I was driving around Portland last week when one of those traffic message boards nearly stopped me in my tracks: HIGH SMOG TODAY. It went on to suggest that I limit my driving (hard to do when one is already in the car and on the road). I didn’t think the Pacific Northwest was a major smog area, but I guess the traffic message flashers don’t lie.
Air quality depends on a lot of things, including what’s in the air (it may be particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, even pollen and mold). Urban areas tend to have more problems with air quality than suburban areas — but that makes sense. More people, more cars, more businesses, more factories, more of just about everything in an urban area. Ozone was to blame for the smog warnings last week (at least that’s what I’ve figured out using air quality data from last week at AirNow.gov).
Health.com calls them “bad air days” — days when something in the air triggers allergies, asthma, or other breathing issues. If you know what triggers problems for you AND you know what’s in the air around you, you can take steps to protect yourself.
- Reduce exposure to your triggers. If pollen’s your problem, stay out of the parks and gardens. If something in vehicle exhaust bothers you, try skipping the highways and hitting the back roads instead. Run the air conditioner instead of keeping windows open.
- Wear a mask if you have to be exposed to triggers. Gotta mow the lawn on a bad air day? An air-filtering mask might help save you from suffering. They’re not fashionable, but they are helpful!
- Take your meds. If you have an existing condition — be it allergies, asthma, COPD, or some other breathing problem — be sure to take your medication as directed.
- Have an emergency plan. If something triggers an allergy attack, you may need to turn to an over-the-counter antihistamine for help. If something triggers an asthma attack, you may need an emergency inhaler. Have a plan in place so you’re not caught struggling!
Want to know what the air quality is like in your neighborhood? Go online before you go outdoors. The Weather Channel website (weather.com) is usually my first stop, but there are others specifically dedicated to air quality like AirNow.gov and the American Lung Association’s StateoftheAir.org.