Haze diffusion without the west building, mask show, lonely capital city deep fog lock clear autumn! In recent days, the air pollution alarm has been sounded again, with PM2.5 frequently exploding. Under the continuous haze, the impact is not only visibility decline and traffic congestion, not only to make people depressed, but more importantly, a real threat to the health of the population.
The most harmful of the haze is respirable lung particulate matter (PM2.5). Generally speaking, particles with a particle size of 10 microns or more will be blocked outside the human nose; particles between 2.5 microns and 10 microns can enter the upper respiratory tract, but some can be discharged through sputum, etc., while particles smaller than 2.5 microns, less than 1/20 of the diameter of a hair, can be inhaled through the mouth and nose into the respiratory tract after a long drive, straight to the fine bronchi and alveoli, and finally can also enter the Blood. The inhalation of particulate matter first causes acute irritation of the respiratory tract, such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, irritating cough and other diseases, and may lead to the onset of asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Particulate matter inhaled into the alveoli and blood can cause irreversible damage if stimulated for a long time, which can lead to an increase in malignant tumors such as lung cancer, an increase in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, and an increase in the mortality rate of the population! In the face of hazy weather, how can we help ourselves?
First, reduce going out, doors and windows closed, reasonable ventilation
In hazy weather, outdoor air pollution has been extremely serious. You should reduce going out and outdoor exercise as much as possible. Outdoor tours, morning exercises, outdoor sports classes or competitions should be cancelled or switched to indoor. If you run or ride a bicycle in hazy weather, you will undoubtedly inhale more particles, which will easily induce bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory diseases. Staying indoors should also close the windows and doors. If you open the windows in hazy weather, it will lead to an increase in the concentration of particulate matter indoors, and the air quality will become even worse. Therefore, try not to open windows on heavy haze days. When driving on the road, you should also close the windows and not roll them down on hazy days or when there are more vehicles around.
If the haze is not particularly severe, you can avoid the morning and evening rush to open the windows for ventilation. The frequency and number of motor vehicles are also the highest at these two times, when the exhaust pollution in the air reaches its most serious point. The best time to open the windows is at noon, and the time should not be too long. Noon due to the rise in temperature, and thus the convection of the upper and lower air is significantly strengthened, the haze near the ground at this moment will be part of the diffusion to the upper atmosphere, pollution moderate reduction.
Second, the necessary travel companion: scientific wear masks
In the face of haze and other air pollution, the mask is the most convenient basic protection measures, is the protection of air pollution when the conventional weapons. However, there are many kinds of masks on the market today, how should we select them? The function of several common types of masks for a light analysis.
1, ordinary warm mask: this type of mask is often composed of several layers of cotton cloth, lined with cotton wool. This type of mask usually only has the role of warmth, can block larger particles of dust, but for respirable particles almost no protection.
2, disposable medical masks: medical masks are made up of a mask body and a tensioning belt with an adjustable nose clip. Made of non-woven fabric and polypropylene fiber meltblown material, the mask body is divided into outer, middle and inner three layers, which play the role of splash-proof, filtering and moisture-proof in turn. This high-efficiency medical mask is hydrophobic and breathable, comfortable to wear, can filter viral aerosols and harmful micro-dust, and protect the mask wearer and the patient through sneezing, talking through the air droplet transmission of disease. Disposable masks medical can block particles above PM4, but can not protect against smaller particles, not suitable for heavy pollution weather out wearing.
3, skimmed gauze mask: using 12-24 layers of skimmed gauze folded and sewn, with cheap, soft, warm, breathable, reusable advantages, suitable for general health protection use. The mask is made of layers of gauze to block particles, but the blocking effect is poor, and there is no requirement for its particle filtration rate in the national standard, so it is not realistic to turn away PM2.5 by wearing this mask.
4, N95: Because this mask often comes with a breathing valve device, so it is commonly known as “piggy mouth” mask, which was widely used by medical personnel during SARS. “N95” is the earliest standard proposed by the U.S. Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), with 0.3 micron particles for testing, the blocking rate must reach 95% or more. It can be used for occupational respiratory protection, including certain microbial particles (such as viruses, bacteria, mycobacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Bacillus anthracis, etc.). The N95 mask is undoubtedly the best filtering protection among common masks, but its wearing breathability and comfort are not good, and the breathing resistance after wearing is large, so it is not suitable for elderly people with chronic respiratory diseases and heart failure to wear it for a long time to avoid breathing difficulties. In order not to cause breathing difficulties. In addition, it should be noted that N95 masks can not be washed, once used after the effective use period of 40 hours or 1 month.
5, KN90 mask: also as a professional protective mask, KN90 mask can be called a small sister of N95. In the protection ability test KN90 mask to 2.5 micron particles below the capture ability of more than 90%. Compared with N95, the comfort of KN90 mask is relatively better, and you will still feel some stuffiness when breathing, but it will not affect too much for outdoor travel.
When wearing N95 and similar protective masks, we should pay attention to the fact that we must pinch the nose clip and tighten the jaw after tying the lacing, so that the mask and the face fit closely together, so that the particles in the air are not sucked into the body through the gap between the mask and the face and lose the protective effect.
Simply put, when we select a mask, we should start from the following principles to select a suitable mask for ourselves: First, we should fully consider the weather pollution situation and select a suitable mask in a targeted manner, such as heavy pollution weather can consider N95, while only light pollution can choose medical masks and so on. Secondly, we should choose the mask according to the physical condition of the wearer. Some masks have a high blocking rate for particles, but they often make people feel difficult to breathe when wearing them. Once again, there is the price and quality of the mask to consider. There are many masks on the market that claim to be N95, but in fact have not undergone any identification. For the sake of safety, it is more reliable to buy mature products from well-known medical equipment companies.
Three, cover tightly, wash diligently, protect the skin
In addition to reducing the inhalation of particles through masks and other protection, skin protection is also necessary. Haze particles have more toxic substances and carcinogens, such as sulfur dioxide, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, microorganisms, etc.. In hazy weather activities or work for a day, the head, face and neck exposed skin in the particulate matter environment will be part of the particles attached to the skin mucosa. It can also cause harm to human health. Therefore, in addition to masks, but also by wearing hats, headscarves, scarves, etc. to minimize the exposure of the skin, the beauty of the ladies should also be short skirts, shorts to long clothing. When you come back to the room, you can wash your face and neck and bare skin. It is best to use lukewarm water when washing, and you can use a cleansing milk with appropriate cleansing effect to effectively remove the haze particles attached to the skin. In addition to washing your face, you can also wash your mouth and nose. The nose is uncomfortable, you can blow the nose and other secretions, and then use warm water to clean the nasal cavity several times.
Four, not superstitious food therapy
There are many folk sayings about food therapy against haze, such as black fungus, pig’s blood, etc., saying that these two foods can clear the lungs and remove dust from the respiratory tract. In fact, although black fungus and pig’s blood both have certain antioxidant effects, there is no scientific basis for the claim that these two foods can clear the lungs and clear dust. The degree of haze damage to the body depends mainly on its haze concentration, the length of exposure to haze and the body’s own sensitivity to particulate matter. Trying to reduce or remove the haze that has been inhaled and reduce haze damage to the body through dietary therapy is equivalent to mending the fold. To deal with the haze should also be the first protection.
On hazy days, we should pay attention to drinking more water and taking proper rest in our diet in order to improve the body’s immunity. In hazy days, due to more particulate matter in the air, sunlight hours are correspondingly reduced and UV radiation is insufficient. People such as pregnant women, the elderly and children should pay attention to calcium supplementation and can eat more fish, ribs and other foods that are relatively high in calcium. In autumn and winter haze weather, the air will be dry, you can properly eat some food to clear heat and moisten the throat, such as pears, lilies, oranges, lotus root, water chestnuts, etc.. You can also boil water with Chuanbei, snow pear, lily of the valley, silver fungus and rock sugar, or make tea with honeysuckle and chrysanthemum to drink. These foods are not able to remove PM2.5, but can improve the throat and respiratory tract to a certain extent, such as dry itchy pain and other uncomfortable symptoms.
Five, air purifiers, indoor breathing dream?
In the case of increased outdoor air pollution, people began to improve the breathing environment by extending indoor living time and clean indoor air. At present, air purifiers, fresh air systems, etc. have a certain effect on the purification of indoor air. Air purifiers can adsorb, decompose and transform air pollutants, which include dust particles including PM2.5, PM10, bacteria, allergens and even formaldehyde, etc., to improve the cleanliness of indoor air by continuously separating and removing pollutants.
When purchasing an air purifier, you should purchase products from regular companies that have undergone scientific testing. Pay attention to consider the purification capacity of the air purifier. An air purifier can only solve the problem of air pollution in a limited indoor space. Air purifier two necessary hard indicators: the higher the purification efficiency, the greater the output of pure air, the better the continuous removal of indoor pollutants. If the room is larger, you should choose an air purifier with a larger purification air volume per unit time. When buying an air purifier, it should be selected in a targeted manner according to the size of the space to be used. The service life of the purifier should also be considered. As the use of filtration, adsorption, catalytic principle of the purifier with the increase in use time, the device filter bile tends to saturate, the device’s purification capacity decreases, the need to clean, replace the filter and filter bile, but also to choose the ability to regenerate the purification filter bile.
Six, which are haze sensitive people?
In hazy weather, special groups such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly and patients with chronic respiratory diseases should pay special attention to protection than ordinary people.
Pregnant women have a significantly higher demand for oxygen compared to non-pregnant people, and they dare not use drugs easily during pregnancy, so they should be well protected from air pollution, avoid harmful particle inhalation, and prevent pharyngitis, bronchitis and respiratory infections caused by particle stimulation of the respiratory tract.
Children’s bodies are developing, the immune system is fragile, vulnerable to the hazards of air pollution, resulting in a decline in immunity, physical development is delayed, increasing the incidence of asthma in children.
Older people’s body functions decline, often a variety of chronic diseases. Air pollution not only causes bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases in the elderly, but also induces hypertension, heart disease, cerebral hemorrhage and other cardiovascular diseases.
Patients with heart and lung diseases in polluted air can induce respiratory or heart disease aggravation, especially patients with rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, emphysema, heart failure, coronary heart disease and other diseases.
Such people should be well protected. The elderly, children, pregnant women, and people with chronic heart and lung diseases should go out less and wear masks to avoid irritation of the respiratory tract of the mouth and nose by particulate matter as well as to prevent the invasion of pathogens.
Regardless of whether they are sensitive people or not, if symptoms such as severe sore throat, fever, cough, thick sputum, wheezing and chest tightness are found, it is best to seek medical consultation and early treatment.