TULSA – Almost every summer Ozone Alert Days are issued, but what exactly do those alerts mean for your health?
The First Lutheran Early Learning Center Director Carie Roop said getting enough outdoor activity is essential for her students, except when it’s an Ozone Alert Day.
"In the afternoon when it gets up in the, like lately, the high 90s, we have an indoor space that they can have their recess at. They can still run around, but they are indoors as opposed to the sun,” said Roop.
Health experts say it’s especially important for children with respiratory issues to stay inside on an Ozone Alert Day.
“It’s important to know that this high temperature that we have along with the ozone is very hard on our membranes whether they’re the eyes, nose or the lungs,” said M.D. Jane Purser with the Allergy Clinic of Tulsa.
Dr. Purser said patients with breathing issues can start seeing symptoms within 30 minutes of being exposed to ozone conditions.
“I had a patient this morning that simply, the act of getting out of the car and walking into the clinic with this terrible heat and the ozone created this sense of shortness of breath,” said Purser.
Roop said taking Ozone Alert Days seriously is how the learning center will beat the heat this summer.
“I feel like parents appreciate that we’re keeping their children safe on these days,” said Roop.
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