For the last couple of days, unhealthy wildfire smoke is funneling into Minnesota from wildfire burning across the border in Canada.

According to health experts “fine particles in the air can be harmful even to healthy people, but especially to sensitive populations — including kids, older adults and people with respiratory conditions, like asthma”.

And especially people who are who have underlying preexisting conditions such as asthma, COPD or chronic lung diseases. They are particularly at high risk, and they should be very vigilant and cautious about that in their situation.

Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, a pulmonologist with Sanford Health in Fargo, N.D. (source: MPR News)

According to Dr Ali, even healthy people remain careful about running or exerting yourself outside. “You know, when you exert, you breathe almost double, or maybe get a 1.5 times of your normal breathing rate. And in this way, you will breathe more polluted air inside, and that will be more harmful”.

So it’s not as though people are just being affected with their breathing — these particles get into the body and they can affect your cardiovascular system. They can affect neurological systems. They can affect your kidney system. They can really have effects all across your body.

Jesse Berman, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota (source: MPR News)

Only “Respirator” Masks Provide Protection

According to Dr. Robert Blount, assistant professor of pulmonary pediatric and adult medicine at the University of California San Francisco, only special face masks called respirators can help protect from wildfire smokes which contain small microscopic particles in smoke that can damage the lungs.

Wildfire smoke has a higher proportion of particulate matter in the air — so solid matter — that can be filtered out. As a result, these masks, can be very effective at keeping out pollution.

These respiratory masks are labeled with N95 or P100 and should be certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).