Are you aware of the health risks of smoke and soot inhalation?
Fire accidents are nasty, and what’s even nastier is the smoke they leave behind. Smoke mainly consists of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, also known as soot. Smoke also contains acid gases, metals, dioxins, toluene, and nitrogen oxide. Health experts and medical practitioners strictly advise that exposure to smoke and soot must be avoided at all times. But why do they say so? Let’s find out.
In this article, we shall discuss the health risks of smoke and soot inhalation.
Health Risks of Inhaling Smoke
The health risks of smoke inhalation can show up shortly after inhalation. Smoke results in irritated eyes, throat, and nose. Also, its odor can result in nausea. Smoke contains carbon monoxide, and inhaling it minimizes the supply of oxygen in the body. As a result, one can experience headaches, decreased alertness, and a heart problem called angina.
The best way to save yourself from smoke is to stay away from it altogether. If your body has an extremely adverse reaction to smoke, make sure to consult a doctor, for ways to avoid such reactions. In case your building has recently experienced a fire accident, make sure not to enter before smoke and soot cleanup. Only by hiring a professional fire restoration company in Framingham, MA can you eliminate the post-fire smoke and soot.
Smoke Inhalation Symptoms
How your body reacts to smoke depends upon the source of fire, as well as how long you have been exposed to it.
- Sight issues and eye irritation
- Passing out
- Coughing and sore throat
- Bloody coughing or chest pain
- Headache, nausea, and abdominal pain
- Disturbed breathing
Health Risks of Soot Exposure
The dark particulate matter found in smoke is called soot. When oil, wood, and plastic are incompletely burnt, soot is produced, which mainly comprises of carbon. It also contains dust, oil, acids, and metals. A house fire burns a variety of materials, some of which are plastic, wood, and paper. As a result, soot contamination takes place, which is quite hard to clean up.
Soot affects the indoor quality of your air, isn’t uncommon where candles are used and the fireplace remains dirty without ventilation. Soot inhalation results in asthma, bronchitis and coronary heart disease. It requires a significant amount of effort to get rid of soot after a fire. Never make the mistake of cleaning soot on your own, and assign the task to a professional fire damage restoration company.
Studies have shown that soot kills more than 2000 people in the US every year. Similar studies show that more than 200,000 cases of Asthma are reported each year, because of soot exposure.
Soot Exposure Symptoms
- Chronic coughing
- Watery eyes
- Runny Nose
- Respiratory issues
- Heart diseases
- Disturbed immune system
Smoke and soot should be cleaned immediately after a fire, for the longer they stay, the more problems they will show the way to. Also, never make the mistake of entering a property infested with smoke and soot. If you do, you’ll be putting your health at risk.
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