Wildfire smoke from Canada continues to impact air quality across Wisconsin, prompting health experts to encourage residents to take precautions, especially those most vulnerable to respiratory issues.
Dr. Vivek Balasubramaniam, a pulmonologist with UW Health, said limiting time outdoors is one of the best ways to reduce exposure to harmful particles carried in wildfire smoke.
“Trying to limit the amount of time that you’re outside and try to limit your activities so you’re not doing a lot of strenuous activities that’s going to cause you to breathe more and harder,” Balasubramaniam said. “Which ends up causing more of these small little particles to get deep into your lungs and cause you to have those symptoms.”
Wildfire smoke contains fine particulate matter that can irritate the lungs and worsen existing respiratory conditions. Health experts say people with asthma, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other breathing problems face the greatest risk. “Anyone who has underlying breathing problems like asthma, emphysema, COPD, those people are going to be more prone to having sensitivity to even small increases in the air quality index,” Balasubramaniam said.
Young children and older adults are also especially vulnerable to smoke-related health effects. “The elderly and especially the young kids, both of which, because they usually have a higher respiratory rate, they’re going to breathe in more of these small particles,” Balasubramaniam said. “They can have just kind of a bigger dose and irritation to their lungs.”
While cloth masks and bandanas may provide some protection from larger particles, Balasubramaniam said they are not effective at filtering out the fine particulates found in wildfire smoke. “Your standard barrier mask or bandana or face covering really won’t filter out these small little particles,” he said. “If you have access or do have an N95 mask laying around, I would wear that if you’re going to be walking around outside for prolonged periods of time.”
Health officials recommend monitoring local air quality conditions, limiting outdoor exposure when air quality worsens, and wearing a properly fitted N95 mask when extended time outside is unavoidable. Residents experiencing breathing difficulties should contact their healthcare provider.