This is fire season for us in California. Many of our clients, especially on the West Coast and Colorado are suffering from smoke from the wildfires. What can we do to cope with smoke exposure and other environmental hazards? 

Wildfire smoke is not just the product of burning trees, since so many manmade structures (buildings and furnishings) are also being consumed in the process, producing a toxic cocktail of pollutants, including: particles, plastics, PCBs, asbestos, toxic metals, perfluorinated compounds, herbicides/pesticides, toxic gasses and solvents, etc. 

Exposure to smoke results in increased visits to emergency rooms and doctor’s office visits with respiratory problems, including: infections, asthma, allergy-related symptoms, chest pain and COPD. Fine particles are respiratory irritants; they cause phlegm, wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing. They also complicate the body’s ability to remove inhaled foreign materials, such as bacteria and pollen, from the lungs. In addition to the physical effects of smoke, this stressful event can cause emotional distress. 

So what can help? Homeopathic remedies help with both physical and emotional support, to help the body get rid of the environmental toxins with drainage and detox remedies. We can test you for remedies that are specific to your situation. For general support, the anti-histamine homeopathic, Histamine 30C, can be purchased locally or through our office. More immediate things would be to increase your vitamin C intake -- vitamin C is a natural anti-histamine, or to take a Quercetin supplement -- also a natural anti-histamine. One of my personal favorites for anything lung related is N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC). It helps with lung congestion and we use it as part of our flu protocol.

Another consideration is to be sure to have a good quality air filtration system for the home. We recently purchased an Air Doctor filter unit and highly recommend it. 

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