Inhalation of smoke is a compelling factor of death to firefighters among most reported cases in fire scenarios. Inhaled hot air evokes severe injuries through mechanisms such as chemical and irritation injury to an individual’s airways, upper airway injury, asphyxiation, and cyanide and Carbon Monoxide gas toxicity (New York State Department of Health, 2020). A firefighter has more significant risks of inhalation injury or lung injuries when they inhale heated air. Inhaling of chemical or thermal irritants constitutes pulmonary trauma. Injuries that arise from the inhalation of heated air are classified into three different classes. They include heat injuries resulting from air restriction to upper airway structures and systemic toxicity caused by inhaled cyanide or carbon monoxide gas.
Some interventions are required to be conducted on a firefighter that suffers from smoke or heat injury. An appropriate intervention, therefore, is checking for cyanide and Carbon Monoxide gas pulmonary irritation and poisoning. Various inhalation injury signs include hypotension, decreased cognitive ability, lower consciousness, abnormal tissue perfusion, anxiety, dyspnea, rapid breathing, and confusion (New York State Department of Health, 2020). A patient should be placed on 100% oxygen to decrease the level of carbon monoxide by half in a time equivalent to one hour. The patient should later be placed in a fully oxygenated room pressurized at three atmospheres. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase is usually inhibited by cyanide gas. The inhibition causes cellular asphyxia and lactic acidosis irrespective of sufficient oxygen content in the arterial blood vessels. Cyanide inhalation signs include tachypnea, dizziness, and decreased degrees of consciousness, tachycardia, and headache.
Acute syndrome of respiratory distress (ARDS) that causes respiratory failure is attributed to diffuse inhalation injury and several compilations of factors (New York State Department of Health, 2020). The condition leads to the production of extravascular fluid in the lungs. Hence, ARDS causes the build-up of extravascular fluid in the air sacs of a patient. As a result, the fluid hinders the sufficient flow of oxygen into the bloodstream. A patient suffering from inhalation injuries can be treated through the provision of oxygen, cardiac monitoring, IV fluids, and chest x-rays. New York State Department of Health (2020) states that prolonged exposure to chemical and smoke irritants is harmful to respiratory health. It can result in risks of pulmonary and cardiovascular infections and diseases.
References
New York State Department of Health. (2020). Exposure to smoke from fires. Web.