OETA Story on Ozone Asthma aired on 06/24/09

This is a story that aired on OETA Public Television's The Oklahoma News Report in Tulsa Oklahoma as reported by Angela Rosecrans and photojournalist Edwin Wilson. For more information or to contact us, please go to www.oeta.tv

The verbatim script follows below...

AS A HEAT WAVE CONTINUES ACROSS OKLAHOMA.. TULSA IS ISSUED THE FIRST OZONE ALERT DAY OF THE YEAR. IN THE LAST TWO DAYS EMSA IN TULSA HAS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN A DOZEN HEAT-RELATED EMERGENCIES. FOUR OF WHICH HAVE BEEN CHILDREN. AND WHILE WATER PARKS ARE ONE WAY OF BEATING THE HEAT... AUTHORITIES SAY YOU STILL NEED TO TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS.




"seek shelter to get out of the heat when they possibly can and to stay hydrated CAPTAIN CHAD MCDANIEL WITH EMSA SAYS THE EXTREME HEAT IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EXISTING HEALTH CONDITIONS.




"one of the things we see with the elderly population is they tend to have a lot more medical issues they tend to be on medicines that don't react well to sunlight and the heat and things of that nature." ONE OF THOSE MEDICAL ISSUES HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ARE SEEING RELATED TO THE HEAT IS ASTHMA ATTACKS. DOCTOR JANE PURSER SPECIALIZES IN ASTHMA AND ALLERGIES. SHE SAYS WHEN THE HEAT GOES UP AND YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH WATER THAT CAN TRIGGER ASTHMA.




"when it comes to our lungs they are very sensitive to not being well hydrated and so when the lungs become too dry they will spasm in response to that heat and dryness." AND SHE SAYS WHEN YOU ADD TODAY'S OZONE ALERT FOR TULSA, IT INCREASES THE HEALTH RISK.




"which means that there may be molecules that are not healthy for people with lung diseases and are exposed outside and their lungs are not healthy are going to suffer." SHE SAYS THE BEST THING PEOPLE CAN DO IS JUST DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND AVOID GOING OUTSIDE DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY. EMERGENCY RESPONDERS SAY THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.




"we're still seeing these 7,8, 10 calls on days where we've got a breeze so when we start getting into the warmer months and we don't have the breeze that's what we're concerned about." EMSA DOES RECOMMEND IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE-- AT LEAST HAVE YOUR CELL PHONE WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES JUST IN CASE YOU NEED TO CALL FOR HELP. IN TULSA, ANGELA ROSECRANS, THE OKLAHOMA NEWS REPORT.

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