The smoke from wildfire bearing down on Southern California is not the first example of such pollution in 2024 — and it might not be the last.
Wildfire smoke can be hazardous for those who have specific health conditions, and it really isn’t good for anyone.
It contains particles small enough to get lodged deep in your lungs — which have been linked to health problems ranging from asthma attacks to higher dementia rates.
Wearing a mask is one way to protect yourself against this smoke. But which type of mask is best?
Last year, MedPage Today contacted a pair of experts to get their take:
- Dr. Sameer Khanijo, a lung disease specialist with Northwell Health in Long Island, New York
- Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering in Baltimore
The two experts agreed that wearing a well-fitted N95 or KN95 respirator is likely to give you the best protection from the major hazard in wildfire smoke, particulate matter that is 2.5 microns in size, also known as PM2.5.
Such particulate matter can get into your lungs — and from there, into the rest of the body.
Khanijo told MedPage Today that the type of cloth mask or surgical mask that many of us wore during the COVID-19 pandemic won’t do much to keep you safe from wildfire smoke.
However, some experts argue otherwise.
As New York Health Department Commissioner James McDonald said when wildfire smoke was descending on the Northeastern U.S. in 2023, “any mask you do have is better than not wearing one.”
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