Hi! I’m Dr. Jamison Starbuck, a naturopathic family physician. I’m here today with health tips for kids on: smoke.
When forest fires break out in Montana, we all get pretty sad. It’s hard to be outside. Camping and hiking and swimming are not quite as fun when the skies are grey with smoke. When smoke is in the air, most of us just don’t feel well. Our eyes burn, our nose runs, some kids (and adults, and even pets) get a cough, and lots of people just feel tired. Unless we’re a firefighter, we can’t do much about the smoke. But there are a few things kids can do feel better when the fires are raging.
First is beta-carotene, a vitamin that helps your eyes and throat stay healthy. It’s orangey in color, so can you guess what vegetable has lots of beta-carotene? Yup, carrots. Carrots are pretty delicious mixed up in coleslaw with raisins on top. They’re also good as juice or just to crunch on when they are raw. I have a horse named JJ; he loves carrots and he eats them whenever he can. I’ve noticed that he doesn’t seem to mind the smoke that much and I wonder if it’s the carrots.
My second tip is Throat Coat tea. It has slippery elm, an herb that makes your throat moist and slippery. It also coats the passages to your lungs so it helps protect you from smoke. Kids can have 16 ounces of Throat Coat tea every day during fire season.
Number three is a neti pot. Have any of you have ever used a neti pot? It’s a short, squatty sort of pot that you use to pour salt water through your nose. If you don’t have a neti pot, your parents can buy one at a pharmacy or natural foods store and they can help you make a salt solution. The recipe is simple: ½ teaspoon salt in 1 cup water. You put the salt water in the pot, tip your head sideways and pour the water in one side of your nose. Amazingly, the water will come out the other side! It sounds kind of gross, but it works. It flushes out the ash and dust you breathed in all day. It’s best to do it at night, after you have been breathing in smoky air. Make sure you have an adult help you, because using a neti pot can be a little tricky.
Number four is vitamin C. I love vitamin C. It’s particularly helpful when our bodies are stressed. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant. It helps protect us from pollution and germs and from fatigue when we have worked too hard. You can get vitamin C from lots of foods, including parsley, oranges, kale, red peppers, broccoli and strawberries.
My last tip is water, water, water. Smoke dries us out. Water helps us get wet. So try to be around water, in all sorts of ways. Drink lots of water, splash water on your face and eyes, on your head and the back of your neck whenever you can. Go swimming. If you can’t get to a lake or a pool, ask your parents if you can run through the sprinkler while it waters the lawn. Getting water all over and in you will be soothing and will wash away the smoke, at least for a little while. Speaking of water, I’m praying for rain and doing a rain dance every night. Join me in that if you want – you never know, we might help.
I’m Dr. Jamison Starbuck and I’m wishing you well.
