Wildfire smoke likely sending Metro Detroiters to ERs with breathing problems, doctors say
Physicians at metro Detroit emergency rooms and other medical centers say they've seen an influx of respiratory problems in recent days as the area's poor air quality conditions have persisted.
Dr. Glen Clark, the Emergency Center Chief at Corewell Health’s Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe, said they've seen both healthy individuals and patients with preexisting conditions affected.
“In the last week, we have seen a significant increase in respiratory complaints," Clark said in a statement to the Free Press. "We’ve seen both asthma and COPD patients, who have been well controlled, presenting with exacerbations requiring an increase in use of asthma medications, including rescue inhalers. Even otherwise healthy individuals have come in complaining of chest tightness.”
An issued air quality alert was extended through Thursday for the state as the result of Canadian wildfires.
Other Corewell medical facilities in Troy, Roseville, Livonia and Royal Oak say they've also seen an increase in respiratory issues that doctors say appear to be related to the air quality problems caused by wildfires.
More: Canadian wildfires cause poor air quality conditions in Michigan — again
More: Detroit air quality alert extended through Thursday with more wildfire smoke expected
"The poor air quality can make it harder to breathe, trigger an asthma or emphysema attack, or allergies," Dr. Jaime Hope, medical director of Emergency Medicine at Beaumont Outpatient Campus in Livonia said in a statement.
"Difficulty breathing can also cause increased strain for patients with cardiovascular disease. It is important to pay attention to air quality alerts and warnings and limit outdoor activities as much as possible when alert levels are elevated."
Dr. David Donaldson, Emergency Center chief at Corewell Health’s Beaumont Hospital in Troy, said the recent increase in respiratory complaints have mostly come from patients with preexisting diseases like asthma and COPD.
Dr. Ayman Soubani, Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine for the Detroit Medical Center, said the hospital has not seen an uptick in respiratory problems, but that could change.
"But this should not mean that we should not take precautions, because things, if they persist, people will start having more issues with breathing," he said. "If (these) weather conditions persist, there is more chance that we will see people come in with acute exacerbated conditions of their lung disease (or other underlying issues).”
Staff writer Violet Ikonomova contributed to this report. Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. Follow her on Twitter: @cmacfreep.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wildfire smoke sending Metro Detroiters to ERs for breathing problems
