Wildfire Smoke Season: Protecting Your Lungs, Home & Body

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Have you been noticing burning eyes, a scratchy throat, headaches, or more coughing lately? Our area is experiencing heavy wildfire smoke, and it is affecting the health of many people in our community.

The following information is drawn from the NAEM Wildfire Patient Handout and adapted for our Boise Natural Health Clinic community.

Why Wildfire Smoke Is Different from Regular Air Pollution

Wildfire smoke contains very small particles called PM2.5 that can travel deep into your lungs, especially on days when smoke is thick. These particles from wildfires are up to 10 times more harmful to human health than PM2.5 from other sources and have been linked to up to 10% more respiratory hospital admissions.

Wildfire smoke is also more than just burned trees. Depending on what has burned nearby, smoke can contain toxic gases, metals, solvents, pesticides, plastics, and “forever chemicals” from burned buildings and vehicles.

Short-term effects can include eye irritation, sore throat, coughing, headaches, allergy flares, and worsening asthma or heart symptoms.

Longer-term effects from repeated or heavy exposure may include increased risk of cancer, reproductive concerns, immune dysregulation, neurological conditions, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and increased anxiety and depression.

Who Is Most at Risk?

Some people are more sensitive to wildfire smoke and should take extra precautions:

  • Children, whose lungs are still developing and who breathe faster than adults
  • People with asthma, COPD, or other lung conditions
  • People with long COVID
  • People with cardiovascular disease
  • Pregnant people
  • People with immune concerns or other chronic health conditions

If you or your child has asthma or another respiratory condition, please keep rescue medications on hand and follow your action plan. Call our office if you need help updating your plan.

How to Stay Safe During Wildfire Season:

Step 1: Know Your Air Quality Before Going Outside

Before spending time outdoors, always check the Air Quality Index (AQI). When levels are elevated, stay indoors as much as possible.

Helpful tools:

Step 2: Make Your Home a Cleaner Air Space

Your home can be your best protection on smoky days. Here is what helps:

  • Keep windows and doors closed
  • Do not exercise outdoors when air quality is poor
  • Avoid using gas stoves, fireplaces, candles, incense, or vacuuming – these can add particles to indoor air or stir them up
  • If you have central air conditioning, run it on recirculate and use a MERV 13 or higher furnace filter if your system allows
  • Use a HEPA air purifier in your bedroom and main living areas
  • Consider setting up one room as your “clean air room” – keep the door closed and run a HEPA purifier there continuously

No HEPA purifier? Make a DIY filter fan. A box fan with a MERV 13 filter attached can significantly reduce indoor smoke particles and costs very little to make. Step-by-step instructions from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency are here: https://pscleanair.gov/525/DIY-Air-Filter

Safety note: Use a newer box fan, follow the instructions carefully, and do not leave it running unattended.

Step 3: Wear the Right Mask If You Must Go Outside

If you need to be outdoors during smoky conditions, wear a properly fitting N95 mask or respirator. A good seal is essential – air leaking around the edges reduces protection significantly.

For people with heavier or longer outdoor exposure, respirators with 3M 60926 filters – which filter both particulates and gases – may offer additional protection.

Step 4: Filter Your Water

If you have concerns about local water quality during fire events, consider filtering your drinking and cooking water. Reverse osmosis is preferred in most cases. In areas with heavier smoke exposure, shower filtration may also be worth considering.

For help choosing a water filter, the Environmental Working Group has a helpful guide:  https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/water-filter-guide.php. 

I particularly like the Apec RO90 https://www.apecwater.com/products/ro-90-detail?_pos=8&_psq=ro&_psid=55dc80e8e&_ss=e

To check or test your water quality:

Step 5: Eat to Support Your Body

Food is one of the most powerful tools we have for supporting the body during times of increased stress and inflammation. During smoke events, focus on:

  • Organic, whole foods in a Mediterranean-style pattern
  • A rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables, especially orange, red, yellow, and dark green foods rich in carotenoids
  • Broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, and berries
  • Omega-3-rich foods such as salmon, sardines, flax, chia, and walnuts
  • Green tea, up to 3 cups per day as tolerated
  • Plenty of filtered water

Step 6: Supplement Support

There are several well-researched nutrients and antioxidants that can be helpful during wildfire smoke events (from Dr. Lyn Patrick’s Wildfire Smoke Action Plan), including vitamin C, vitamin E, sulforaphane, NAC, glutathione, curcumin, quercetin, resveratrol, B-complex, and omega-3 fatty acids.

However, supplements are not one-size-fits-all. The right combination and dose for you depends on:

  • Your current health conditions
  • Medications you are already taking
  • Potential drug-nutrient interactions
  • Your individual risk factors and symptoms

Some supplements can interact with blood thinners, cancer treatments, and other medications, so personalized guidance may be helpful.

Step 7: Other Support

Your nose serves as your body’s first line of defense, trapping many of the particles in wildfire smoke before they reach your lungs. During periods of heavy smoke, however, this natural filtration system can become overwhelmed.

  • Use a saline nasal spray several times a day to flush out soot, ash, and other fine particles, keep nasal passages moist, and help remove smoke particles before they trigger irritation.
  • Use a saline nasal rinse (neti pot or squeeze bottle) once daily, especially after prolonged smoke exposure, to thoroughly flush out soot, ash, and other fine particles.
    • Always use sterile, distilled, or previously boiled and cooled water for nasal rinses.

When to Seek Urgent Medical Care

Please seek immediate care if you or a family member experience:

  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath at rest
  • Chest pain or pressure
  • Blue lips or fingertips
  • Severe weakness or fatigue
  • Confusion or fainting
  • Wheezing that does not improve with your prescribed medication
  • Worsening asthma or COPD symptoms despite your usual treatment
  • Any concerning symptoms in infants, young children, pregnant people, elderly individuals, or those with heart or lung disease

When in doubt, do not wait.

We are Here for You

Wildfire smoke season is hard on the body and stressful for the whole family. If you are experiencing increased coughing, wheezing, headaches, fatigue, anxiety, allergy flares, or asthma symptoms, I want to help, as do my colleagues.

At Boise Natural Health Clinic, I can work with you one-on-one to create a personalized plan for reducing your exposure, supporting your immune and respiratory systems, and protecting your long-term health – through smoke season and beyond.

Take good care — we’ve got this.

Dr. Nicole Maxwell