Southern California wildfires affect our pets' health

Wildfire haze above Hollywood's Chateau Marmont

Recent wildfires in southern California have devastated the lives of both people and their pets.  Since the start of the Los Angeles area fires, I can see and smell a visible change in the air.  The skies have taken on a blue-grey appearance and charred odor due to the fires’ destruction of natural and man-made materials.  Inhalation and contact with such environmental contaminants is adversely affecting they health of my animal patients.  

The fine, often invisible, debris that makes up this haze acts as an inflammatory trigger in ocular and respiratory tract.  

Clinical signs of ocular inflammation in pets include, but are not limited to:

Ocular discharge- Discharge can appear clear, white, green, or even bloody, pending the degree of inflammation or infection affecting the eye.

Bletharospasm- Squinting

Pawing at eyes or rubbing the head on environmental surfaces, which can exacerbate underlying eye inflammation or lead to corneal trauma.

Scleritis- Inflammation to the white of the eye

Conjunctivitis- Inflammation of the conjunctiva

Clinical signs of respiratory inflammation include, but are not limited to:

Coughing

Sneezing

Wheezing

Increased respiratory effort and rate

Lethargy

Should your pet show such clinical signs, please contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinary hospital to arrange for an examination.

Reduce the likelihood that your pet will be exposed to allergy triggers from wildfires, or other low air quality situations, by reducing outdoor activities, keeping windows shut, using air conditioning (when available), and referencing your local Air Quality Index (AQI) for safety guidelines.

For further information see:

South Coast Air Quality Magement District

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wildfires Fact Sheet