Much of Idaho is covered in smoke. What can we do to improve our air quality in our personal lives. Wildfires impact health in Idaho. Besides the chance of your shelter burning, air quality affects everyone! Air pollutants can be very harmful to our health. The severity of the pollutant is determined by three factors:
- Exposure Length
- Type of Pollutant
- Concentration of Exposure
Have you ever experienced irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat? Or have you had upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia? We’ve all experienced headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate these and other medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema.
Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, and heart disease. Damage can even be effective to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. Idaho generally has excellent air quality.
Check the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Rexburg(see key to the right). Click here to determine the air quality. This will allow you to see the latest ratings on air quality for our area.
A couple ideas to consider to improve air quality:
- Air filters and plants at home and at work. Many homes in Rexburg have a central heating system that have fans that may circulate throughout the summer. Procure high quality filters and replace them as recommended. There are also air filters that plugin to any room. These are valuable in areas where one sleeps, or spends significant amounts of time.
- Cabin filters in cars. Many individuals spend extensive amounts of time in vehicles. Changing the cabin filter is easy in most cars. Most auto part shops carry a variety of filters. Select cabin filters that will capture smoke as well as other debris. This may take as little as 10 minutes, and make the air in your vehicle feel like a new car.