By DEVLIN BARRETT
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON The New York City Health Department issued instructions to doctors Thursday for treating and detecting illnesses related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The long-awaited medical advice includes a warning that smoking can make those health problems worse.
The agency had previously offered instructions for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and mental illness following the attacks, but health experts and advocates complained the city had no instructions for treating physical ailments.
Since 2001, thousands of firefighters, police officers and construction workers who worked in the debris of the World Trade Center site have been screened for a host of medical ailments, including lung disease and gastrointestinal problems.
“Five years after the World Trade Center attacks, many New Yorkers have disaster-associated physical and mental health conditions,” city Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said. He said the guidelines would help doctors better recognize and treat those illnesses.
The guidelines are considered crucial for ground zero workers living in other states where the doctors are less familiar with symptoms related to ground zero and the most effective treatments.
The Associated Press reported last week that more than 600 ground zero workers in 34 states have received medical screening for exposure to toxic dust at the site.