I keep seeing a lot of protest guides and advice for marchers and so on saying not to go to protests if you have asthma because of the risk of getting pepper sprayed. How serious do you think that is? Should I always skip protests because of my asthma? I feel like I’m not able to participate in something really important to me, even though I try to put together online resources when I can’t go out.

golbatgender:

pervocracy:

I have asthma and I’ve been to a ton of protests.  Advice:

– Most protests do not involve pepper spray.  You hear about the ones that do, because it makes the news, but there’s many more protests where there’s never any kind of violence.

– Check the news about how protests in your city have gone before.  Do the cops usually just stand by and watch, or do they have a track record of initiating violence during protests?  Different police departments have very different reputations for how they treat protesters.  And, sadly, your race and how “clean-cut” you look do affect your odds of police getting violent.

– Bring your rescue inhaler with you, of course.  Bonus points, if you’re okay with it: bring your rescue inhaler plus some disinfectant wipes to clean the mouthpiece in case another person with asthma is in distress and doesn’t have their own inhaler.

– If there are street medics around, let them know you have asthma; they may be able to keep a little bit of an eye on you and help if you’re starting to have an attack.

– If police start getting aggressive or telling people to disperse, leave if you can and stay away from the front lines if you can’t.  Pepper spray usually only has a range of about 20 feet max, so if you’re at the far end of a crowd from the cops, not much will get to you.  (Tear gas and pepper spray bullets are another matter, they have range, but they aren’t used as often and hopefully you’ll be given some chance to escape before then.)  While I wouldn’t say people with asthma shouldn’t protest, people with asthma should not make heroic stands against the police.  Let those who are able do that, and take care of yourself.

– In a worst case scenario, if you can’t get away, take some pre-emptive hits off your rescue inhaler and cover your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Some people who don’t normally have asthma might have a bronchospasm response to chemical weapons, and they might not realize that’s what’s happening. They likely won’t know how to use an inhaler properly, and they may not know they need help and it’s not just how gas or pepper spray usually affects people. Bring the disinfectant wipes, and keep an eye on anyone around you for disorientation, fatigue, grabbing at one’s face, thoat, or clothing, or other signs of slow asphyxiation. If you’ve had asthma for years, you’re going to be a lot better at functioning on low oxygen than people who’ve never experienced it before, so you’ll be able to help them better even before your meds really kick in.