Chapter 18 : Protecting Yourself
With awareness of the air pollution problem increasing, there are now more and more options when thinking about protecting yourself from breathing in harmful toxins. However, there are still far too many people who don’t see it as a problem! Even if you don’t feel any changes in your health or breathing now, taking steps to protect yourself against the pollution is undeniably important for your future health and even the health of any children you may have.
The Air Quality Index is the measurements now used to track how polluted it is an how harmful too much exposure would be for people. For those of you who do not know, the Air Quality Index looks something like this:
Good-------------------------------------------------0-50(Green)
Moderate---------------------------------------51-100(Yellow)
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups--------101-150(Orange)
Unhealthy------------------------------151-200(Bright Red)
Very Unhealthy------------------------------201-300(Purple)
Hazardous----------------------------------- >300 (Dark Red)
Stay aware! There are many apps available now that will track the air quality in Chinese cities and update it hourly. The most popular one today is called the ‘China Air Pollution Index’. Keep this on your phone and check it before going for a run or having a picnic in the park to make sure that the air is of a high enough quality that your trip not be hazardous.
Some face masks are better than others! While they may be cute, the fuzzy masks that just cover your mouth are barely filtering the air at all. The best mask for battling the air pollution is the N95 Industrial Mask which can be purchased on Amazon or Taobao.
While a bit pricier than masks but even more helpful, consider buying air purifiers for your home and not leaving the windows open on days where the pollution is high than 50-75.
Buying plants for your home that have air purifying capabilities are a cheaper and more elegant way to keep the air in your home clean. Some houseplants that will help with air purification are:
-Peace Lilly (Spathiphyllum Wallis)
-Aloe Vera
-Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
-English Ivy (Hedera helix)
-Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium)
-Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)
Bonus Tip: Eating lots of raw fruits and vegetables is very healthy on highly polluted days. The antioxidants in them will help your body combat any pollutants that make it into your system!
随着人们对于空气污染的认识越来越高，越来越多的人开始想办法让自己远离空气污染。但是，仍然有很多人并没有意识到空气污染的严重性。即使你并没有觉得自己的身体健康或者呼吸功能出现异常，但是仍然需要采取一定的保护措施，让自己远离环境污染给身体带来的慢性伤害，对于孩子是这样，大人也不例外。
空气质量指数，是目前最常用来测量空气污染的数据。如果你对这个指数并没有很多了解，那么这些数据可能对于你来说是这样的：
优-----0-50 （绿色）
良 ---- 51-100 （黄色）
不适于敏感人群 ----- 101-150 （橙色）
不健康 ------ 151—200 （红色）
非常不健康 ----201—300 （紫色）
危险----- >300 （暗红色）
对于这个问题，你必须时刻保持警惕！现在手机上有很多应用程序用于追踪中国各个城市的空气质量指数，每小时都会更新。最为人熟知的app是‘中国空气污染指数’。你可以在自己的手机上下载一个，并且时不时地刷新一下空气质量的数据，特别是在外出跑步或是野餐之前，确保空气质量足够高，不会危害到你的健康。
利用好口罩是非常重要的。有一些看似很可爱的面具，并不能过滤空气中的浮沉颗粒。最好的对抗空气污染的口罩叫做N95工业口罩，可以在亚马逊网或是淘宝购买。
空气净化器虽然价格高过口罩，但是却能很好地保护您的家庭，免受空气污染的危害，在室外空气污染指数高于50-75的时候，可以开启空气净化器，净化室内的空气。
除此之外，购买一些净化能力高的植物，也是一个极具性价比，又可以装饰房间的好方法。这里有一些有助于空气净化的植物供您选择：
---- 和平百合
---- 芦荟
----- 吊兰
------ 常春藤
------- 菊花
------- 橡皮树
最后还有一个小小的提示：多吃新鲜蔬菜和水果可以保持身体的健康。这些蔬果中的抗氧化剂可以帮助你提高免疫力，免受空气污染的危害。