Health effects

County Public Health officials have issued an air quality health advisory because of the heavy smoke in the air throughout Ventura County.

When smoke is in the air, health officials recommend that everybody, even healthy children and adults, avoid strenuous outdoor activity and remain indoors as much as possible. Smoke from wildfires is made up of a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can irritate the eyes and respiratory system and can worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. Children and older adults are more likely to be affected by smoke.

Wildfire smoke can cause coughing, a scratchy throat, irritated sinuses, shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, stinging eyes and a runny nose. It can also exacerbate asthma and heart or lung disease.

If smoke is present:

• Stop any increased activity if you develop a cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, exhaustion, light-headedness, or chest pain.

• Keep doors, windows, heating and air conditioning systems closed when indoors.

• Use table, ceiling and pedestal fans for cooling when possible.

• Avoid window fans.

• If air conditioning is used, choose the recirculation option if possible, because it uses existing indoor air rather than drawing air from outside.

• Bring pets indoors when possible.

People with asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or other respiratory illnesses or heart disease should consult a physician immediately if they experience chest pain or discomfort, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath or inability to breathe normally, fatigue, coughing or wheezing.

Other tips for those suffering asthma and other respiratory conditions include:

• Relocate to an area where there is no smoke.

• Make sure your medication is up to date, carry an inhaler or other rescue medication with you at all times, and have at least a five-day supply of medication on hand.

• Call your doctor if symptoms worsen.

Sources: Ventura County Public Health Department, Centers for Disease Control

About the only way to avoid the thick, brown smoke that has been blanketing Ventura County over the past few days is to stay inside and avoid strenuous activity, health officials said Tuesday.

The wildfire smoke can pose a significant health risk to people, particularly children, the elderly and those with respiratory or heart conditions. Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin issued an air quality health advisory Monday warning everyone, including healthy adults and children, to stay indoors as much as possible while the smoke lingers.

Several local hospitals and health clinics reported seeing handfuls of cases of asthma and other problems related to the fires over the past few days.

Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks treated several elderly people being brought in from local care homes because of respiratory problems. St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo each reported a slight increase in cases of exacerbations of existing lung conditions such as asthma, as well as general difficulty breathing because of the smoke. Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura saw just a couple of cases.

About 20 percent of the children coming in to the Mandalay Bay Women and Children's Clinic in Oxnard on Monday and Tuesday were there because of asthma or allergies aggravated by the smoky conditions, said Dr. Michelle Laba, a pediatrician and medical director at the Ventura County Health Care Agency clinic in Oxnard.

"This is a time of year when we are seeing an increase in allergies and asthma anyway," Laba said. "The winds will kick around dust and smoke, and it will serve as a trigger for a child with asthma or underlying lung disease."

Parents of children with asthma should make sure they have rescue medicine such as inhalers on hand, Laba said, and watch for signs of breathing difficulty. That could include rapid or harder-than-usual breathing, wheezing or using other muscles to help with breathing, such as the muscles between the ribs, Laba said.

Consult with a physician if the child's medication does not seem to provide any relief after 20 minutes, if the child needs it more often than every four hours or for more than one day, or if coughing fits continue even while the medicine is in use, Laba said.

The high temperatures and extremely low humidity also can cause dehydration and nosebleeds or exacerbate conditions such as eczema, said pediatrician Heather Nichols. Nichols, who practices at the Health Care Agency's Santa Paula West Clinic, was on call over the weekend and through Monday and saw several cases related to the fire and weather conditions.

"I got two or three nosebleeds and multiple asthma calls," she said. Vaseline can be used to help moisten the nose and keep it from drying out and causing a bleed, she said. To prevent dehydration, water is best. And humidifiers can be used to help moisten indoor air. Otherwise, the best advice Nichols can give is to stay indoors.

"In general, if you don't need to be outside, don't," she said. "It's just generally better to stay inside."

Los Angeles County health officials are warning people to stay out of the ocean waters in the Malibu area after they received unconfirmed reports that sewage treatment stations in the Malibu fire area had been rendered inoperable. No sewage discharges had been reported on Tuesday.