Protect Against Air Pollution

Breathe Better Indoors and Out

You can’t see most air pollution. You can’t smell much of it, either. But polluted air—both outdoors and indoors—can still affect your health.

“Nearly everyone on the planet is exposed to unhealthy air at least some of the time,” says Dr. Stavros Garantziotis, a lung doctor and researcher at NIH.

Breathing polluted air doesn’t just affect the lungs. Because the lungs connect directly to the bloodstream, pollutants can travel through the body. Once there, they can cause Heat, swelling, and redness caused by the body’s protective response to injury or infection. inflammation, which raises the risk of many health problems. These include asthma, heart disease, stroke, brain disorders, and some cancers.

“The same air pollution exposure doesn’t affect everyone the same way,” says Garantziotis. This is especially true for people with asthma.

Asthma is a disease that makes breathing hard. It can be worsened by polluted air. Children, older adults, and people with heart disease or diabetes can also be affected more seriously.

After a high-pollution day, asthma attacks increase in children. Hospital visits for heart attacks and strokes in older adults also go up. Some pollutants may even increase the risk of cancer.

Air pollution today looks different than it did decades ago. Regulations have helped reduce some harmful emissions. Lead pollution decreased after it was removed from gasoline. Levels of sulfur dioxide have fallen because of cleaner power plants. But other sources of pollution remain.

Particulate matter is a major component of air pollution. These are tiny particles in the air that can get deep into the lungs. These particles come from vehicles, power plants, and industrial processes.

Another problem pollutant is ozone. Ozone is a gas that can irritate and damage the airways. It forms when sunlight reacts with certain pollutants.

Wildfire smoke is also a growing concern. Wildfires are happening more often and burning more intensely. They release tiny particles, metals, and chemicals that can travel hundreds of miles.

“Smoke doesn’t stay where the fire is,” Garantziotis explains. “It goes wherever the wind takes it.”

Outdoor pollution doesn’t stop at your front door. It seeps inside your home. Indoor air can also be polluted by everyday sources, such as gas stoves, fireplaces, cigarette smoke, mold, dust, pet dander, and pests.

“Indoor air quality is often overlooked, but it’s something people can actually do something about,” Garantziotis says. As a lung doctor, he tells his patients to take simple steps to reduce exposure. See the Wise Choices box for tips.

Garantziotis and his research team are studying how lung cells heal after exposures. They found that air pollution can break apart supportive material around lung cells. The loose material irritates the lung cells and makes it harder to breathe. His work suggests that giving a healthy form of this material, called hyaluronan, may help restore lung health.

Scientists are also studying why some people are more susceptible to the health effects of air pollution. Understanding why could help doctors prevent and treat related illnesses.