NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The coronavirus can impact lung health in many different ways.

Due to these times of unrest and protesting, News 8 asked Doctor Naftali Kaminski, Chief of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, about tear gas being ingested.

The American Thoracic Society has called for a moratorium on the use of tear gas during this pandemic. Dr. Kiminski says it was once thought to be safe, but now there are concerns.

“The problem with tear gas, it does activate pathways that are known to be involved in other lung disease. The risk is not of death immediately but asthmatic exacerbation, viral infections and respiratory infections so there is a significant concern,” says Dr. Kaminski.

We asked him about a condition called lung fibrosis as a long term COVID-19 side effect.

“It will cause shortness of breath, will prevent people from going back to work, and may cause even a lifetime illness,” according to Dr. Kaminski.

He also said he does not think everyone should have a device called a pulse oximeter at home. It measures oxygen in the blood.

“We do not think people should have pulse oximeters at home, or at least I don’t think so. However, pulse oximeters do have an important role in the management of people who have lung disease, so if somebody has chronic lung disease, COPD, it really is important that they can monitor the saturation and this can prevent complications,” says Dr. Kaminski.