Surviving Wildfire Season With Asthma

I live in an area known for wildfires – made worse by decades of drought. In fact, as I write this, it has been 34 days without any rain.

The national news reported that our area of the United States currently has 110 active wildfires. Footage shows people frantically packing up their most treasured belongings, and in other areas, charred remains of houses and cars.

I instantly wonder how many of those being evacuated have asthma, and I hope they remember to grab their inhalers and nebulizers.

With my side of the US covered in wildfires, we are also inundated with wildfire smoke. Since smoke does not stop at state lines, we get wildfire smoke from all of the surrounding states, too.

My family's experience with wildfire smoke and asthma

It’s like this every summer, and that means we can hardly go outside.

We learned our lesson the hard way when Middle Son was outside playing one summer and didn’t notice the smoke rolling into the valley. I glanced out the window and brought him inside, and he started coughing so hard he was trying not to throw up. Even though I gave him breathing treatments, I could not get his asthma under control.

I knew something was wrong and rushed him to the hospital. He was immediately admitted and transferred to the pediatric ICU. They had the “crash cart” placed outside his room. Even though he had been hospitalized before for pneumonia and asthma, this was worse.

Why is wildfire smoke potentially deadly?

Wildfire smoke is a mix of gases and tiny particles (PM 2.5). PM 2.5 particles are 1/30th the width of a human hair, which means the microscopic particles are easily inhaled deep inside the lungs.^1,2

PM 2.5 can cause a runny nose, burning eyes, and bronchitis. It also can aggravate lung diseases or heart conditions and has been linked with premature death in people with those conditions.^1,2

How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke

My local air quality app shows the air is at “orange” level (unhealthy for sensitive groups). Yours may be similar. Some things we can do to help protect ourselves from wildfire smoke are:^3-5

• Stay inside with the windows and doors shut tight.
• Use air cleaners. If you don’t have an air cleaner or can’t afford one, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a simple graphic that shows how to make one from a fan, air filter, and duct tape or bungee cords.
• Set the AC on recirculation mode.
• Avoid anything that will make air quality worse inside your home. This includes burning candles, vacuuming, frying food, smoking cigarettes or vaping, etc.
• Help your kids understand how wildfire smoke affects asthma by reading a free online book or watching a video about it. The book and video I cite here show Coco the lizard and his friends on an adventure as they learn about wildfire smoke and how it affects air quality and their health. They are meant for children with asthma.

If your asthma is acting up due to wildfire smoke, make sure you follow your asthma action plan. If your doctor has told you to use your inhaler or nebulizer, do what they say. Call your doctor if you feel worse, as asthma can go from bad to worse very quickly due to wildfire smoke. My family is living proof.

Has anyone else struggled with wildfire smoke and asthma?