Winter inversions take toll on Utah asthmatics

By Kym Ridl

Winter in Utah can be a lot of fun. You can go snowboarding, skiing, snowmobiling, make snowmen, and have a snowball fight. For most people, winter is a great time to be outside.

However, if you have asthma, winter is the worst time of the year. Why? One word--Inversions! Inversions happen when the pollution produced in the city becomes trapped between the cold air in the valley below and the warm air above the mountains. They occur along the Wasatch Front and in Cache Valley and make it hard for people with asthma to breathe.

Asthma is a disease that affects the airways that lead to the lungs. In a person with asthma, the airways are inflamed and much more sensitive to things like cigarette smoke, pollution, perfumes, and pollens then somebody without the disease. When an irritant such as pollution passes through the airways, they become swollen and filled with mucus which makes it very difficult to breathe.

Inversions occur along the Wasatch Front and in Cache Valley because of the mountains that surround the cities. The mountains trap the air and pollution inside the valleys. The longer the air is trapped, the stronger the inversions get. It takes a strong snowstorm or good wind to kick the pollution over the mountain tops.

Most of the inversion pollution is comprised of particulate matter such as dust, soot and vehicle exhaust including carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, vehicles produce 60 percent of the particulate matter, 70 percent of the carbon monoxide, and 30 percent of the sulfur dioxide in the air. Industrial sources are responsible for the other 70 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions. Particulate matter can be higher around busy roads, especially during rush hour, around factories, and when there is smoke in the air due to wood burning fireplaces and forest fires.

While it is not certain that air pollution causes asthma, children who grow up in areas with high levels of air pollution, like Utah, are more susceptible to various respiratory diseases. According to the Dr. Greene Web site, some kids who appear to be perfectly healthy have significant lung damage from exposure to the polluted air. The study compared children who live in Mexico City with those who live in a seaside Mexican town. Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and children who are most at risk for developing asthma are those who have allergies.

About 20 million people in the United States can say that they have experienced an asthma attack and asthma kills about 5,000 people a year. Doctors have yet to find a cure for the disease. Asthma symptoms are the number one reason why kids miss school and adults miss work, accounting for nearly 14 million school days and 12 million work days missed each year. Asthma is also responsible for 2 million emergency room visits annually. According to the Utah Department of Health, in 2006 there were 2,557 emergency room visits, costing an average of $443 each, and 639 hospitalizations, costing an average of $4,897 each, of kids ages 0-17 due to asthma in Utah.

Nicole Bitton is a Utah resident who diagnosed with asthma when she was 3 years old. When recently asked about the winter inversions and how they affect her lungs she said, "Well it doesn't affect me that bad anymore now that I've been on Advair. When it is bad thought I just am not really able to breathe as normally as I should. It just feels like my chest is tight." Advair helps prevent asthma symptoms by treating inflammation and constriction of airways.

Bitton is a student at Utah State University and when asked about the precautions she takes at school during the inversions she said, "I just do my inhalers and try to spend as little time outside as I can, which is kind of hard when you're up on campus."

Laura Lesperance was diagnosed with asthma when she was 34. She has lived in Utah for the past 27 years and says, "If you live in the state of Utah, you have two choices. You either have nasty weather or you can't breathe. It's not right. If you have nice weather, you got inversions."

She finds pollution hard on her lungs saying, "Inversions make it harder to breathe. My chest gets really tight and hurts a lot when they get really bad. I also tend to cough a lot more. Unfortunately, when it's harder than normal to breathe, I also become tired more easily."

Like Bitton, Lesperance also takes certain measures during the winter. She said, "During the inversions I take Singulair so my lungs aren't as tight. Sometimes I have to use my inhaler if it gets too bad. I try not to go outside too much and I take some decongestion medication to help clear out my lungs a little bit."

Sue Verhoeven, a CNA at Washington Terrace Health Services, says that regulating the furnace can help out your lungs when the air gets bad. She says, "If its gets too cold, it can be bad." Just like cold weather, a cold room can make your asthma act up. Making your home the right temperature can help keep asthma symptoms from getting too bad. Make sure your furnace is set to a comfortable temperature and don't use your wood burning fireplace during yellow or red burn days.

Utah has a system of measuring the air quality during the winter months. It is separated into counties with each county given a color twice a day: green, yellow, or red. Green is good air quality. Green days usually follow snowstorms. Yellow is moderate air quality. Yellow means that there is some pollution and that you should cut back on driving your car and using your wood burning fireplace. Red is bad air quality and during these days people are highly encouraged to stay inside and are prohibited to use your wood burning fireplace. If someone is caught using such fireplaces on red days they could be fined. The first offense is a fine of $25, the second offense is a fine of $50-$140, and the third offense is a fine of $150-$299 according to Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

So what can we do to help? First of all, don't burn wood during yellow or red days. Also try to limit your driving. Instead take Trax or some other form of public transportation. Even turning off your lights when you walk out of a room can help reduce pollution. It is also recommended that you maintain your car. Make sure you tires are inflated and replace your air filter. By doing this you will reduce emissions and help the air quality during those not so wonderful winter days.

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JJ