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May 16, 2012
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Smoke Inhalation

Medical Author:
Christopher P Holstege, MD
Medical Editor:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Wildfire Smoke - Gets In Your Lungs

Medical Author: Benjamin C. Wedro, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editors: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Every summer the risk for forest fires are greater in climates with a lot of underbrush and tree growth. Often people have just minutes to grab a few items before they are forced to evacuate their home. The number of people evacuated and the number of homes destroyed are hard to comprehend at times. But as the fires die down, the television cameras will move to the next story, and the stories from wildefires will be replaced by the next catastrophe.

In the medical world, the fallout from the fires may be exactly that?

Read the rest of the effects of breathing fire smoke »

Smoke Inhalation Overview

The number one cause of death related to fires is smoke inhalation. An estimated 50%-80% of fire deaths are the result of smoke inhalation injuries rather than burns.

Smoke inhalation occurs when you breathe in the products of combustion during a fire. Combustion results from the rapid breakdown of a substance by heat (more commonly called burning). Smoke is a mixture of heated particles and gases. It is impossible to predict the exact composition of smoke produced by a fire. The products being burned, the temperature of the fire, and the amount of oxygen available to the fire all make a difference in the type of smoke produced.

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Smoke Inhalation - Causes

The eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:

What was the cause of your smoke inhalation?

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Smoke Inhalation

Occupational Asthma »

Occupational Asthma Overview

Asthma is a chronic (long-term, ongoing) inflammation of the breathing passages (bronchi) of the lungs. The inflammation irritates the airway, causing breathing problems.

  • Most people with asthma have sudden attacks or periods of bothersome or severe symptoms separated by periods of mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.


  • Asthma is an inflammatory reaction that is triggered by external factors or specific situations.


  • When a person with asthma is exposed to one of his or her triggers, the inflammation worsens and symptoms ensue.

Occupational asthma is a breathing (respiratory) disease caused by exposure to a trigger in the workplace. A trigger is an external factor or condition in the body that causes the asthma to occur or worsen. The list of known triggers is long and varied.

  • The trigger generally is something inhaled.


    • ...

Read the Occupational Asthma article »


Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Smoke Inhalation »

Smoke inhalation (SI) was described as early as the first century AD, when Pliny reported the execution of prisoners by exposure to the smoke of greenwood fires.

Read More on Medscape Reference »

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