Wildfire smoke and exhaust fumes are triggering spikes in eczema and other skin conditions.
Devastating wildfires ripped across the Canadian province of Quebec in June of last year, sending massive plumes of pungent smoke wafting over North America. In Boston, three hundred miles away, dermatologist Shadi Kourosh observed something unusual. According to Kourosh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and director of community health in the dermatology department at Massachusetts General Hospital, "we had an unusual spike in dermatology visits."
At the height of summer, patients were visiting her clinic who generally only experienced eczema flare-ups or itchy skin during the winter months. As a result of the wildfires, Boston was suffering more than usual air pollution, similar to New York, Detroit, and other northern American cities. Kourosh feared that this might be having an effect on people's skin.
Her team collected five years' worth of data on carbon monoxide and particulate matter levels in Boston from the US Environmental Protection Agency, and compared it with anonymized patient records from the largest hospital group in Massachusetts, Mass General Brigham.
They discovered a link between hospital visits for atopic dermatitis, the most prevalent type of eczema, and air pollution levels. Less than 0.2 parts per million of carbon monoxide were present in Boston in June 2022, and there were less than 20 clinic visits for eczema and atopic dermatitis. The number of dermatology visits had risen to 160 in June 2023, during the wildfires, when carbon monoxide levels were three times higher at 0.6 parts per million.
Daily pollution from cars and industry can also have an impact on skin quality, not simply extreme incidents like wildfires. Chinese researchers discovered in 2021 a connection between Guangzhou children's eczema and greater baseline levels of air pollution.
According to Kourosh, "many of these airborne pollution constituents are skin irritants." They have the potential to inflame skin and hasten its aging process upon touch. "Those with eczema have a more vulnerable, weakened skin barrier, which allows pollutants to enter deeper and activate the immune system," the expert explains. This causes flare-ups, which is why she observed an increase in clinic visits.
Numerous health problems, including diabetes, obesity, lung cancer, and asthma, have been connected to air pollution. It may seem insignificant to concentrate on the skin in those situation. However, it's quite significant. Over 99 percent of people on the planet reside in areas with pollution levels higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization, and severe skin disorders like atopic dermatitis can be quite crippling. "Well, it doesn't kill people, but if you have severe cases, your quality of life is appalling," explains British Association of Dermatologists' Carsten Flohr. "The inability to sleep is a kind of misery, particularly if you have had eczema since a young age. It is impossible to achieve the right bodily rhythm, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and social disengagement, among other problems.
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