How to protect your skin from wildfire smoke and air pollution

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED, BUT THE ACTUAL NUMBER IS BELIEVED TO BE MUCH HIGHER. >>> SKIN. IT IS THE LARGEST ORGAN OF THE HUMAN BODY. IT CAN BE DAMAGED BY SMOKE AND AIR POLLUTION. WILDFIRE SMOKE FROM CANADA HAS BEEN DRIFTING INTO PARTS OF THE U.S. THIS WEEK WITH CITIES LIKE CHICAGO, WASHINGTON, PITTSBURGH AND NEW YORK AFFECTED. RECENT STUDIES CITED BY THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY FOUND THAT

SMOKE LIKE THIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASE IN VISITS FOR SKIN CONDITIONS LIKE ECZEMA AND PSORIASIS. FOR MORE ON THIS I'M JOINED BY DR. CHEYENNE SCHERER GLUE, A RESIDENT DERMATOLOGIST PHYSICIAN IN NEW YORK CITY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. AS A DERMATOLOGIST WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WHEN THE WILDFIRE SMOKE CAME TO NEW YORK EARLIER THIS MONTH? >> THAT WAS A UNIQUE TIME. I NEVER EXPERIENCED

ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE. WE SAW FEWER PATIENTS DURING THAT TIME BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE STAYING AWAY FROM GOING OUTSIDE AS MUCH AS THEY COULD. IT WAS DEFINITELY A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. >> AS FAR AS WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARED DID YOU SEE AN UP TICK OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS WITH THEIR SKIN? HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW THIS POLLUTIN COULD INTERACT WITH YOUR SKIN. >> IS

HARD TO SAY FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THINGS LIKE THIS ARE BETTER ASSESSED AT A LARGER SCALE. WE KNOW THAT POLLUTION CAN DAMAGE THE SKIN BY A LOT OF THE SAME MECHANISMS THAT UV RADIATION CAN. THAT CAN CAUSE PREMATURE AGING OF THE SKIN AND CAN EXACERBATE UNDERLYING SKIN CONDITIONS LIKE ECZEMA OR OTHER INFLAMMATORY SKIN CONDITIONS. ESPECIALLY FOR PATIENTS WITH COMPROMISED SKIN BARRIERS LIKE THOSE WITH ECZEMA OR

OLDER PATIENTS ALREADY HAVE FEWER LIPIDS IN THEIR SKIN LAYER IT CAN GET MORE BURDENSOME FOR THEM AND CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS. >> I DON'T THINK PEOPLE THINK OF IT AS THIS MAJOR ORGAN AND SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT PROTECTING. HOW CAN PEOPLE PROTECT THEIR SKIN FROM SMOKE AND AIR POLLUTION? >> DEFINITELY. YOUR SKIN IS ONE OF YOUR FIRST- LINE DEFENSES AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT. EVEN WHEN

THERE ISN'T POLLUTION OUT THERE. I THINK WHEN THE POLLUTION IS THERE IT IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THAT YOU HAVE A STRONG BARRIER OF PROTECTION. THAT MEANS MOISTURIZING YOUR SKIN. OF COURSE YOU CAN'T FORGET YOUR SUNSCREEN. JUST BECAUSE IT IS CLOUDY OR THERE IS POLLUTION DOES NOT MEAN THAT UV CAN'T PENETRATE DOWN. OF COURSE, PICKING SURE THAT IF YOU DON'T NEED TO BE OUTSIDE AND

YOU DO HAVE ONE OF THESE CONDITIONS THAT DOES COMPROMISE YOUR SKIN BARRIER IT MAY BE BETTER TO AVOID DOING SO WHEN THE LEVELS ARE AS HIGH AS THEY WERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO IN NEW YORK CITY. >> HOW DO YOU REPAIR THE DAMAGE , SO TO SPEAK, WHEN THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE TO OUR SKIN BECAUSE OF THE SMOKE AND ALL OF THESE THINGS WE

ARE TALKING ABOUT? >> NUMBER ONE, FOR MOST THINGS WITH YOUR SKIN IT IS PREVENTION. IT IS HAVING THE BARRIER PROTECTION ON THEIR AND MAKING SURE YOUR MOISTURIZING. THERE ARE PRODUCTS THAT CAN HELP WITH THIS. YOU CAN USE TOPICAL ANTIOXIDANT SERUMS LIKE VITAMIN C OR VITAMIN E. THESE HELP TO SCAVENGE THOSE REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES UP AND HELP PREVENT DAMAGE FROM OCCURRING IN THE FIRST PLACE. >> WE

APPRECIATE THE HELP AND THOSE PI