Household fires can affect more than children's breathing – research

A New Zealand study that has just been published in the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Allergy) revealed that smoke from household fires can cause not only respiratory illnesses in children, but also skin problems.

A new analysis of the data collected by the University of Auckland's Growing Up in New Zealand study shows that children living in neighborhoods with more homes heated with wood or coal are more likely to suffer from skin and respiratory diseases. This indicates a need for parents to think about a wood fire or coal, especially if the neighbors also have house fires.

Dr. Hakkan Lai, researcher, reviewed data from nearly 3,500 of the more than 6,500 children in the study and led the analysis under the direction of Professor Cameron Grant, Head of the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Science. Medical and Health University of Auckland.

Investigators found that children were more likely to be prescribed airway and skin medications if they lived in areas with more firewood or charcoal homes. They also found that smoke from nearby chimneys, rather than the chimney of the child's home, posed the greatest risk – contributing further to air pollution in the home.

"Although it is known that respiratory diseases can be caused by wood smoke, the concept that highly smoke-emitting neighborhoods or charcoal could trigger skin diseases is a relatively new science." says Dr. Lai. "Few studies have been conducted on this subject internationally – around four – and they mostly focused on heating wood or coal in the child's home, rather than in his neighborhood.

"But what we do know is that the concentration of smoke tends to be very low under the chimney from where it comes, which increases the more so as you get away from this chimney If you multiply the height of the chimney by ten, then move that distance horizontally, that's where the smoke will actually be the most concentrated. "

The research found that during their first four years of life, 40% of children had received a prescription for respiratory medication, 71%, and 79%, during the cold season. Most of the prescribed skin medications were for the treatment of atopic dermatitis or eczema.

The results suggest that high residential fire densities could create significant health problems for children, particularly as housing density increases.

"For the health of our most vulnerable New Zealanders, we need to use the wood burner responsibly and continue to adopt cleaner forms of home heating in New Zealand, such as heat pumps and pellet burners. "said Dr. Lai.