Are you in danger when in bad air? Are your lungs at risk? Can polluted air have a negative effect on your body?
The knowledge and understanding of air quality is so important. Bad air, poor air quality, and air pollution, can and does have an effect on your health.
Before we learn about how air quality can harm us, we must first understand what it is, and how to distinguish at what levels it becomes unsafe.
What is air pollution/air quality?
air quality n.
A measurement of the pollutants in the air; a description of the healthiness and safety of the atmosphere.
air pollution n.
Contamination of air by smoke and harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen.
We can’t always just judge air quality by sight; often air pollution is worse than we realize, like in summer on nice days when we would least expect it. Thanks to the guys at myairhealth.com, we can always know the quality of the air around us. They invented the myAir app, which monitors your local air quality and calculates a score on a scale of healthy to unhealthy, and can be customized to give you your personalized safe exposure levels and limits for outdoor activity.
Who’s at risk in bad air pollution and low air quality?
“If you have lungs, you are at risk when inhaling bad air”
Although poor air quality affects everyone adversely, there are those who are at an even higher risk due to specific individual conditions. These people at greatest risk include, but are not limited to, the following:
Infants, children under the age of around 14, and the elderly above the age of 65, people with lung diseases such as asthma, or those with chronic bronchitis or emphysema, heart disease or diabetes, pregnant women, and those who are active outdoors, whether that be recreational, workers, or athletics.
Effects & symptoms of bad air
Long-term exposure to bad/polluted air can contribute to permanent health effects on the participant:
- Accelerated aging of the lungs
- Loss of lung capacity
- Decreased lung function
- Development of diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer
- Shortened life span
Some temporary symptoms of exposure to poor air quality are:
- Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat
- Coughing
- Chest tightness
- Shortness of breath
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should immediately check local air quality on your myAir app to make sure it’s safe for you.
Don’t put yourself at risk anymore! Your lungs, body, and loved ones will thank you for it. Remember even for healthy people polluted air can, and does, negatively affect the body.
Know the quality of the air around you at all times, and your personal limits for exposure on bad air days. If you haven’t already, download the myAir app and breathe easier!