What is air pollution-related illness?
Air pollution-related illness is a medical problem caused or made worse by air pollution. It is one type of environmental lung disease.
Air pollution can affect anyone, but children are more sensitive to it
Air pollution can cause cough and breathing problems and make lung diseases, such as asthma Asthma Asthma is a condition in which the breathing passages (airways) in your lungs get narrow. When the airways are narrow, it's hard to breathe. Breathing often makes a squeaky musical sound called... read more
and COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) COPD is a disease in your lungs that makes it hard to breathe. It's hard to push air out of your lungs. Difficulty pushing air out is called chronic airflow obstruction. Smoking cigarettes is... read more 
(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), worseYou’re more likely to have problems from air pollution if you live in a high traffic area, such as a city
Indoor air can be polluted if you use a fire or wood-burning stove for cooking or heating or if people smoke
What causes air pollution?
Common causes of air pollution include:
Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, gasoline, oil, and natural gas
Ozone, which is formed when sunlight reacts with chemicals in the air that came from burning fossil fuels
Burning certain fuels, such as wood, animal waste, and crops, for heating or cooking indoors
Secondhand smoke from cigarettes, particularly indoors
Levels of air pollution change throughout the day. You can see how polluted the air is by checking the Air Quality Index. This is a scale from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to rate how much pollution is in the air.
How can doctors tell if I have an air pollution-related illness?
Doctors will look at:
What air pollution you may be breathing
Your symptoms
Breathing tests
Your health history, such as if you have asthma Asthma Asthma is a condition in which the breathing passages (airways) in your lungs get narrow. When the airways are narrow, it's hard to breathe. Breathing often makes a squeaky musical sound called... read more
or COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) COPD is a disease in your lungs that makes it hard to breathe. It's hard to push air out of your lungs. Difficulty pushing air out is called chronic airflow obstruction. Smoking cigarettes is... read more or if you are a smoker, and if symptoms gets worse when you breathe polluted air
How do doctors treat air pollution-related illness?
Doctors treat your symptoms. Treatments may include:
Asthma medicines to open the airways
How can I prevent air pollution-related illness?
Employers should follow guidelines on limiting the amount of gases, dust, and fumes they produce. Employees should follow guidelines on how to limit exposure to pollutants in the workplace.
People, particularly children, older people, and people with heart or lung disorders, should limit their time outside when the air quality is poor.
