Know your own health limits when it comes to air quality affected by the wildfires burning throughout the region, a local Northern Health advisor is telling residents.
"I think that everybody is different and will respond differently to smoke," said Paula Tait, health and resource development technical advisor for Northern Health.
"So listening to our own body is important."
Currently, the University Hospital of Northern B.C. emergency department reports it has not seen an increase in traffic through the department related to respiratory issues from the smoke.
Prince George was rated Wednesday morning at a 7 in air quality. At that level, the federal government recommends the general population needs to consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous activities outdoors if experiencing symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation, while for the at-risk population it is recommends they reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors while children and the elderly should also take it easy.
"So if your eyes are itching and watering or if you've got breathing issues that's a totally different ettle of fish and just being aware of those symptoms and knowing when to reduce our exposure outside is important," Tait said.
"But we don't want to tell people to hole up for this entire time period. It's important for people to get outside when the air quality is good. The smoke in the air is highly variable and can change really quickly so if all of a sudden it disperses and the sun comes out that's a perfect time to get out and resume those daily activities that keep your mental health in check as well."
Because some people have health issues like asthma or have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a personal care plan should be put in place, Tait said.
"It's important to note that when the air quality is poor outside, we also need to consider how we can make it good inside because indoor air quality is not always good depending if there's indoor sources of particulates, like when you burn a steak on the stove or when someone smokes in the home," Tait said. "You have to consider all that and keep the smoke outside by closing windows and doors. Avoid generating a bunch of dust in the house by not vacuuming."
Using portable indoor air cleaners is also recommended.
Heading to clean air shelters, which is any large public space that has a lot of recirculated, filtered, cool air like the mall, swimming pool or local library is also a good temporary solution.
