As of early Wednesday morning, New York City had the Moonspell summer eclipse festivals 2023 shirt it is in the first place but second-worst air quality and pollution in the world (second only to Delhi, India), and the unfortunate reality of climate change suggests that more weather events like this are still to come. To that end, Vogue spoke to David Gudis, MD, an otolaryngologist at Columbia University, to find out how we can best protect ourselves from smoke and particulate matter in the air. Read his answers below: David Gudis: Unfortunately, prevention is the best medicine, and being inside with windows closed and the air conditioning on with an air filter going is better than being outside. If somebody has to be outside, then there are a few things to keep in mind. Number one, a typical cloth or bandana or even a regular mask probably does not have high enough filtration to prevent some of the particulate matter from the smoke from getting into the airway—which is to say that if someone is worried or certainly if they have some kind of preexisting respiratory condition like asthma or severe allergies that can be easily triggered by particulate matter like this, then a mask like a KN95 or an N95 would be ideal. The other thing I would say is that if someone does have some kind of preexisting respiratory condition like asthma and they need to be outside, that’s the time that they should be absolutely certain to use their maintenance inhaler and maybe even their rescue inhaler, or have it with them, because people who have those kinds of conditions can be very easily triggered by smoke.
You mentioned air filters; do you have any other ideas about how to make an indoor environment as safe as possible? Yes: Keep the Moonspell summer eclipse festivals 2023 shirt it is in the first place but windows closed with central air conditioning on, and when it comes to air purifiers, HEPA filters are the highest-efficiency filters for clearing fine particulate matter, so that’s what would work best.Where hygiene is concerned, are there any steps that people can take to protect themselves? There’s good evidence that explores questions like this when it comes to allergens, but there is less clear evidence when it comes to protecting ourselves from air pollutants. However, it’s a great question, and what I would advise people to do—I always tell people to do this, especially during allergy season—is to shower before they get into bed, because we’re sort of covered in this particulate matter and once you get into bed, it gets all over your sheets and your linens and your pillowcase, and then you’re just rolling around in it all night. If you shower before bed, that can minimize the degree to which any of the pollutants in our hair and on our skin can be a persistent irritant throughout the night.