By Schuyler Corrigan

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July 11, 2023

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Over the past several years, wildfires have impacted millions of people around the world, and these environmental disasters are impacting air quality in cities thousands of miles away. Wildfire smoke, along with general air pollution, high pollen count, and environmental allergies can have a compounding negative effect on our overall health, especially for those with compromised lung function or asthma. For many of us, poor air quality is something that we live with and manage on a regular basis, due to living in urban areas that are close in proximity to our jobs, friends, and family. However, with some of the recent wildfires in Canada and Washington State, many areas have been impacted including urban and rural locations. Below are some of our tips for managing poor air quality by taking a realistic and natural approach:

 

Read More: Ten Tips to Protect Yourself from Unhealthy Air

 

1. Invest in an air purifier for your home and work environment. These can make a huge difference, especially in your bedrooms or areas you are spending long periods of time.
2. When the air quality index in your area is very poor or toxic, always stay indoors, keep your window closed, air conditioning on, and air purifiers running. Do not exercise outdoors during these times. 
3. Avoid frying foods in your home, as this increases indoor smoke.
4. Stay well hydrated. For most people, the typical recommendation is half your weight in fluid ounces.
5. Consider saline rinses for nasal passages and to assist with removing or flushing particulates from mucus membranes.
6. Avoiding your food intolerances even more strictly as well as avoiding sugar and alcohol, as this can increase the load and demand on your body.
7. Consider hydrotherapy or ending your shower on cooler water for the last 20 seconds to assist with flushing histamines and other metabolites that may have accumulated from exposures. 
8. Adding in bronchial supportive herbs may be an option to consider incorporating into your daily routine. Some of our favorites are mullein leaf, thyme, nettles, eucalyptus, and peppermint. These make wonderful teas or herbal syrups, and we also include a recipe for herbal bronchial steam below. You can enjoy this steam daily for continued support.
9. For those individuals that are in direct pathways of wildfires wearing an N95 mask or respirator may also provide some benefit to filtering out poor air quality particles, however, it does not filter out other pollutants such as carbon monoxide or nitrogen dioxide. 

Read More: Herbal Steam for Bronchial Wellness

 

If you are having a difficult time managing your health with poor air quality, our naturopathic doctors can provide personalized support and recommendations for you. Whether it is holistic support for asthma, bronchial wellness, or general immune health, our RNM practitioners will take a comprehensive and holistic approach to your health and lifestyle.