california fires are causing a run on face masks. warning: flat blue masks won't work - the air purifier

NAPA, Calif. —
Home Depot masks are sold out, people sleeping in shelters are wearing headscarves on their faces, and residents cough and hack even 50 miles from a fire in northern California as smoke covers the area.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality index in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and surrounding areas of the fire is expected to reach 158 on Friday, nearly five times as safe as it is considered.
This is the same level found in heavily polluted Beijing, where the United States measured between 158 and 165 on Friday. S. embassy there. "The federal (safe)
The standard is 35, "said John barms, professor of medicine at the University of California --
San Francisco expert in environmental sanitation.
Residents who signed up for the local authority alert were threatened by air quality health consultation and backupthe-Air alerts.
The school canceled breaks between classes, the team cut physical exercise, and parents were notified that football and football matches may not be held on weekends.
Since the fire started on Monday morning, air quality levels have been in the range of "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy" and it is expected that air quality levels will remain poor as long as the fire continues.
Wind and geography mean smog-
The affected areas are far beyond the towns where fires are burning, and millions of people have been hurt.
"It's smoke, it's particulate matter, it's even toxins from burning plastic and houses.
They all have very annoying qualities.
Catherine Forest, a doctor and environmental toxin expert at Stanford Healthcare in Palo Alto, California, said: "People will have tingling eyes, breathing difficulties, scratching their throat and runny nose . "
MORE: The California fire generated as much pollution in two days as all the cars in the state produced in more than a year: the wine country fire forced the Oakland Raiders to change the practice. angrily, the winery faced the cost of burning grapes, displaced workers and rebuilding the small particulate matter reported near the fire, places south of San Francisco have pre-
Existing heart and lung diseases such as asthma, chronic pulmonary disease (
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
And any kind of heart attack.
The best advice, says Forest, is to simply stay indoors, close the windows and set the air conditioner or heater to recycle air.
"Don't go out if you can avoid it, and don't exercise if you can avoid it.
"Leave the elderly, children and anyone with heart or lung disease at home," she said . ".
But for thousands of people who have to do their day-to-day work, not to mention the thousands of people in the fire area, this is advice that cannot be followed.
The best thing to do is to wear a mask, not just a mask.
But it must be OSHA-
Approved n95 particulate filter mask.
Not an apartment Hospital-
People wear masks sometimes.
"Those are worse than useless because they give you a false sense of security," said the forest, and do not filter out the most dangerous small particles.
N95 masks in the Bay Area have been in short supply due to the fire.
Home Depot in Fairfield, California
A fire is burning in the north of the town, and some areas are being evacuated for surveillance, with a steady stream of customers coming in to look for masks.
But the shelf is empty.
A man asked the staff at Home Depot if there was anything left, and when he was told he didn't, he asked if he could buy the one hanging around the staff neck.
"You are not the first person to offer this kind of service," said the staff, who refused to sell both masks and his own name.
Supply hardware in an orchard in Berkeley, California
A woman answered the phone, "Good Morning, Orchard Supply, all our masks are sold out, how can I help you?
"The store is preparing masks for a truck.
Also in Berkeley, Johnston Medical is one of the few shops that still have masks recommended by CDC.
The shop assistants rushed to help shoppers find masks in the things they picked. over boxes.
After receiving another call, one clerk turned to the other: "Guess what they want?
"Unlike other eras, empty shelves are just very localized," says Balmes.
During the global SARS outbreak in 2012, there was a serious global shortage.
"The Chinese bought them all," Balmes said . ".
When people find masks, there are tips to make them as effective as possible.
The first is the right size.
While hardware stores typically only sell large-size masks, they actually have three sizes, small to medium and large.
Experts suggest trying to provide better medical supply stories for women and children in smaller sizes.
Then bend the flexible metal strip at the top of the mask so that it fits the curve of the nose to tighten as much as possible.
"They have to be sealed like snorkeling masks," Balmes said . ".
In cities like Beijing and Shanghai, people usually wear these masks, where residents live in dangerous conditions most of the year.
By Thursday, they have become regulars on the streets of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino.
The best advice for those sitting in the car is to keep the windows rolled up and re-cycle the air system instead of letting fresh air in from the outside.
"You can run the heater or air conditioner as long as you recycle it," Balmes said . ".
Overall, bad air quality should not pose a long-term threat to healthy people, as long as it does not last for more than a few days, experts said.
Healthy lungs are very self-
Clean up, said the forest.
They have mucus-coated, hair-
Like a projection called eyelashes.
The mucus captures the tiny particles we breathe, and then the fluctuating, beating motion of cillium moves them up and out.
"It's kind of like an escalator.
It takes it out of your lungs and you either swallow it or cough it out.
Or no problem, "she said.
Another option is to run the household air filter.
As long as it has a HEPA (
High Efficiency Particulate Air)
The filter can capture most of the fine particles defined as 2, although not all fine particles.
The diameter is less than or equal to 5 microns, which stimulates the lungs.
"They are too small for you to see them, but they will make you cough," Baumes said . ".
The trick for the HEPA filter, says Forest, is to replace the filter.
"You can't buy them without installing new filters and run them forever, or they end up doing nothing," says Forest . ".
Contributor: Jessica Gunn from Berkeley, California