Air Pollution-Related Illness

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 sound called wheezing... 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), worse

You’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

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

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 sound called wheezing... 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 smoke, and if symptoms gets worse when you breathe polluted air

Asthma medicines to open the airways