Exposure to wildfire smoke can trigger respiratory symptoms and cause damage to the lungs and heart.

Short-term exposure to smoke can cause coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. This can be especially troublesome for older adults, pregnant people, and young children, and people with underlying conditions likeasthma, heart disease, and lung disease.

Here are some four steps you can take to protect your health during hazy days.

Wildfire Smoke More Dangerous for Your Lungs Than Other Pollution

1. Skip Outdoor Activities

The easiest way to avoid the health effects of wildfire smoke is to limit your exposure to it. If you can see or smell smoke, you’re beingexposed to it.

Stay inside as much as possible and avoid vigorous physical activity when outdoors. This means opting for an indoor gym rather than a walk or bike ride outside, if you’re able to do so.

2. Wear a N95 or KN95 Mask

If you must go outside, it may be time to revisit a key lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic—wearing a mask protects your lungs.

The CDC recommends against using cloth or surgical face masks. While they may be enough to filter out many of the droplets that carry COVID viruses, those masks cannot block the tiny particles present in smoke.

The agency recommendsN95 respirators, or the KN95 alternatives, which can filter outabout 95%of airborne particles.

3. Keep the Windows Closed and Limit Indoor Pollution

Keeping your windows closed can keep most pollution out. On hot days, it’s OK to run a fan. But be careful when using air conditioning—many window units and HVAC systems intake air from outside and can bring smoke indoors. The Environmental Protection Agencyrecommendsputting the air conditioner on the recirculate mode if available or turning it off.

For the particles that make their way inside, consider running an indoor air purifier.The two most popular styles are portable air purifiers and HVAC filters that can be inserted into a furnace or air-conditioning system. If you don’t have a portable air purifier, youcan jerry-rig oneusing a box fan and asuitable air filter.

The EPA says the best options are those with a basic HEPA filter. Those rated as true-HEPA must be able to capture 99.97% of all airborne particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter. Similarly sized smoke particles, which are typically 0.4-0.7 microns, will also be trapped in filters this fine.7

4. Track Air Quality

TheAir Quality Indexis a measure of how polluted the air is. When the AQI is above 150, it can cause serious health effects in sensitive groups, while an AQI of 200 or higher is unhealthy for everyone.

What This Means For YouIf you have preexisting lung or heart disease, talk with your health provider about how to care for your respiratory health during times of unhealthy air quality. Seek medical attention if you experience new or worsening respiratory or other health symptoms.

What This Means For You

If you have preexisting lung or heart disease, talk with your health provider about how to care for your respiratory health during times of unhealthy air quality. Seek medical attention if you experience new or worsening respiratory or other health symptoms.

1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Xing YF, Xu YH, Shi MH, et al.The impact of PM2.5 on the human respiratory system.J Thorac Dis. 2016;8(1):E69-E74. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2016.01.19

1 Source

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Xing YF, Xu YH, Shi MH, et al.The impact of PM2.5 on the human respiratory system.J Thorac Dis. 2016;8(1):E69-E74. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2016.01.19

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Xing YF, Xu YH, Shi MH, et al.The impact of PM2.5 on the human respiratory system.J Thorac Dis. 2016;8(1):E69-E74. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2016.01.19

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?