Orange County Register

Kaiser Permanente called more than 21,000 OC patients with asthma and respiratory illness to offer health tips until the smoke clears. Most of the calls were automated and started at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Kaiser spokesman Scott Smith. Using electronic medical records, the HMO can quickly access who to call. Patients were advised to use inhalers as prescribed and keep windows closed.

The good news is that air quality is improved today in most of the county, according to the county Health Care Agency. But UC Irvine research shows that respiratory illness associated with the fire results in higher hospitalization rates even after the fires are put out. Check out more on the study by UCI environmental epidemiologist Ralph Delfino here. The best advice is if you can see smoke or smell it, avoid unnecessary outdoor activity.

Related:

Air quality still bad Monday

COMPLETE FIRE COVERAGE

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