(Snippets from the frontline)
Smudge pot
After lunch one day at the senior center, we sat outside and discussed bodily function (yes, this is what seniors do). Two complained of smoke drifting from nearby fires into our valley, forcing increased use of their breathing inhalers.
Neither smoked, but they professed the real culprit of their problem was related to “smudge pots”, which sounds like an apt nickname for a baby.
These oil burning devices (numbering in the hundreds of thousands) were used for decades in orchard fields east of Los Angeles to keep fruit from freezing. The residue covered communities, and my friends claimed as children it was in their hair, on their clothes, with soot commonly crusting from their nostrils. Ugh. Fortunately, smudge pots are rarely used today.
Daily, we have subtle exposures that might effect our health:
-plug-in room deodorizers
-fireplaces
-incense
-candles
-car air fresheners
-wood-burning stoves
-BBQs
-sprayed pesticides
-radon
-some heaters and A/C
Be wary as these can contain particulates easily inhaled adversely effecting tissue, and should be distanced from those who are susceptible.
As an aging senior with deteriorating bodily function, it might not be surprising one day I dutifully take on the nickname “smudge pot.”
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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