How to Stay Healthy During Wildfires

Wildfires cause a massive harm beyond nature. The smoke usually contains toxic gases, pesticides, solvents, particulate matter (microscopic solid or liquid droplets that can contain hundreds of chemicals), plastics, metals and forever chemicals as a result of burned cars and buildings.

Many chemicals can persist in the air long after the fires have stopped. They can attach to dust particles and move around with wind and inside your home. The majority of these chemicals are odorless.

Wildfire smoke can also contain infectious bacteria and fungi, that can cause disease if they are inhaled.

What to do Before, During and After a Fire

BEFORE A WILDFIRE

Prepare Your Bags

You need to be prepared to leave your home at a short notice if you live in a high risk area, therefore you need to have a 'Go-Bag' ready in advance. If you are not in immediate danger but you still risk smoke exposure, you should have a 'Stay-Bag' ready at home.

Remember to follow instructions of your local authorities.

Respirator Medications (yours and your pets) Daily medications Inhalers Nebulizer (for those with breathing issues) Copies of prescriptions Supplements - to support detoxification and immune support (see below) Copies of important documents: identification, license, insurance and others Key contacts/Information Local resources tracking wildfire risk Outdoor air quality monitoring sites Face masks, pocket tissues, wet wipes Extra clothing, including warm layers Food and water - for 72 hours First Aid Kit (Red Cross basic medical kit)

Respirator Medications (yours and your pets) Daily medications Inhalers Nebulizer (for those with breathing issues) Supplements - to support detoxification and immune support (see below) Extra furnace filters (Merv-13+) Extra filters for indoor air purifiers Painters tape to seal window and door drafts Cardboard to block fireplaces and fans Damp mops and microfiber rags so you can remove dust particles regularly Key contacts/Information Local resources tracking wildfire risk Outdoor air quality monitoring sites Food that doesn’t need to be prepared Indoor Air Quality monitor

National Association of Environmental Medicine

Home Assesment

Find out if your house is airtight. Test the air quality in each room with an indoor air quality monitor that you can buy or borrow. You need to relocate to a safe place if your indoor air quality is not good.

DURING A WILDFIRE

Outdoor Air Quality

Follow instructions of your local authorities to know when it is safe to go outside, even when everything outside looks fine.

Indoor Air Quality

For all homes and offices:

• Close all windows and outside doors and make sure the seals are tight.

  • Seal up outside vents (stove, bathroom, fireplace) with cardboard and tape.

  • Use a high quality air filter in each room.

• Older homes are often less airtight and more wildfire smoke can get inside. You can use a blue painters tape to seal windows and doors to decrease drafts. If it is possible, stay in the room that has less draft and keep the rooms with poor air quality closed.

Air Filters

• If you have central air at home, run on recirculate and use a Merv 13+ furnace filter. The filter needs to be changed often.

• It is advisable to use several free standing air purifiers to swiflty reduce wildfire smoke that gets indoors (make sure that each air purifier has both a HEPA and carbon filter since wildfire smoke usually contains both unhealthy very small particulate matter (2.5pm) and VOCs and other gases).

• Most affordable air filters with HEPA are efficient at removing small particulate matter from wildfire smoke, but medical grade machines contain more carbon in their filters and remove VOCs and other gases faster. Remember that the affordable units’ filters have to be changed at least every 6 months or more often during smoke incidents.

• Typically you need at least one unit for every room and more in places with an open floor plan or rooms that have high ceilings.

• Since air purifiers can be expensive, you can buy the better ones for the rooms where you spend most of your time (living room and bedroom) and less expensive ones for the rest of your house.

Nutritional Support During Smoke Incidents

• Mediterranean diet (vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains, olive oil)

• Organic whole food

• Fish, oils, nuts, and seeds

• Colorful fruits and vegetables

• Broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, berries

• Green tea - 3 cups a day

• Fermented foods

Supplements for Smoke Incidents

Dosing for adults:

• Vitamin C - 1000mg three times a day

• Vitamin E (mixed carotenoids) - up to 800IU daily

• Sulforaphane - 30-50mg/day

• NAC - 1800mg/day Liposomal

• Glutathione - 500mg/day

• Curcumin - dosing dependent on product, usually 2-4 capsules/day

• Quercetin - 500mg twice a day

• Resveratrol - 450mg/day B-complex - 1 in the AM

• EPA/DHA - 1.6g combined Probiotics - dosing dependent on product, usually 1 capsule/day

Please note that the dosages are general, contact your healthcare proffesional for acurate dosages for you.

AFTER A WILDFIRE

Cleaning Your Home After a Smoke Event

• Protect your health

  • Wear NIOSH certified mask or respirator (P100 mask or a properly fitting 3M respirator with 3M 60926 filters) to protect your lungs when you clean your home.

  • Wear gloves, safety goggles, long sleeved shirts, long trousers, shoes with socks to avoid contact with ash.

    • If your skin, eyes or mouth make a contact with ash, wash it off immediately

    • Change and wash your clothes, shower and wash your hair after cleaning

    • Leave outdoor shoes outside

    • You can do nasal rinses with saline

  • Make sure that children and pets stay away from all ash, debris and cleaning.

  • It is not recommended for people with heart or lung diseases, elderly and pregnant women to engage in the cleaning.

• Make sure that your HVAC system is working well, consider an inspection conducted by a professional.

• Use air purifiers suitable for the room size.

• Deep clean

  • Floors, horizontal surfaces and walls should be wet mopped and wiped down with diluted soapy water to avoid releasing the dust into the air.

  • Avoid using chemical cleaners or vinegar becausing they can cause a reaction with chemicals in the ash.

  • Vacuum (with HEPA filter) floors, carpets, rugs, curtains and furniture while wearing a respirator (you can open windows when the air quality outside is safe).

  • It is better to clean rugs and furniture outside when outdoor air has improved.

  • Damp wipe horizontal surfaces after vacuuming.

  • Many VOCs are deeply set within materials and a simple surface cleaning may not be enough.

• Replace smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as they can lose sensitivity when they are exposed to a heavy smoke.

• Avoid bringing outdoor toxicants inside

  • Close your windows when air quality is unhealthy.

  • Don't wear outdoor shoes in the house, clean your dog's paws, clean outdoor spaces with water.

Water Quality

• Since groundwater may be contaminated after a wildfire, you should consider testing your water.

• Use reverse osmosis filtration to remove toxicants from driking and cooking water.

• Use a shower filter or consider a whole house filtration system.

Soil Quality

• Ash and smoke can contaminate the top layer of your soil. Plants can take up these toxicants into their cells, which you will consume when you eat them.

• You can test your soil for toxic metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury), PCBs, asbestos, flame retardants, PFAS and pesticides/herbicides with a specialized laboratory.

• Contact your local public health department for an advise on your soil usage and how much of soil should be removed from the top.