People living with asthma, respiratory and heart conditions are being urged to take extra precautions following recent fires which have caused smoke to drift across communities in the region.
The NHS is reminding people that smoke from fires is not simply an unpleasant smell, it can affect your health and for people with existing breathing problems, can potentially cause a serious worsening of their condition.
Dr Arvind Rajasekaran, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust said: “While symptoms will be temporary for most people, anyone whose symptoms persist or become worse should seek medical advice. Smoke can be particularly difficult for people who already live with conditions such as asthma, COPD, and heart conditions including heart failure. The important thing is to know what is normal for you and recognise when something has changed.
“If you are a little more wheezy or breathless than usual, get away from the smoke, take your medication as prescribed and monitor your symptoms closely. If you have been given an Asthma Action Plan, please follow it. If the symptoms are not settling, or you are finding that you need your inhaler much more often than you normally would, seek advice from your GP or NHS 111.
“For most people, cough and throat irritation and breathing problems improves when exposure to smoke stops. However, do not assume worsening breathing is simply a temporary effect of the smoke.
“There is a point at which people should not wait to see if things improve. If you are seriously struggling to breathe, cannot speak properly because you are so breathless, your lips or skin are changing colour, you become confused, or your asthma medication is not helping during an attack, that is an emergency, and you should call 999. We would rather people recognise those warning signs and seek urgent help than remain at home with a potentially serious deterioration in their breathing.”
Smoke can contain a mixture of gases and very small particles which can travel deep into the lungs. Exposure can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and airways, causing symptoms including coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and chest discomfort. It can also worsen existing lung and heart conditions.
Contact your GP or NHS 111 if:
- your coughing, wheezing or breathlessness is noticeably worse than usual and is not settling
- you are needing to use your reliever medication more frequently than normal
- your usual medication is not controlling your symptoms as well as it normally does
- you have a persistent tight chest, increased coughing or a significant change in your usual respiratory symptoms
- symptoms continue after you are no longer exposed to the smoke.
Call 999 or go to A&E immediately if the patient is seriously struggling to breathe, including:
- gasping, choking or unable to get words out because of breathlessness
- breathing becoming rapidly worse
- chest feels tight or heavy, particularly with chest pain
- lips or skin are becoming very pale, blue or grey
- sudden confusion, very drowsy or difficult to wake
- an asthma attack is getting worse or does not improve after taking the maximum dose of prescribed reliever inhaler (Blue) in line with individual asthma action plan. For those who do not have a specific asthma action plan, the NHS recommends 1 puff every 30 to 60 seconds until feeling better, up to a maximum of 10 puffs. Shake the inhaler between each puff and use a spacer with the inhaler if available.