Haze is Really Unhealthy. No Joke.

Haze is Really Unhealthy. No Joke.

By Isaac Lim           2nd Oct 2015

Is It Harmless or Deadly?

Chicken, dies by the millions and vegetable are turning yellow and wilting. News reports mention how it will affect us economically as consumers will need to pay more for dwindling supplies.
But what they have failed to mention (as my alarm bells are ringing), are we going the way of the chickens too? Not now, but much later? Canaries were used in mines centuries ago as an early warning to detect deadly poisonous gas. When miners noticed their canary lying dead in the cage, they run for their lives. I wonder if dead chickens are our canaries.
“Chickens are more sensitive to the haze than humans. They have respiratory problems and become weak. We have to give them vitamins. When they are weak, they are slow to grow and that is not good,” said Loo, who is also a farmer.
The health minister famously said haze is harmless unless there is prolonged exposure. So how long is long? Will he say the same about smoking?
On the ground people think it is harmless and walk around (even jog) unprotected. Our API rating is lower than our neighbor. Maybe Malaysians are tougher.
Some assume the only people with pre-existing health problem like heart and respiratory disease are vulnerable together with elderly and children. Only they need to worry about the haze.
So are we protecting our children apart from closing schools when it gets really bad? Children were seen playing outdoors and mothers taking their babies in strollers outdoors.

Haze is so pervasive it enters our homes. Unless we close our doors and windows and turn on the air conditioning 24/7 together with air purifier on - we will not escape it.
Not only grocery bills are going up, electricity and medical bills will go up.
Do we pray for rain? No, that is not the solution as the source is in Indonesia that's where it must rain heavily and not in Malaysia (unless there are fires in Malaysia). We need to put out the fire not the smoke. So our government should not throw away our money with cloud seeding and bomohs. I received a message warning us that cloud seeding will be in progress in the next few days and they are using ‘strong chemicals’ so get out of the rain as it causes skin irritation.
So will it go away by this month? Bad news the Indonesian president said it will take three years to solve it. I wonder where he got the number from? Another unwelcome news, it seems experts are predicting it's going to get a little better then worse  before it gets better hopefully in 6 weeks’ time. I wonder if only chickens will die or migrating egrets or storks will be dropping from the skies by then and will we be eating yellow coloured veggies.

Many are complaining of burning eyes, nose and throat. One client said 'I thought I was strong enough.'
Just because the haze particles are small does not mean it not dangerous on the other hand it is even more hazardous as it bypasses your respiratory defense system that normally filters out larger contaminants. It will lodge deep in the alveoli of our lungs and in 5, 10, 15 years’ time cause pulmonary disease even lung cancer.
If you are experiencing burning sensations it is due to the accumulation of foreign particles in the mucous membrane of eyes, nose and throat causing allergic inflammation and irritability.

Proactive Measures to Save our Health

Let’s treat this seriously and fight for our health proactively. Here are some suggestions.

#Drink more water and eat more fruits to help our body get rid of toxins.

#Use eye drops, nasal sea water spray and throat gargle daily to keep them moist and clean from haze particles.

#Use air purifier preferably with water membrane filters as it helps keeps the air moist and trap particles. Sleep with it turn on. Sharp and Panasonic have this system. Cost rm. 700 to rm. 800 and will be a cumulatively expensive investment as you need it for all the bedrooms and living area. Cheaper ones start at rm.300 some even have HAZE button! There are better and even more expensive ones with Hepa filters and cost up to rm.5000! I also use and sell salt lamps and it helps, but the haze is admittedly too concentrated for it to be effective.

#Use face mask outdoors. Disposable ones should not be reused too often as bacteria accumulates. Invest in clothe types as they are washable and can be reused next year when the haze returns. I recommend the Respokare anti-virus disposal face mask as its anti-viral/bacterial properties allow repeated use. It is almost as effective as N95 but cheaper (rm 5.90) and will not get squashed. It comes in a foil seal pack and have no expiry date which means you can keep it for years to come until you need it. The ziploc package means you can keep it in its original package until next use instead of leaving it everywhere. I used to stock up on face mask even N95 but they turn brown or smell musty after a year and had to be discarded.

#Finally group together for a class action suit of rich plantation companies responsible for the haze and sue them for all the money you spend to keep healthy in the haze and related future illness. Also for undue haze anxiety caused by emotional and mental anguish as we are forcible prevented from visiting our usual teh tarik gathering at the mamak stalls.

Isaac Lim

Energy Psychology Centre 

www.eftwonder.com