October 7, 2024, 7:55 PM
October 7, 2024, 7:55 PM
A month ago, on September 7, Santa Cruz de la Sierra experienced the worst day in terms of air quality, due to pollution produced by smoke from forest fires in Chiquitania. 30 days have passed and the situation has not improved. Yesterday, October 7, we almost repeated the values that put us on alarm because an Air Quality Index of 402 had been recorded, which accounts for a extremely poor quality. This Monday a very similar figure was reached, an AQI of 393, which caused schoolchildren be sent home today and tomorrow, waiting for the sky to clear up and there to be better air to breathe.
The second week of October began with a diffuse landscapeit was difficult to see the buildings at a short distance and the Airplane departures were postponed for seven hours in Viru Viru. And the municipal medical brigades and the centers where nebulizations are carried out continued to have a lot of work. Since September 9, The different brigades are carrying out 1,500 services, which mostly have to do with eye and throat irritationnasal congestion, headache -in older adult patients- and with diarrhea among children under 5 years of age.
“Last year I developed an allergic reaction that appeared during the fire season. hIt has been proven that smoke makes me sick, I have cold-like symptoms due to nasal congestion, my nose is blocked and I don’t breathe well, but it is accompanied by stinging in my eyes, my throat feels scratchy, it hurts and itches, and therefore “last I get hoarse,” is how Elizabeth describes her rosary of symptoms, who is not the only one with discomfort at home, her teenage daughter also suffers from it.
She is in the promotion and this Monday He didn’t go to class because his head hurt too much. and had similar symptoms. “She was not the only one, I saw that in the parents’ chat there were several who asked that classes be virtual given the tremendous pollution,” says Elizabeth, while accompanying her story with breaks to apply propolis spray, among other remedies. homemade ones with which he tries to cope with these bad days of pollution.
Headquarters Director: “They are getting more smoke than oxygen”
“The environmental pollution index this morning was 393, which caused me to ask that we suspend in-person classes and make them virtual,” explains Dr. Jaime Bilbao, director of the Headquarters, in time to warn that lNext week will be worse in terms of demand for health care for the last few days of pollution, both in the city and in the communities of Chiquitania where he was this weekend.
All people who are exposed to such poor air quality can be affected, and The most vulnerable are the elderly and those under five years of age, They start to have symptoms like they have a cold because they are breathing impure air.
“They are getting more smoke than oxygen and that makes the throat start to hurt.”. An allergic state develops there. The best thing to do is hydrate, if you drink water it sweeps away the impurities that were aspirated and remained in the throat. Also protect your respiratory system with a mask, to prevent it from entering the lungs,” recommends the department’s first health authority, who is also beginning to regret thathour the cases of Acute diarrhea because the water is becoming contaminated by smoke.
When Dr. Bilbao was asked What impact did what he saw this weekend on his incursion into Chiquitania with medical brigades, He didn’t mince words: “immense sadness, it is a mixture of despair and helplessness because Roboré, El Carmen Rivero Torres and Puerto Suárez are burning again.”
Dr. Fernando Huanca Cáceres, who is in charge of a medical brigade mobile of the Municipal Health Secretariat, With 10 professionals, he explains that every day they move through the districts based on a schedule that was activated due to smoke and environmental pollution. “It is noted that The number of patients has increased, especially in the elderlywith respiratory and eye problems. We evaluate them and give them their medication,” he explains.
The doctor details that Mostly they arrive with a headache and they are given ibuprofen (analgesic and anti-inflammatory) or paracetamol (pain reliever), as appropriate. If the patient has complications and requires nebulizations, he is referred to a health center.
They have been working since September 9 and to date (only their brigade) are treating 497 patients. On Monday they were at the sub-mayor’s office of Municipal District 3, and treated patients from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In In 5 hours they performed 28 services, 12 of them were for respiratory issues.
For her part, Dr. Claudia Medina, in charge of another brigade, this time in the Tres Mil Plan, counted 40 services on Monday alone, the majority arrived by tonsillitis, headache and abdominal pain. He says that what they delivered the most were eye drops and rehydration serums.
In the Mayra infirmary, patients with respiratory symptoms due to air pollution already arrive with medical treatment to take a bronchodilator and have nebulizations to breathe better. They treat fifty patients a day, among the most affected are children and people with underlying diseases such as asthma and bronchitis.
While in places highly affected by the Chiquitania forest fires such as: Concepción, Monte Verde, Palestine, Sacred Heart of Jesus and La Cruz, where the director of the Headquarters was About 500 medical services were provided with eight medical brigadesas he himself confirmed to EL DEBER.
Dr. Medina suggests Stay indoors and if you have to go out, do so with a mask.. It is also important to stay hydrated (water, serum of life), and if your eyes feel itchy or dry, use artificial tears three times a day, one drop in each eye.
Dr. Bilbao adds that the water must be filtered and purification tablets put in the affected remote communities, because water exposed to ash particles becomes contaminated and this leads to stomach infections.
