You may have noticed yourself being more stuffed up, having headaches, or a tighter chest.
This smoke is traveling all throughout the state and is aggravating our lungs. A Cypress College student recounted how he felt the first couple days he saw the smoke, “I have asthma so it really irritated my throat, I would wake up and feel really stuffy. Sometimes it would be a lot harder to breathe.”
Waking up stuffy and congested tends to make us feel lazy as well as unmotivated. Having clean air around you is important to your respiratory health.
Usually having good ventilation will help to circulate the air in your home but because the hazard is outside, I have compiled an alternate list to naturally purify your air.
1. Air purifiers
These machines pull air in and run them through filters that remove airborne particles like dust, pollen, and bacteria. They are mostly sold to those with allergies as well asthmatics but can be beneficial to everybody as their main purpose is to circulate clean air around your room or house. They can be found in major retail stores like Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. The prices range from $25 to $100+.
2. Beeswax Candles
These types of candles are scentless and do not give off much smoke. They purify your air as they give off negative ions and neutralize the particles from air pollutants. They are hypo-allogenic as the candles are also made of beeswax, allowing them to burn slowly and effectively. You can find beeswax candles at Wal-Mart, Targets, as well as general candle and wax stores. They cost anywhere between $5 – $30.
3. Houseplants
Plants are a great way to decorate your living space and studies have shown the benefits they have in purifying the air. A famous 1989 NASA experiment tested plants’ ability to remove organic indoor chemicals and concluded that for the removal of high concentrations of chemicals and smoke from inside buildings it is best to have potted plants and one or more activated carbon/plant filtration systems. You can find these plants at local plant stores around your area as well as Lowe’s and Home Depot’s Garden center. Houseplants can range from $3 to hundreds of dollars depending on your taste.
With wildfire season starting amid the coronavirus pandemic the most important thing is to keep our bodies healthy. To be able to perform our best at school and work, maintaining your health should be your top priority.
(photo by Linda Mai)
