Vog in Hilo? (Kilauea, Keaau, Kurtistown: pros and cons, allergies, live)

[SunnySideUpS]

Aloha to you all on the Big Island! How often do you experience vog in Hilo? If anyone with asthma or other respiratory issues could comment on how vog effects their symptoms I sure would appreciate it. Thanks!

[cynmkolohe]

This article from the West Hawaii Today addresses what has been happening recently (read carefully - the headline is a bit misleading, I think...but it has been MUCH better recently) Reduced Kilauea emissions lessen vog (http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2010/07/22/local/local02.txt - broken link)

[SunnySideUpS]

Hi,
I wanted to thank you for your reply. I read the article and also poked around a little on the West Hawaii site. It had links that had more info on vog including maps that were helpful. Thanks again!

[BigIslandGuy]

I am up in Kurtistown and the Vog isn't so bad in my opinion, once in awhile in Hilo it may get heavy but most of the time it's great. I have lived in city's that the air pollution is always ten times worse then here.

[isabella20]

Originally Posted by SunnySideUpS

Aloha to you all on the Big Island! How often do you experience vog in Hilo? If anyone with asthma or other respiratory issues could comment on how vog effects their symptoms I sure would appreciate it. Thanks!

We're in our sixth year in Hilo and I've had little to no problem with the vog. It seems like it's seldomly voggy here

[teachertype]

Originally Posted by SunnySideUpS

How often do you experience vog in Hilo? If anyone with asthma or other respiratory issues could comment on how vog effects their symptoms

My spouse has asthma and her respiratory health deteriorated very rapidly to a crisis level during the period of time we lived in Hilo. The VOG was a factor but it's not just the VOG. It rains almost every day Hilo side, everything is damp, vegetation is in a constant state of decay and pollination/re-growth, the mold and mildew are ferocious. We heard it was better Kona side, even though it is a bit sunnier, I truly doubt it.

The Big Island is very lush like a closed system terrarium, always raining, always damp, always pollinating. An asthmatics nightmare.

[Sweetbeet]

It IS a lot drier on the Kona side - much different in climate, dampness, humidity. I don't know about the vog. Likewise, here on Kauai, the north shore is very wet, rainy and humid, but the west side is very, very dry. And there are even "microclimates" within those areas, and especially in between.

How you do in Hawaii with asthma depends to a great extent on what triggers your asthma, as well as where you are. My mom has COPD and asthma, and she has been MUCH better since moving here (Kauai - hardly any vog; east side, not too wet or dry; slightly up the hill, a little cooler than on the flats). She's off oxygen, off prednisone and many other meds, and has actually been going to a gym. In her case, she had allergies to mice and rats, and difficulties with large changes in temp and humidity. In upstate NY, where the humidity went from 20% to 90% and temps from -5 to 95, she had a heck of a time. Couldn't go out in the winter (too dry/cold), in the summer (too hot/wet). (Now she's not too fond of the bugs or geckos, but she's dealing...)

[dianer29]

I have breathing issues such as allergies as well as a damaged lung injury We live on the Hilo side in Keaau The smell and vog from our volcano which is about 16 miles away is horrible at times and the rain and what it creates is a bit much for my ailments yet we stay and contend with it. I shut my windows however briefly it needs to be done and when out in it try to deal with it as well. I 'm not going anywhere else after weighing pros and cons.

[HonuMan]

My wife and I just got back from a trip to the Big Island (where she's from), and since we want to move there in a few years, we were curious about the vog situation. After speaking with lots of friends and relatives, the consensus is that there's no consensus -- people are affected differently. An elderly friend of ours in Hilo said that, for her, there have been only half a dozen really bad vog days in the past five years. We spent a few days in Kona, and the vog was quite visible on two of those days (moderately heavy, according to people we asked), but neither my wife nor I were affected. I get moderate seasonal allergies on the Mainland, so I expected my eyes and throat to be bothered at least a little, but they weren't. My advice would be visit the BI, go to Kona on a voggy day, and see how you react. If you're okay there, chances are that you'll be fine in Hilo.

[BigIslandGuy]

Yep South Kona seems to be the worst in my opinion but even when I am over there it doesn't seem to bother me to much either so I agree with HonuMan if you are thinking of moving here visit first and check it out for yourself. Everybody is different