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Respiratory health is vital to fight off COVID-19. Here’s how to keep your lungs healthy on low-quality air days.

Chicago Tribune - 7/13/2020

In the midst of a pandemic that affects the respiratory system, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified Chicago’s air quality for the first nine days of July as “unhealthy” or “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” With more days of poor air quality on the horizon, experts say it’s important to remember that healthy lungs can help fend off COVID-19.

“If your respiratory system -- your nose, esophagus, lungs -- aren’t healthy, you can’t fight against the pandemic. And you need everything you have to fight against COVID-19,” said Angela Tin, national senior director of the American Lung Association.

Tin said poor air quality is common this time of year. A combination of heat, sunshine, “combustion material from tailpipes” and industrial emissions creates ozone, which has short- and long-term effects on lung health, she said.

Short-term effects include symptoms like coughing, wheezing, choking, asthma or finding it difficult to breathe. In the long term, exposure to polluted air can cause cancer and COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“The American Lung Association has a saying that goes: ‘When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,‘” Tin said. “It’s more important right now than ever because the virus is attacking the lungs.”

The body can’t fight off COVID-19 without the “tools” to do so, she continued.

The EPA’s Air Quality Index labels days with a certain level of air pollution “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” These groups include older adults, children and those with heart or lung disease. But Tin said it’s not just those with compromised lung function who are vulnerable to air pollution or COVID-19.

Tin said young people breathe at a faster rate than older people, meaning they take in more pollutants.

“In the early days of the pandemic, the effects were on the elderly, and it made sense because they have decreased (lung) function,” Tin said. “Then, later on, we found out it’s affecting healthy, young people.”

To protect yourself from air pollution, especially on days labeled “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or “unhealthy,” Tin said to stay indoors if possible.

On days with high levels of air pollution, the American Lung Association said to avoid outdoor exercise, especially near areas with high car traffic or industrial emissions. The organization also recommends checking local air quality forecasts.

According to Tin, there are also measures people can take to lessen the amount of ozone in the air on hot days. She said to take public transportation or bike instead of driving. If you do drive, don’t fill up at the gas station in the afternoon heat; wait for the cooler evening. Minimize the use of anything that combusts petroleum, Tin said, even yard care tools like weed-whackers and lawn mowers.

The cloth mask or other face covering you wear to prevent the spread of COVID-19 won’t protect you against air pollution. While properly fitted masks will mitigate the spread of the virus, air pollution is small enough to pass through, Tin said.

Larger particles like dust can be filtered out with a mask. “But unless you have an industrial mask or respirator made just for air pollution, generally the mask will not work for air pollution,” Tin said. “It will work for the virus.”

lleazenby@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @leazenby_lauren

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