Medical professionals say summer dust waves could cause problems for people with asthma, allergies

These waves come from the Sahara dust plume, an air mass that forms over the Sahara Desert and moves over the Atlantic Ocean from late spring to early fall. 

The fine dust particles in those waves simply add extra irritants to the air, which can exacerbate existing conditions, like asthma and allergies, said Dr. Mark Murray, Allergist and Immunologist with the Mississippi Asthma and Allergy Clinic.

"There's already some inflammation going on from the allergens getting to these same areas and you add dust on top of that and it just brings extra inflammation," said Murray. 

With the heat and humidity, Murray said, it's important to keep an eye on the weather to avoid increased expsoure as much as possible. 

"Watch for air quality reports and on bad days, if you can limit your time outside, that helps, keeping windows shut and cars and houses to try to keep some of these allergens and irritants out of your environment," said Murray. "If you have underlying allergies or asthma taking your medications and your treatments to keep those down can hopefully help keep these other exposures from causing so much trouble."

Other populations can also be particularly vulnerable when these dust waves come through. Kids are good example, according to Oxford pediatrician Dr. Tanya Fitts. She said parents should keep an eye on persistent coughing, running nose or shortness of breath.

"If their symptoms are not improving after a few days of being on over-the-counter antihistamines, or if they're using their asthma inhaler and their symptoms are not improving...they should see their provider," said Fitts. 

She added that for kids with asthma, having an up-to-date asthma action plan with a medical provider is also important. 

"Eye symptoms can happen too if the dust gets in their eyes," said Fitts. Dust particles can linger in the air for a few hours but up to 10 days."

Checking filters on car and home air conditioners can also help, said Fitts, as well as wearing an N95 respirator mask if needed, for kids and other vulnerable groups. 

"Especially people with asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, or other respiratory conditions, the elderly, people with heart disease, pregnant women, and healthy adults who are working or exercising outdoors, like agricultural workers, construction workers, or runners," said Fitts. 

Michael Hill, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, says there are some clear to signs to look for while monitoring for dust waves.

"In the springtime where you have a lot of pollen, it'll give you that little polleny tint to the air: It's the same thing except in July, August," said Hill. "It's just when you can see just some extra particulates in the air, some extra dusty, haze in the area."

Wind and other other weather factors, like temperature, can affect the dust waves as well, said Hill and Rodney Cuevas, branch manager for the air quality management branch of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. 

"There typically is higher PM25 [smaller dust particles] when there is higher humidity," said Cuevas. "The reason that is, is because the humidity, the water droplets in the atmosphere, they coalesce or they combine to those dust particles."

While central and north Mississippi can be affected by these dust waves, Cuevas said the coast is typically where the majority of the dust hangs.

"They're first in line with the state geographically, the way that the Saharan dust is moving from the south to the north, from the Gulf of Mexico into the state," said Cuevas. "The Jackson Metro area: we have seen dust events and it just depends on how strong that southerly flow is and how concentrated that dust is that's coming off the Gulf of Mexico." 

Cuevas said airnow.gov is the best site to use to monitor air quality.