Air quality, am I paranoid?

[Anonymous]

In my area of Michigan, it’s been bad air quality the past few days with the Canadian wildfires. You can even see the smoke. Despite this, I see people dining outside, walking with babies to get donuts, and letting their kids bike all day. In Chicago there is a music festival and thousands of people are there outside all day. I had to run an errand yesterday and this morning and my chest and eyes hurt just from that. I’m not letting kids go out. Am I paranoid or are other people the crazy ones? Air quality was 200 and is around 130 now. Yesterday I saw an older woman jogging, far away from any homes.

[Anonymous]

They are being stupid. You do what you have to do to protect yourself and your family. I'd keep them inside as much as possible.

[Anonymous]

You are right, they are wrong. My kids have asthma and I am always very aware of air quality. Even for otherwise healthy people, it's well-known that air pollution over time reduces longevity. It's just that most people are not aware of how careful they need to be. It's like for skin cancer, and how most people don't care about tanning casually while out and about.

[Anonymous]

200 I would try to avoid being outside. 130 is less concerning but I probably would try to avoid exercise.

[Anonymous]

You’re being smart. I live in an area that often has wildfire smoke, but have been fortunate this summer. When my kids were young, we’d stay inside or try to go out only when the smoke wasn’t as bad. We’d do things like got to the indoor pool or the indoor play place instead of our normal outside activities. As they have gotten older, fewer outside activities cancel practice, so it’s harder to avoid.

[Anonymous]

Wear an n95 mask outside and try and stay inside. Do not exercise outside!

Those people you see are idiots. That damage to their body is cumulative.

[Anonymous]

They’re enjoying their life. Stay inside if you’re paranoid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They’re enjoying their life. Stay inside if you’re paranoid

I guess you can say the same for smokers, druggies, alcoholics,...etc. They are "enjoying" their life.

[Anonymous]

We live on the west coast where this is an annual thing. 130, not a big deal. High 100s especially for multiple days and we start to be careful. At a certain point our pool and beach closes because the lifeguards can’t focus safely. My kid’s indoor sport has been cancelled because they rely on rolling up huge garage doors for temperature control in the summer but during smoke season the haze is so bad some years that you can’t see across the building indoors.

My personal rule is that if you feel tightness in your chest or are randomly coughing, it’s time to be an indoor cat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live on the west coast where this is an annual thing. 130, not a big deal. High 100s especially for multiple days and we start to be careful. At a certain point our pool and beach closes because the lifeguards can’t focus safely. My kid’s indoor sport has been cancelled because they rely on rolling up huge garage doors for temperature control in the summer but during smoke season the haze is so bad some years that you can’t see across the building indoors.

My personal rule is that if you feel tightness in your chest or are randomly coughing, it’s time to be an indoor cat.

By the time you feel symptoms, it's too late in terms of cumulative oxidative damage to your cells. Don't do that too often. You need to prevent, not treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live on the west coast where this is an annual thing. 130, not a big deal. High 100s especially for multiple days and we start to be careful. At a certain point our pool and beach closes because the lifeguards can’t focus safely. My kid’s indoor sport has been cancelled because they rely on rolling up huge garage doors for temperature control in the summer but during smoke season the haze is so bad some years that you can’t see across the building indoors.

My personal rule is that if you feel tightness in your chest or are randomly coughing, it’s time to be an indoor cat.

This is what I mean. Nothing at all is being cancelled even in 150-200+ AQI. The library had a big Back to School kick off in the smoke, and two towns over there is an outdoor carnival going on all weekend. Our town has an art festival today. Camps are continuing as they have all summer and I don’t see kids moving indoors. It really just feels like me holing up at home, making my family hole up at home, and wear masks on errands, while everyone else from toddlers to the elderly look at us like we are crazy. I see the air quality warnings from the government… why does it seem like I’m the only one who seems them? Is it different in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on the west coast where this is an annual thing. 130, not a big deal. High 100s especially for multiple days and we start to be careful. At a certain point our pool and beach closes because the lifeguards can’t focus safely. My kid’s indoor sport has been cancelled because they rely on rolling up huge garage doors for temperature control in the summer but during smoke season the haze is so bad some years that you can’t see across the building indoors.

My personal rule is that if you feel tightness in your chest or are randomly coughing, it’s time to be an indoor cat.

This is what I mean. Nothing at all is being cancelled even in 150-200+ AQI. The library had a big Back to School kick off in the smoke, and two towns over there is an outdoor carnival going on all weekend. Our town has an art festival today. Camps are continuing as they have all summer and I don’t see kids moving indoors. It really just feels like me holing up at home, making my family hole up at home, and wear masks on errands, while everyone else from toddlers to the elderly look at us like we are crazy. I see the air quality warnings from the government… why does it seem like I’m the only one who seems them? Is it different in DC?

Because people are fools. Didn’t you realize that during covid? Cancer and breathing problems is hell. Don’t take chances with your lungs. Nothing is worth it. DC doesn’t have that level of smoke right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on the west coast where this is an annual thing. 130, not a big deal. High 100s especially for multiple days and we start to be careful. At a certain point our pool and beach closes because the lifeguards can’t focus safely. My kid’s indoor sport has been cancelled because they rely on rolling up huge garage doors for temperature control in the summer but during smoke season the haze is so bad some years that you can’t see across the building indoors.

My personal rule is that if you feel tightness in your chest or are randomly coughing, it’s time to be an indoor cat.

This is what I mean. Nothing at all is being cancelled even in 150-200+ AQI. The library had a big Back to School kick off in the smoke, and two towns over there is an outdoor carnival going on all weekend. Our town has an art festival today. Camps are continuing as they have all summer and I don’t see kids moving indoors. It really just feels like me holing up at home, making my family hole up at home, and wear masks on errands, while everyone else from toddlers to the elderly look at us like we are crazy. I see the air quality warnings from the government… why does it seem like I’m the only one who seems them? Is it different in DC?

Because people are fools. Didn’t you realize that during covid? Cancer and breathing problems is hell. Don’t take chances with your lungs. Nothing is worth it. DC doesn’t have that level of smoke right now.

Ridiculous.

OP, I am in Michigan right now and it’s absolutely gorgeous weather. You are insane to stay inside this weekend.

[Anonymous]

I used to huff burnfires in Iraq and set trenches if human shit in fire and breathed that in as well and I'm fine

[Anonymous]

it's the accumulative damage to your lung over time that you need to worry about. Once or twice time to time is fine. But you don't want to keep exposing your lungs to dirty air all the time. It's as dumb as it gets.