* PM2.5 is a tiny particle suspended in the air.

* It is present in hot, dry, and polluted environments.

* When inhaled, PM2.5 triggers inflammation in bronchi, driving bronchospasm and asthma attacks.

* How do you protect yourself?

PM2.5: This Tiny Particle

Is A Big Asthma Problem!

You have asthma.  You go to work, drive with the windows down, walk outside, or perhaps even run or bicycle outside on a hot smoky or dusty day.  Next thing you know, your chest is tight, you are coughing, and you can feel that you are wheezing.  What happened?  There’s a pretty good chance the trigger is something called PM2.5.

Time to learn about PM2.5! Where does it come from, how it moves, and why does it make your asthma go crazy?

What Is PM2.5?

PM2.5 is Particulate Matter that is smaller than 2.5 micrometers. It a very small particle,  1/30 the diameter of a human hair!  Particles this small are invisible to your eyes but there is one organ that is very good a deteting them:  Your lungs!

Particles this small stay suspended in the air and when inhaled, move down your trachea, bronchi, all the way to your alveoli, and even into your blood stream!  Not good!  But if you have asthma lungs that are queued up for bronchospasm, this can be really bad.

What is the source of PM2.5?

PM2.5 is generated in many ways including:

• Car and truck exhaust
• Motor vehicle tire wear
• Factories and power plants
• Fires (like wildfires, campfires, and even fireplaces at home)
• Construction sites (dust and debris)
• Cigarette and vape smoke
• Burning garbage

We now know cooking (especially frying or grilling) can also generate PM2.5, right in your kitchen or on the patio!  Oh brother!

There are some natural, non-man-made sources of  PM2.5 such as volcanoes or dust storms but most is created by human processes.

Spreading PM2.5.

The size and lightness of PM2.5 particles allows them to easily float in the air, setting them up for many miles of movement on the wind.  That means you could be miles from where the PM2.5 particles are being generated and still have an effect on your breathing!

Even non-wind climate conditions can worsen the reaction to PM2.5.  Hot, dry conditions allow PM2.5 to accumulate to high levels, reducing air quality and in cities in particular, leads to air quality alerts for people with asthma and other lung conditions.

Asthma and PM2.5: Not a good mix!

PM2.5 creates several problems in the airways and lungs of people with asthma:

• Irritation: Generally, asthma causes bronchi and bronchioles (breathing tubes) and you’re your lungs to be very sensitive to irritants of any kind. The size of PM2.5 particles makes them particularly good at stimulating irritation of airways.  In this way, they act as a trigger for airway constriction.  Even if you are taking daily medicine to reduce trigger effects, PM2.5 can overwhelm these medicine and next thing you know:  you will cough, wheeze, or feel short of breath.
• Inflammation: As you know in your study of asthma, it is a disease of heightened inflammation in your airways. When PM2.5 lands on the lining of your airways, it stimulates a reaction that does what you need least: More inflammation.  And that’s true even when you are taking a daily controller medicine aimed to control inflammation.
• Long-term damage: Here is where we are learning the most of long-term asthma effects. Through its trigger and inflammation effects, PM2.5 can drive irreversible damage in your airways, progressively destroying the ability of the lungs to move oxygen.  Next thing you know, you’ll have emphysema with your asthma!

Asthma sufferers and those with established lung disease aren’t the only ones affected.  Even healthy people experience airway problems when exposed to PM2.5.

Protecting Your Lungs?

PM2.5 is everywhere, worse in cities, and worse in hot, dry, dusty and smoky conditions.  You can’t always just avoid such places, so what to do.

• Monitor air quality: With most weather apps and television weather reports, air quality is rated and warnings are issued when there are dangerous levels of PM2.5.
• On bad days: Stay indoors with the windows and doors closed and when you need to go outside, wear a mask that can block PM2.5 such as our old friend, the N95.
• In the house: Use an air purifier and a quality filter to keep the PM2.5 level low.
• Avoid smoke: Avoid all smoke and anything that creates smoke-like particles.  Outside, that’s campfires, auto exhaust, factory exhaust, grass- or forest-fires, and any open burning.  In your personal space, cigarettes, vapes, and any smoking apparati will be creating PM2.5.  Just say no!
• Action Plan:  If you get exposed, and your airways begin to spasm, activate your asthma action plan and don’t hesitate to call for help if your rescue and control measures arn’t working!
• Monitor Your Breathing:  Use the Asthma Control Test to track your symptoms.  An uptick in your score is an early clue that that your asthma is getting out of control

Wrap Up

PM2.5 is tiny, easily moved, concentrated in hot, dry and urban evironments, and can be a big trigger for your airway irritation and inflammation.  Avoid it where possible, block it when you can, and remember your action plan if things go off the rails.  If you are still struggling, make the call and go to the ER or call 911.  Don’t wait until your irritation and inflammation become very advanced!  Instead, be aware of PM2.5, be smart, understand your asthma, and breathe best!

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