Respiratory Medicine Division at UBC, and Director of the Legacy for Airway Health program at Vancouver Coastal Health.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…

The scenario: A runner heads out for a 5k, and as her breathing increases, she takes in more wildfire smoke.

It has combustion products that could be irritating — gaseous chemicals and small, solid particles from trees or other types of fuel that burned.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…

Her eyes start to water, as if pollen was out in full force. She feels a burn in her throat when she takes a breath, which takes more effort than usual.

She powers through, and the particles in the smoke begin to irritate her nose, eyes, and throat. thestar.com/news/canada/20…

A chemical reaction causes her eyes to tear, her throat to feel more rough, and her nose starts to run. Later, she’s rubbing her eyes and nose, and lets out a few coughs.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…

Upon returning inside, the runner showers, has coffee and sits at her work-from-home desk. Her eyes feel normal, as people, Dr. Carlsten said, are typically resilient to short-term wildfire smoke exposure.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…

But when she heads back out for a bike ride to a restaurant, a big breath pushes her to cough uncontrollably. At the same time, she feels heart palpitations and discomfort in her chest.
thestar.com/news/canada/20…

@Alex_mckeen

Why does the body respond this way to wildfire smoke inhalation?

Get the full picture in the story by @Alex_mckeen
thestar.com/news/canada/20…

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