Do I Need Mask While Living in Bangkok?

[arfandy]

Next month of Feb, I & Family (wife + 2 kid+ 1 unborn) will be arriving in Bangkok. We will live in Bangkok Mission Hospital top-floor guesthouse (i think it was on 5th floor, open space rooftop with 2 guest houses) for 90 days. We did the same back in 2016 but at that time the air quality was "better".

 

Recently I have been seeing news from bangkokpost livefeed, and most of them are about air polution in Bangkok with Lampang and ChiangMai had it the worse.

 

Anyone living around the vicinity can share how bad is the dust level/polution from February onward?

 

ANy suggestion what kind of mask should i be looking online now?

 

Am i expecting worse air quality just by living on the top 5th floor? Or should i request the ground guest house?

 

Thank you.

[Ramen087]

Yes, you do. You can purchase N95 masks at homepro and a few other places...

[brewsterbudgen]

A mask is recommended, although hopefully the air quality may have improved.  Getting kids to wear them is difficult and obviously not practical all the time.  Living in Bangkok is "unhealthy", but then living in most cities is hardly healthy anywhere.  If the air quality reaches "hazardous" levels or "very unhealthy" (which fortunately is still quite rare), taking precautions like a proper mask is essential.  For day to day normal Bangkok life it's just an option, and most people don't wear a mask.  Getting an air purifier for your home is a good idea.

[Ventenio]

I promise I will try to ask in a very, very polite way.

 

Please research the damage all this VERY HIGH amount of pollution can do to your kids and unborn child.  This could be life-changing.  Is going to BKK really worth it?

 

I wish you the best, please research pollution.   This isn't your normal amount of pollution, this is some of the MOST TOXIC IN THE WORLD

[orchis]

I would recommend it.
I was there around Christmas and got so sick.
I had lived in Bangkok 1995 to 2012 but never got so sick in such a short time.

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, Ventenio said:

I promise I will try to ask in a very, very polite way.

 

Please research the damage all this VERY HIGH amount of pollution can do to your kids and unborn child.  This could be life-changing.  Is going to BKK really worth it?

 

I wish you the best, please research pollution.   This isn't your normal amount of pollution, this is some of the MOST TOXIC IN THE WORLD

It's a risk, and one that should be taken into account.  For many it's a risk worth taking or less important than countless other health risks and unhealthy activities.  Fortunately the risk in Bangkok is nowhere near as serious as the air pollution found in London in the 1950s.  Modern city life is generally unhealthy for many reasons.  Exaggerating the risks and using hyperbolic language doesn't help.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Ventenio said:

I promise I will try to ask in a very, very polite way.

 

Please research the damage all this VERY HIGH amount of pollution can do to your kids and unborn child.  This could be life-changing.  Is going to BKK really worth it?

 

I wish you the best, please research pollution.   This isn't your normal amount of pollution, this is some of the MOST TOXIC IN THE WORLD

 

He is posting from elsewhere in SEAsia and that plus fact that the family will stay 3 months in hospital housing suggests they are  coming here for medical care...not a pleasure trip.

 

OP yes get masks. The air right now is very bad, February is anyone's guess.  It varies from day to day.

 

Avoid being out and about during rush hours. And if you can, bring or locally purchase an air purifier, And immediately on arrival check and clean the a/c filters if necessary....it usually is.

 

I would think that higher up is better than ground level but not really sure. Auto exhaust and construction dust are the main culprits in Bangkok.

 

[arfandy]

10 hours ago, Ventenio said:

I promise I will try to ask in a very, very polite way.

 

Please research the damage all this VERY HIGH amount of pollution can do to your kids and unborn child.  This could be life-changing.  Is going to BKK really worth it?

 

I wish you the best, please research pollution.   This isn't your normal amount of pollution, this is some of the MOST TOXIC IN THE WORLD

I appreciate your concern. Like i said, we came in 2016 for medical purpose and this year we have to come back again for 90 days of stay. Back in 2016, it was okay to breath.

 

Yes, i did my research and i need extra input from expats who actually live in Bangkok. 

 

Optionally, we could also live in ChaingRai/ChiangMai during 90 days of stay but according to my research, these two provinces are worse than Bangkok.

 

Believe me, if it were not necessary, we would not even think to return to Thailand during these months.

[lopburi3]

First of all this is not a Bangkok specific issue currently - almost all the central and northern regions have very bad air quality currently (but at no point does it even compare to bad days in China or India but it may make Thailand near the top on any one day).

 

There are extremely dry conditions in Thailand this year which is making the normal (but ill advised) crop burning much more intense and that smoke appears to be the main cause of current high readings (although not politically correct to say so it seems).  Once this burning period is over levels should get more reasonable.  As mentioned above using a HEPA air filter in sleeping areas will greatly reduce overall exposure and if also use in day living area and limit outside time there should not be serious effects.  

[samsensam]

 

OP, if you're genuinely concerned about our families health and want health advice i'm afraid this is not the place to come. you really need to contact health professionals and look at the scientific data, much of which is available on the web. the WHO and UN web sites are very good for starters.

[kevin612]

Of course, I am wearing mask everyday.

[Ventenio]

22 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It's a risk, and one that should be taken into account.  For many it's a risk worth taking or less important than countless other health risks and unhealthy activities.  Fortunately the risk in Bangkok is nowhere near as serious as the air pollution found in London in the 1950s.  Modern city life is generally unhealthy for many reasons.  Exaggerating the risks and using hyperbolic language doesn't help.

Yes, it's not as dangerous as 70 years ago, or 100 years ago, or 5 billion years ago; however, that doesn't mean I should go to Iran because it's safer than North Korea.   LOL.  Or eat glass because it's less harmful than eating a grenade.  LOL.  come on....   

 

BUT BUT , sorry I missed the part about medical reasons.  Yes, BKK is very affordable relative to other countries and I wish the OP the best and I'm sure you will buy the real masks in your home country.

 

Now back to the other guy.....LOL.....I wasn't being that hyperbolic, since BKK really is one of the most polluted cities in the world.  

 

Side note:  I get my lungs xrayed once a year and they are fine; however, especially when older, you might have to start taking inhalers and pills as it's much more difficult to fight the "demon's breath" which can kill all living things if 1 part per 1 zillion is within 100 kms of you.  That's hyperbolic!!!  

[lopburi3]

25 minutes ago, Ventenio said:

Now back to the other guy.....LOL.....I wasn't being that hyperbolic, since BKK really is one of the most polluted cities in the world.  

Yes you were. 

 

And no Bangkok is not one of the most polluted cities in the world (made 474 out of 500 for 2015).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration

[Timwin]

Mask is one thing but you need also an air purifier with HEPA filter but maybe the hospital already have one installed. 

[ianezy0]

Do you need lungs for breathing!

[LALes]

I have been coming to BKK for winter season for 10 years and I can tell you it gets progressively worse every year.  Smog season used to be mid-January to mid-February and the readings would top out at 120-130.  Now, smog season begins around Christmas and can go into March.  And the numbers are off-the-charts crazy.

I finally broke down last year and got an N95 mask because we are approaching critical mass.  I grew up in LA in the 60s and I can tell you this is worse.  This year especially, there is a much more sustained period of toxic air than ever before.  I haven't had my windows open for 4 days and the purifier is always on.  It shows no sign of relenting, either.

[Sametboy2019]

It's seems you are going to Bangkok for medical reasons but do you need to stay there for 3 months?

Also there other good hospitals elsewhere in Thailand.

[lopburi3]

Just now, Sametboy2019 said:

Also there other good hospitals elsewhere in Thailand.

The issue is doctors and most of the best doctors are in Bangkok.  Yes there are exceptions but those coming from half way around the world come to Bangkok for a reason.

[OneMoreFarang]

18 hours ago, arfandy said:

I appreciate your concern. Like i said, we came in 2016 for medical purpose and this year we have to come back again for 90 days of stay. Back in 2016, it was okay to breath.

 

Yes, i did my research and i need extra input from expats who actually live in Bangkok. 

 

Optionally, we could also live in ChaingRai/ChiangMai during 90 days of stay but according to my research, these two provinces are worse than Bangkok.

 

Believe me, if it were not necessary, we would not even think to return to Thailand during these months.

Lot's of places are a lot better than Bangkok or CM.

http://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/

 

[mrfill]

Just the job..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Donald-Trump-Shouting-Celebrity-Fancy/dp/B01LZZMA9L/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=donald+trump+mask&oe=UTF8&qid=1579517165&sr=8-12

[JungleBiker]

6 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Yes you were. 

 

And no Bangkok is not one of the most polluted cities in the world (made 474 out of 500 for 2015).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1144152-bangkok-eighth-worst-in-the-world-for-air-quality-global-index-shows/?utm_source=newsletter-20200120-1238&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news 

[estnet]

6 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Yes you were. 

 

And no Bangkok is not one of the most polluted cities in the world (made 474 out of 500 for 2015).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration

Well not today

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/30/690181723/thai-officials-close-schools-as-toxic-air-pollution-chokes-bangkok

 

and The Nation had article stating 8th most polluted city in the world 

 

That said it may be different in a month, but who knows?

Also:  http://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/

[Thian]

Yes you need a mask all day long, the air is very bad...i don't go out anymore because it gives a headache...

[kekalot]

9 minutes ago, Thian said:

Yes you need a mask all day long, the air is very bad...i don't go out anymore because it gives a headache...

this, i lived in Mae Hong Son 2 years ago which was/is worse than Chiang Mai every year but barely heard of because Chiang Mai is a more popular destination.. (we broke the 500 in MHS before I left)

 

if you would have told me that being fit would be a hindrance for me in the future i would have had a laugh but .. when I was in MHS my "better than average" lungs were a damn curse and I did get headaches and even shortness of breath just walking a little angled hill (that I could run all the way up to on any good day).

 

I had several days in a row that all I did was walk downstairs and stay on the computer and didn't want to get out, it was that bad (and likely equal or worse this year).. I moved out south tho so, hopefully good now.

[Sheryl]

11 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

OP, if you're genuinely concerned about our families health and want health advice i'm afraid this is not the place to come. you really need to contact health professionals and look at the scientific data, much of which is available on the web. the WHO and UN web sites are very good for starters.

 

He has to come here for health reasons.

[Aussiepeter]

Don't even consider Chiang Mai - and BKK is now almost as bad, as is everywhere in LOS. I have already said it on other forums so many times now. I lived in LOS for 25 years - the air just got worse and worse - locals in denial say "oh, it is only REALLY bad for 3 or 4 months" Air purifiers ? - utter rubbish ! Six years ago I moved my Thai wife and then 3 y.o. daughter to Oz to escape the foul air pollution in Thailand. My voice had gone funny, like a lady boy, but worse. Just after arrival I was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer (T1) from 'exposure to air pollution PM 2.5' and the Dr said I was his fourth "victim ha ha patient" ex LOS to present with the exact same thing ! Four months of more radiation than the Lord Mayor of Hiroshima got, saved me. I was in my fifties, very fit and never smoked in my life. If any of you reading this have children and you can afford to leave LOS - "GET OUT NOW". (The truth often hurts). Yesterday, after speaking with her family in LOS on skype, the Mrs turned to our 9 y.o. and said "Daddy saved your life (and hers) by getting us out of Thailand" (in English, as our daughter doesn't speak a word of Thai). She was so right. I loved what LOS used to be - but it is now a toxic time bomb. Who would have thought that thirty years ago ?

[JayBird]

Mask will not be enough.  You will also need an air purifier in the room.  The pollution is very bad indoors, not just outdoors.

 

Depending how big your place is you may need multiple. 

 

All the more so if anyone in the family is allergic, asthmatic, had any breathing problems, is young or old.

 

For what it's worth, I'm living here, hugging my air purifier, watching my gf take a tonne of meds and shower because she went outside fur an hour.

[thequietman]

5 hours ago, Timwin said:

Mask is one thing but you need also an air purifier with HEPA filter but maybe the hospital already have one installed. 

any recommendations please regarding an air purifier?

 

Some on Lazada, but unsure what to order. Thanks. ????

[TechnikaIII]

Do you need a mask while living in Bangkok? .. Hmmmm

Well if you're ugly, I'm sure that some would be grateful. ????

[Thian]

2 hours ago, kekalot said:

this, i lived in Mae Hong Son 2 years ago which was/is worse than Chiang Mai every year but barely heard of because Chiang Mai is a more popular destination.. (we broke the 500 in MHS before I left)

 

if you would have told me that being fit would be a hindrance for me in the future i would have had a laugh but .. when I was in MHS my "better than average" lungs were a damn curse and I did get headaches and even shortness of breath just walking a little angled hill (that I could run all the way up to on any good day).

 

I had several days in a row that all I did was walk downstairs and stay on the computer and didn't want to get out, it was that bad (and likely equal or worse this year).. I moved out south tho so, hopefully good now.

I still get a headache when i wear an N95 mask outdoors all day...best is to stay inside and close all windows. When i need to excercise i walk around in a mall or so, or impact muang thong thani...best is to leave thailand forever..they can't fix anything at all.