Smog, shmog. Exercising outdoors is a way of life in Southern California, and die-hard runners, walkers, cyclists and skaters aren't going to let a brown layer of air stop them.
But maybe they should. The Southland is heading into its roughest air quality season, when heat, sun, air pollution and smoke from wildfires can cause lung irritation and shortness of breath in even healthy people. Northern California is in the throes of several wildfires that are sending plumes of smoke into the atmosphere, and Southern California has already racked up a few fires, with more likely.
Sure, the South Coast Air Quality Management District offers a daily air quality index available online and in this newspaper, and usually broadcast in television weather reports, but not everyone heeds the agency's advice to stop exercising vigorously outdoors when pollution levels reach "unhealthy." Smog season, according to the agency, spans from May 1 to Oct. 31.
"I think the public needs a little better education about the seriousness of the potential effects," says Dr. John Balmes, professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and a spokesman for the American Lung Assn. of California.
Those effects, which can include coughing, a burning sensation in the lungs and shortness of breath, come from inhaling various particles from smoke and exhaust that make lung tissues swell and airway passages narrow. Brisk exercise exacerbates the effects (when and how severe those are vary from person to person). Because muscles need more oxygen to work, breathing rates increase by about seven times, Balmes says. As a result, the lungs take in and expel double to triple the normal amount of air -- dramatically increasing their exposure to pollutants, says Richard Ford, director of respiratory services at the UC San Diego Medical Center.
This can be especially dangerous for people with coronary artery disease. "Bad things in the air impact the pulmonary system," Ford says. "The only way the body can compensate for lung damage is to increase the heart rate, which means the heart has to work harder." More stress on the heart could result in a heart attack.
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Toxic particles
