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 and COPD (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

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. In the United States, 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.

Doctors will look at:

• What air pollution you may be breathing

• Your symptoms

• Breathing tests

• Your health history, such as if you have asthma or COPD or if you smoke, and if symptoms gets worse when you breathe polluted air

Doctors treat your symptoms. Treatments may include:

• Asthma medicines to open the airways

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 adults, and people with heart or lung disorders, should limit their time outside when the air quality is poor.