The hazy days of summer: Staying healthy when the air quality isn’t

Heat waves and wildfires have become all too common elements of summer in the Pacific Northwest.

The stagnant air that comes along with high temperatures — and the smoke and other particulates that fires emit — are the perfect recipe for high levels of air pollution and unhealthy air quality.

Whether it’s a minor irritation or serious health threat, wildfire season affects everyone. Learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from smoky air.

Know your local air quality

For most healthy people, smoke season is irritating. However, smoky conditions can be a health threat for some groups:

• People with lung conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma or chronic bronchitis
• People with heart disease or diabetes
• Older adults

While the jury is still out on whether an annual smoke season could be doing long-term damage to healthy people, it’s not good for anyone.

“The particulates from wildfires are clearly linked to health issues,” says Ben Arthurs, MD, a pulmonologist with MultiCare Rockwood Clinic in Spokane. “But the people at highest risk already have sensitivity. They’re the ones who won’t have the reserve to tolerate it.”

Paying attention to air quality requires more than a sniff or quick glance outside.

“Sometimes the air quality is worse than it looks,” says David Ricker, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist with MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. “So it’s important to pay attention to it and have a plan.”

He and other doctors recommend using AirNow.gov or the AIRNow mobile app to keep track of local air quality. Listening to weather forecasts can also tip you off.

The air quality index uses six categories that range from good, unhealthy for sensitive groups and hazardous for everyone. Each category comes with advice — depending on your underlying health — about when to head indoors and reduce activity.

Keep up with routine meds and monitor outdoor conditions

If you have asthma, you should have a plan even before air quality dips. That means continuing to use medications and inhalers as prescribed, even if you haven’t had a flare-up in some time.

“Very often, routine medications keep down any airway inflammation,” Dr. Ricker says. “If you’re not taking that medication routinely, you may have airway inflammation building up and may not realize it unless something like poor air quality comes along.”

And outdoor conditions can change in a hurry.

“Pay attention to the forecast,” Dr. Arthurs advises. “You don’t want to get caught outside in really bad smoke if you can avoid it.”

Irrigate the nose 

While breathing in smoke is harmful, we do have some basic defense against it: the shape of our nose.

The nose is a natural filter, designed to keep air particulates from reaching the lungs, where they’re most harmful. But sometimes the nose gets overwhelmed — from too much pollen or smoke, for example — and this can result in a runny nose, congestion and sometimes sinusitis.

For these situations, saline irrigation may help. You can buy irrigation devices, such as a sinus rinse kit or neti pot, over the counter.

Stay indoors, if possible

The most important tip to protect yourself from smoky air is to stay indoors as much as possible.

If your heating or cooling system has a “circulate” or “fan” option, that can help keep the indoor air a bit cleaner — but be sure to check and change filters as appropriate.

A portable air purifier with a HEPA filter can also help remove harmful particles from indoor air.

If you have to go outside, a well-fitting N95 or KN95 mask can filter out a meaningful amount of wildfire particulates.

Dr. Arthurs advises parents that when smoke fills the air, it’s best to keep kids indoors, even if they’re healthy.

“It’s probably not the right week to have them push through soccer camp,” he says.

If you’re having symptoms like scratchy eyes or throat, congestion, or coughing, head indoors. If symptoms don’t resolve in a reasonable amount of time — 30 minutes to an hour — contact your doctor or other health care provider. If you experience shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, you need urgent medical care.

“You have to pay attention to your body,” Dr. Arthurs says.

And, as is always true in medicine, prevention is the best cure — it’s incredibly important to be aware of fire danger in your area and respect outdoor burning restrictions.

“The damage goes well beyond the small brush fire that can occur,” says Dr. Arthurs. “Wildfires impact our daily life and the health of people in our community.”

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in July 2021 and updated in June 2023.