How to cleanse & protect the lungs from the Sahara Desert's dust?

The only thing I do is avoid working in the yard when the dust is around.

Hi Gary -
Thanks for the tip. I do have more questions for you and the group.

1. How can we tell when the cyclical Sahara Desert's dust is heading this way and is here?
2. What are the usual months it IS here?
3. What does it look like, exactly?
4. Does it give the island its "dusty/dirty" look?
5. Do you also vacuum and mop, instead of sweep-up with a broom?
6. What are the symptoms of inhaling it?
7. Anything else?

Sahara dust is not like vog. It is iron rich and I have not heard anything about it being toxic. It seems to last a couple of weeks at the most. It does help prevent hurricanes. It is easy to see as it approaches on the South coast and it seems to bring heat with it. They say it is nutrient rich. It is my most uncomfortable time here as going to the mountains does not help all that much except being a little cooler.

Mrkpytn wrote:

It seems to last a couple of weeks at the most.

Well, it's there all year 'round. Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes nothing.
In the hurricane season a big "lump" of it can help to prevent a storm from developing.

You can see it in real time on this website: http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/s … od=splitEW

DeborahMarchant wrote:

1. How can we tell when the cyclical Sahara Desert's dust is heading this way and is here?
2. What are the usual months it IS here?
3. What does it look like, exactly?
4. Does it give the island its "dusty/dirty" look?
5. Do you also vacuum and mop, instead of sweep-up with a broom?
6. What are the symptoms of inhaling it?
7. Anything else?

1. See the link in my previous post. Also the weather forecasters on local TV warn when it's coming our way.
2. It can get here all year 'round but most of the times it's hardly noticeable.
3. Reddish dust.
4. Not really, rain washes it away.
5. I never notice it inside; outside a little water takes care of it. If you like a shiny car you will have to wash it.
6. People with asthma and related conditions can get more symptoms. I avoid going out when there's a lot of it.
7. I wouldn't worry about it.

Symptoms? For me and most people I know: It makes us feel like we have really bad allergies. But it mostly peaks seasonally depending on the Atlantic weather patterns so it's not something that has to be dealt with year-round.

Appearance? It can make the sky look tinged.

Prevention for when it's at its worst? I remember seeing a movie in the '80s about some poor kid nicknamed the Bubble Boy. You need his bubble.

Right now, there is Saharan Dust in our atmosphere.

I am personally feeling a mildly-suffocating symptom at times because I am inhaling this dust 24/7. This means that my body is undergoing inflammation.

I am keeping the doors and windows closed, and use an indoor HEPA air filter. Before I go outdoors, I have taken to wearing 3M's "Sanding and Fiberglass Valved Respirator".

The dust particles are also causing my eyes to feel drier and irritated. I use eyedrops to help wash out the dust, and I often wear a clear wrap-around plastic "protective" glasses, that I purchased for around $10 from a local Home Depot. 

Here is a rare report about the health effects of Saharan Dust Particles.
http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/docs/ETCACM … a_dust.pdf

When "Google-ing"  the words 'asthma in puerto rico', several links pop up like these: https://www.google.com.pr/search?client … sQTHz4OwBQ

This UK website shows images of what the Saharan Dust in the air can similarly look like here.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … xists.html

This site shows the actual dry air / sharan air layer situation over the Atlantic. It looks pretty good right now.

Thanks Gary.

Over here, from my home in Rincon-Puntas, I can usually see the horizon on the Atlantic Ocean.
I have not seen the horizon for several days now because of the whitish-yellow haze of the Saharan Dust.

Sometimes it feels like it's been weeks since I've seen the horizon clearly, but I haven't been keeping close track of this. 

As of now, this is a report about the Saharan Dust. It says the, "SAHARAN DUST WILL CONTINUE OVER THE ISLANDS WITH SOME IMPROVEMENT EXPECTED ON MONDAY."

(Source: http://www.weatherpr.com)


Here is more information about the Saharan Dust over Puerto Rico.
https://www.google.com.pr/search?client … sQSp0oCIAQ

There is an explanation of the physical and environmental effects of dust
storms, including the impact of the Saharan Dust within this website.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_storm

This is an April 2015 website with even more images and insights of dust storms in several places on this Planet.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … d-sun.html

Thanks for the links and yes, it mentions that there's saharan dust over PR. I didn't notice and obviously it doesn't bother me. I've been out quite a bit today.

Oh good for Gary, that the Saharan Dust does not affect your body.   

I have a type of body that has dry, thin and soft skin, and all of my lifetime an allergies to airborne particles. Therefore, the Saharan dust and my body do not get along well. 

To help me better know when it's time to go indoors, I'll be setting up a Google gmail alert called, "Saharan Dust".

Here is another bit of information, and it explains why the temperature of the air feels warmer during the hazy-dusty times.   http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/ … -1.1872402

This is cool (pun intended) to know too. This is a way that NASA is keeping track of the Saharan Dust. http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/afr … nt-of-view

I don't know how well you and others can see this animation of this dust's movement, but here is a link out of Athens, Greece. It indicates the flow of the Saharan Dust over the next 5 days. To see the animation, there are several buttons to chose from on the top of the screen. Chose the button "Play" to see it in action. http://forecast.uoa.gr/LINKS/DUST/dust. … amp;lan=en   

From this animation it appears that Puerto Rico will not have dust-free air times in the next 4 days from now.

Here is another animation of the Saharan Dust. This 3-day ahead animation is out of Tel-Aviv. http://wind.tau.ac.il/dust8/dust-atlan.html

Frankly, if I had known beforehand, how my body reacts to constant exposure to unhealthy Saharan Dust, I'd have made plans to remove myself altogether from this hazard.

One of my dogs is exhibiting signs of physical distress as well. Both of her eyes are unusually clogged up with grit, and she is snoring more and having more trouble breathing.

Well. Now that I know better, I will be making plans to remove myself and my dogs, from next year's months-on-end Saharan Dust season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is another website focused on the Saharan Dust. I don't know how up-to-date it is, but it provides more details and images. http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/research/du … System.pdf

Sorry to hear about your allergy problems with the saharan dust. Hopefully the wet season, that should already be there(!), will be better for you.

Hey, thanks Gary. I sure do hope you and all in Puerto Rico are going to be okay too. 

If you could Gary, or anyone else knows about this, please do tell.
Which months, and or how long do the Dusts coat Puerto Rico; and if anyone can do this, please provide links that help confirm this.   

I am having a heck of time, and am unable to find any information about what the Saharan Dust season actually is.
So far, the Dust has been coming and going since March. That's going on two months now. As a result, my body is crying "Uncle!" 

According to this scientific article the months with the most Saharan dust are June, July and August.

Here's a graph I copied from that article:

   Mmm

Thanks for the info - sort of.

Three more months of  ?   

Jeez.

For anyone that is interested in protecting their lungs right off the bat, here is at least one website that can pertain to anyone protecting them, including smokers.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041906_smoke … oking.html

Over here, I am personally digesting licorice powder and chlorella tablets to help soothe and clear out my lungs, and my Life.

Well... it's my (personal and strictly non-scientific) opinion that although the next  three months according to that article are supposed to be the worst for saharan dust, it's also hurricane season and normally that means a lot of rain over the island which should wash away any dust that makes it over the ocean.

with that said Gary, here are the Temptations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-es4Q8AJaU

The song worked - we had some showers here on the east side.

For anyone here here who is new to this blog, and that has a body that physically reacts obviously to inhaling air borne particles, believe you me, I've spoken with many people here about the Saharan Dust about how it's been effecting me, and I've been asking them how it effects them.

A rare few have told me,"Your body will adjust to it." Then when I ask them if they have allergies, they say "No".
Telling allergy prone people such things as "The Saharan Dust is no big deal", or "You need to get more exercise to strengthen the lungs" may be well-meaning, but it is not helpful information for allergy-and-asthma prone bodies to listen to.

What IS helpful information is to forewarned in the very first place to avoid Puerto Rico during the Saharan Dust Season.

What is the Saharan Dust Season? From what I've have personally witnessed, the Dust began arriving here in March, and it may not end until September. (Read this for more info -- http://newtopuertorico.com/puerto-rico-climate/ )

There's more to this story.
Even when there is no incoming Dust swooping over directly from Africa, the Island is still coated in Dust. When there is less rain, like how it will be in June, the Dust is blown up and into the air by the natural winds, indoor fans, and human movement like traffic. (Perhaps using humidifiers and or oil diffusers will help keep the Dust down indoors?)


Here are other comments I've listened to while asking around about the Saharan Dust here:

"I have a cousin that has allergies. Eyes run. Nose run. It's bad." (This is the #1 response I hear.)

"I stay indoors."

"I use Sudafed, but even the non-drowsy kind makes me drowsy." (1. This person works outdoors, so she is unprotected by being enclosed indoors, 2. where she could use an electric air filter. 3. Many people are medicating themselves here.)

"I get sick and then I get well."

"I go to beach." (But getting there and back there's the Dust; and hanging around the beach for months on end is not healthy. Our bodies need a balance and protection from too much of anything, including the Sun.)

A thirty-something resident said, "I've lived here all my life. The Dust wasn't too bad years ago. Now it's getting worse."

That's enough comments for now.
When I hear a new or different comment about the Dust, I'll return here to include.



For anyone considering visiting or living in Puerto Rico, whether you have allergies or not, or asthma, please be very aware that the Saharan Dust can effect any body. If you do not have allergies or asthma, your body can still be negatively impacted by inhaling this Dust. For instance, heavy metal toxins, microscopic bacterias and viruses have been found by scientists in the Dust.

Just because your body is not feeling physically inflamed from inhaling it, I highly suggest protecting your body at the very least by doing regular cleansing and detoxing, and taking extra immune boosting supplements, and regularly wet mop and dust with wet cloths the interior of your home. If you have an outdoor porch, patio and or deck, spraying the Dust off of them with water is recommended too. This way you will be tracking less of the Dust into your home. I do NOT recommend sweeping or vacuuming, if you can avoid doing this.

Well. I'm generally relaxed and not worried about such details. I am usually in a happy frame of mind. But I've found that it pays off to be alert and to be protective too, so that I can relax and experience many happiness, like a healthier body.

Best of Health

Deborah, I'm sorry you are still dealing with this.  Hopefully, you will have some relief soon.  All the best to you!

Hi Schuttzie Friend. Thank you for the well-wishes.

On this Expat.com, I hope that my openly-acknowledged scuffle with The Dusts will help other lungs, and lives.

Love to all

What kind of immune boosters would you recommend ? I have a low immune system already I suffer in New York from allergies during the seasons thanks Johnny

Hi Friend Johnny

My sympathies for you with having allergies. 

Everybody needs something different, including specially-needed, specific immune boosters.
If you have not visited a naturopathic doctor or an ND yet, look for one or ones who specialize in allergies.
This person or persons can help identify how to carefully keep your immune system healthy and strong.

Here is how to find such a doctor in your New York area Johnny - http://www.nyanp.org

Best wishes for you, always.

Johnnyhulk wrote:

What kind of immune boosters would you recommend ? I have a low immune system already I suffer in New York from allergies during the seasons thanks Johnny

Not to be too technically picky, but allergies are an immune reaction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy), so you need an immune suppressant - not an immune booster.

You may also find that there is a low correlation between allergies in the temperate & tropical zones. Many people suffer from seasonal allergies due to seasonal variation in aerial pollen abundance that is less of an issue in tropical zones where flowering is less seasonal.