What is Ozone Toxicity?
Ozone is basically a gas made up of three linked oxygen atoms. It is often produced by things like water purification, the process of bleaching, or any activity that creates a spark or electric arc around oxygen. Ozone is also naturally found in the atmosphere, more so at higher altitudes. It mainly resides in an outer layer of the atmosphere known as the stratosphere, where it absorbs different types of ultraviolet radiation.
Despite playing an essential role in our atmosphere, ozone can also be a form of air pollution when mixed with other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and tiny particles in the air. That being said, ozone can be produced specifically for medical purposes by certain medical devices. It has a host of possible therapeutic uses, including reducing pain after a tooth extraction, repairing ear damage due to loud noise exposure, reducing the risk of blockage return in heart stent patients when used in a specific blood transfusion method, and aiding in the removal of certain resistant infections when used with antibiotics.
Outside of medicine, ozone is also being considered for several applications including treating wastewater in the textile industry. Despite its possible uses, it is important to keep in mind that exposure to ozone has potential health risks. It can react with chemicals present in many products and create other potentially hazardous substances like formaldehyde. Even at levels commonly found in our environment, exposure to ozone could cause issues related to heart, respiratory, and neurological health. Given this, more research into ozone use and its potential toxicity is expected in the future.
What Causes Ozone Toxicity?
Ozone is a gas often found in the environment both indoors and outdoors. Normally, you’re likely to encounter it unintentionally. Indoor ozone levels are typically reduced in homes with central air conditioning, as these systems filter the air and limit the exchange between indoor and outdoor air. However, ozone can react with many household substances like those found in wood flooring, carpeting, and perfume, producing potentially harmful compounds.
Your surroundings play a significant role in determining how much ozone you’re exposed to, and hence the possible harmful effects on your health, particularly concerning your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. A study involving 95 communities in the US found that small increases in ozone levels were linked to an increase in short-term mortality. This emphasizes the widespread concern about ozone exposure’s impact on public health, not only in the US, but also in other countries like South Korea and Iceland.
It’s still unclear what exact level and duration of ozone exposure can cause harm. It’s also important to note that people may react differently to ozone exposure. For instance, one study found that children with asthma might be more sensitive to air pollutants like ozone. Another suggested that exposure to typical ozone levels in the environment may be enough to cause inflammation in the respiratory tract. Considering these findings, it’s reasonable to say that everyone may be affected by ozone exposure to some degree. However, this can depend on various factors, some of which are beyond our control.
Risk Factors and Frequency for Ozone Toxicity
The risk of harm from ozone is hard to calculate precisely due to multiple factors. According to a large study, a slight rise in ozone levels was linked to an increased risk of non-injury deaths in the following week. Moreover, this same ozone increase may also slightly increase the number of deaths resulting from heart or lung conditions. Besides its general harmful effects, ozone might also be dangerous if mishandled in medical procedures or in the workplace. However, not much research has been done on these potential risks, and no particular cases have been reported until now.
- The risk of being harmed by ozone is hard to work out precisely due to numerous influences.
- An increase in ozone by 10 parts per billion could raise the likelihood of non-injury deaths by 0.52% the following week, as per a major study.
- The same rise in ozone might lead to a 0.64% increase in deaths related to heart or lung conditions.
- Ozone can also pose a risk if it is improperly handled in medical treatments or in workplace environments.
- There is little research done and no specific cases reported pertaining to these potential dangers.
Signs and Symptoms of Ozone Toxicity
Ozone toxicity can cause symptoms that aren’t always easy to identify. These symptoms often depend on what part of the body is affected. For example, people with existing lung issues like asthma may experience an increase in breathing difficulty. This group is particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of ozone.
The detailed story of when and how symptoms started might only be identified in people getting non-traditional asthma treatments or those who have been exposed to ozone in their workplace. The specific symptoms are mainly associated with how the ozone exposure happened, its intensity, and how long the exposure lasted. Ozone can be delivered in various ways, such as through the veins, muscles, directly applied to the skin, into a joint, through the nose, rectum, or orally.
- Breathing difficulties in people with respiratory conditions like asthma
- The symptoms mainly occurred after unconventional asthma treatments or workplace exposure
- Symptoms relate directly to the method, intensity, and duration of ozone exposure
- Ozone can be delivered in multiple ways, including intravenous, intramuscular, topically, intra-articular, nasal, rectal, and oral
Testing for Ozone Toxicity
When checking for any harmful effects of ozone, which can irritate the lungs much like dust or smoke, doctors will use methods similar to those for detecting other lung irritants. Two key tests carried out to ensure your lungs are functioning properly include monitoring of oxygen saturation levels and spirometry, which measures how much and how quickly you can move air in and out of your lungs.
Additionally, health care providers might use an arterial blood gas analysis, a test that measures oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood to check your lungs are working well. They may also consider getting a chest X-ray to see if there’s exposure to any other substances that could potentially irritate your lungs.
An electrocardiogram, a test that checks your heart’s rhythm and electrical activity, can also be performed, especially if you have heart disease or are at risk of it. This helps doctors understand if the harmful effects of ozone are having an impact on your heart as well. This is often the case because the heart and lungs work together and problems in one can affect the other.
Treatment Options for Ozone Toxicity
Currently, there’s no specific treatment for people who have been exposed to ozone. However, it has been suggested that taking vitamin E orally might help those who are constantly exposed. Despite not preventing the functional impairment of airway, a drug called Budesonide has been found to reduce inflammation in the airways typically caused by ozone exposure.
What else can Ozone Toxicity be?
When looking at ozone toxicity, doctors must also consider eliminating the following possible conditions that may present with similar symptoms:
- Acute lactic acidosis
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome
- Alcohol toxicity
- Depression and suicide
- Diabetic ketoacidosis
- Emergency treatment for gastroenteritis
- Encephalitis (brain inflammation)
- Hypothyroidism and myxedema coma (a severe complication of hypothyroidism)
- Labyrinthitis (inner ear disorder)
- Meningitis (brain and spinal cord inflammation)
- Methemoglobinemia (blood disorder)
- Migraine headache
- Opioid toxicity
- Pediatrics hypoglycemia (low blood sugar in children)
- Tension headache
To ensure an accurate diagnosis, physicians must consider all these possibilities and perform the necessary tests.
