VOG, we all see it when Hilo is hot and humid. If we are driving down from saddle road and look towards bay front and the vog is really bad we can’t see bay front.

Last semester I was sick three times from an allergic reaction. Very miserable!!! I was in bed for a week for all three times. I was getting very discouraged about my health, but when I looked out the window, I noticed that the vog was really bad. I then noticed a pattern with my symptoms—sneezing, congestion, fatigue, body aces, headaches, and coughing. It felt like I had the flu three times within two months. Each time I would feel like this I noticed that the Vog was bad and since the Dr’s ( I went to three different ones) couldn’t help me (two didn’t have answers, one said it was a allergic reaction in my chest), I started to do my own research. Whenever I start the first symptom which is sneezing, I quickly pop one Echinacea, take allegra D, and vitamin C. It somewhat helps but I still feel groggy. In fact, in the beginning of this week the vog was pretty bad. I felt fatigue, my allergies were acting up, I just feel like staying in bed.

First, what is vog? Vog is caused by the volcano. When the volcano has an eruption, it releases sulfur dioxide and other pollutants. Vog is a reaction from when these gases plus the moisture and plus oxygen mix in sunlight. That explains it, Kilauea is erupting (volcanic eruption), it pretty much rains a lot in Hilo (moisture), the air we breathe (oxygen), and our sunlight. The mixture of gases creates aerosols.

This aerosols lingers in our lungs which damages their performance as well weakens our immune system. So, people who have asthma are really affected by it. Symptoms from the vog have been reported to be headaches, difficulty breathing, and flu-like symptoms.

The Big Island Health Guide gives you some suggestions for coping with the symptoms. The one suggestion that I have not tried was closing all the windows and having an air purifier running. I have an air purifier but I haven’t used it since I was in grade school, I had really bad asthma back then.