1984

Dear all,

It seems as if a wonderful opportunity may be opening up to me in KL and another potential next step is in Penang.

I've read a lot recently about the 'haze' and was wondering... Just how bad is it in these places? How many days a year would we be confined to our house? Would I be the worlds worst father for taking a 3 year old asthmatic to either of these cities?

Thank you so much in advance for any of your thoughts.

bakedbean

Hello and welcome to the forum

I don't know the answer to your question but I do know of others (retirees) with lung problems who have moved from Penang partly due to the haze.

How many days a year? Well, who knows. It shouldn't be happening as most of the stuff is coming across from Sumatra and the governments have agreed not to but the reality is that we still get it sometimes. It's not all the time. Just certain times of the year.

It would probably be helpful if you get a reply from someone with these kind of problems, though I don't know if there is anyone on this forum.

ex reg

There must be many Malaysians in Penang who have asthma and just have to get on with it.
Same here in Singapore when the haze is bad, whoever has asthma can't do much.

It always surprises me that the best advice seems to be stay indoors. I can't see how if there is a haze containing particulates outside then the same must be the case indoors, so how does staying indoors help.

It must be a difficult decision for someone who has a child with asthma and who is considering moving to Malaysia. Are there different levels of asthma??

Can you get info online about days of haze per annum??
Government statistics might be available.

I'd say over the last year in Singapore there have been more days with haze than without it. But how bad that haze was on each day is ....

Also bad haze in HK.
Maybe ask on that forum what posters think although for some reason the HK forum has gone very quiet lately.

Gunnar45

We had visitors here in Penang.
They arrived mid Decamber and left mid January.
The lady suffered from severe astmah but it didn't get any worse here and if any she felt a little better.
But I don't remember the haz situation at that time.

columbine

The farmers and plantation workers clear the land for crop cultivation by burning. Many are from Indonesia SW of the peninsular and Kalimantan, plus some added hot spots from the peninsula itself. The peninsular gets it worst when the SW monsoon winds bring it across and up Easterly and North-Easterly. The uncomfortable part is the burning smokey odour in the air at times and some times can be for days. I think the pollutant particles are larger than the industrial pollutants we get in HK. There is warning in the news when it's bad Or I can smell it as I'm very sensitive to the odour and my throat gets very dry and upper respiratory gets irritated. I stop my walks, swim and neglect the garden during the bad days.

The haze is different from that in Hong Kong which is year round and it gets even worse when winds blow southward bringing industrial polutants from Southern China to HK. There is no adour. I wear a mask when it's bad and I'm outdoor in HK.

When it's bad the govt will advise people to stay indoor and avoid outdoor activities.

In Penang, the burnt odour can get into houses as the windows and doors are not as tight fitting as the ones I have in HK. I close all doors and windows and turn on my air filter with ionizer and AC in Pg. I close all doors and windows too in HK but I don't need an air filter just AC when it's hot and heater on when it's cold ;-) I don't use the window type AC in HK as this type sucks in outside air directly. Use the split system both in HK and Penang and keep the filters clean.

bakedbean

Penang doesn't get as much as Singapore generally....and our haze coming from a different place anyway.

1984

Many thanks for those taking the time to discuss this with me!

Is the haze predictably at the end of June and through July?

I'm thinking that I would be on summer holidays July and August and would most likely be home in the UK. I could just avoid it this way...

Beauregard

@ex reg who asked, "It always surprises me that the best advice seems to be stay indoors. I can't see how if there is a haze containing particulates outside then the same must be the case indoors, so how does staying indoors help."

If an asthma sufferer is indoors the air quality can be adjusted. Running an air conditioner will cool and dry the air. Dryer air will hold less particulate matter than humid air and it is the particulate matter in the air which aggravates asthma, particularly if the asthmatic is allergic to the material forming the particulates.

Also, an air filtration device can be used to clean the air and remove the particulates.

Air ionisers can also help an asthmatic. Oxygen in the air can only be absorbed if it has a negative charge on the oxygen. Air ionisers act to increase the negative charge on atmospheric oxygen and thus the asthmatic (and everyone else in the room) gets more oxygen into their bloodstream. Note that whenever you come to a place where the air smells fresh and invigorating, it is because there is a high negative charge on the atmospheric oxygen. Such areas include waterfalls, the seaside and anywhere that rain has recently fallen.

Beauregard

Every ex-pat seems to want to live in KL or Penang but bear in mind Malaysia is a good sized country and there are many other areas where one can live, unless work or other obligations affect which part of the country you can live in.

I moved to Malaysia and live in Ipoh, which is farther inland than KL or Penang. I have only been here since 1 October 2014 but I haven't noticed any issues with the air quality so far and i am asthmatic (although my asthma is very mild).

As far as the wee child goes: Make sure she has a very good diet and gets plenty of fresh food. Vitamin and mineral supplements can help asthma enormously. I have never tried this but I was told by a bloke who studies nutrition as treatment for illness that kiwi fruit are very helpful for asthma. he suggested to me as an adult that I eat 6 kiwis per day and observe the benefits. I would reckon that one or two kiwis per day for 3 year old would do the trick, if the fruit is in fact going to benefit the condition and most certainly fresh fruit will not hurt anyone.

bakedbean

Welcome to the forum looks like we now have 2 posters in Ipoh and 1 about to be. Good.

jonboy

Dear Beauregard
Looks like very little is safe these days, Kiwi fruit "very helpful for Asthma" Well the internet is full of stories about Kiwi fruit and Anaphylactic shock.
Saying "fresh fruit will not hurt anyone" on the assumption that "some bloke" says so, seems a bit dodgy.

columbine

The haze comes to the peninsula from Sumatra burnings during the SW monsoon season ie about May to about September. Up in Penang we don't get the severe haze daily throughout the SW monsoon season, some days a good downpour can clear the air, then a dry week accompanied by strong southwesterly winds bring another wave of haze.
The haze has been worse the past two years because we had less rain. In general Penang is better than the Klang Valley where KL is from the pollution index readings posted daily during "haze season" ;-) ie Pg's readings could be Moderate while KL's could be Severe.

Beauregard

Dear Jonboy,

Any food substance can cause anaphylactic shock if the individual is allergic to it, so it is rather absurd to become paranoid about one particular fruit in the absence of an allergy. I am sure the internet is full of stories of all manner of horrors of people who have come a cropper while engaged in an activity that is harmless to most, but I for one do not go through life starting in panic every time I spot my own shadow.

What I said precisely was: "I have never tried this but I was told by a bloke who studies nutrition as treatment for illness that kiwi fruit are very helpful for asthma." Excuse me for not stating the man's name because I do not recall it offhand. If I said he was Reginald Smythe or Ben Jones or Johann Gabel, would that have changed the value of the information? I am certain that most of us do not remember the names of every person that has shared bits of information during our lives. And let us keep the matter in perspective: I was not talking about taking a pharmaceutical drug or some strange untested chemical compound, I was suggesting eating fruit!

What I was told was either useful, workable information or it isn't and anyone reading this is welcome to try it or not. If one fears allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock and one has never eaten the food before, then have a wee piece of it and watch for an adverse reaction; or if eating a new food holds such terror for one, then avoid it utterly by all means.

Fresh foods, fruit and otherwise, provide health benefits for the majority of us but naturally if one has an allergy to a particular food then one should not eat it. Rather obvious I would think. If one tends to severe allergic reactions to foods or certain classes of foods, then good sense would dictate that one proceed with caution when trying a new food. The fact of the matter is that most people can boldly taste foods they have never tried before without fear.

Of course if one wants to be afraid of eating any foods of any sort, you could always try not eating but I suspect that would not be beneficial to one's health in the long run!

Beauregard

Thanks for the welcome Baked Bean!

I remember you well from the MM2H Forum, which seems to now be defunct (or if still active, I cannot seem to find it).

Lovely to "meet" you again!

bakedbean

I may or may not have been on that forum

There's a 3 page thread about The Other Place here:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/retir...e-gone-844749/