Wildfires are becoming more common than ever, and they can wreak havoc on the lungs of everyone. If you have asthma or another breathing condition, this problem can become even worse, to the point that it becomes life-threatening. If you're trying to plan for the next big smoky air condition, here's how you can improve your breathing and stay healthy.

Air Filter

Electric air filters are a huge help in homes, and you should be staying indoors and using one of these as much as possible.

Air filters draw in air and filter out particulates, like the kind found in smoke. This helps to prevent you from breathing it into your body. For full efficacy, you should close all of your windows and vents that can allow outside smoke in, and block the bottom of your doorways with stoppers or a rolled up towel. This will help to reduce the amount of smoke that comes into your home, but using an air filter is a must to get what does come in to a point where it's clean and safe to breathe.

Internal Air

If you have to go anywhere, make sure to use your vehicle's air conditioning. Modern air conditioning in vehicles is very good at removing particulates and smells from the air that you're breathing. However, you should always make sure that your AC is set to internal air.

Cars on this mode will only draw their air from inside of your car. It then goes through the air conditioning system, gets filtered, chilled or heated depending on your settings, and comes back to you. Drawing in air from outside will likely cause you to be exposed to some of the smell and smoke that's outside of your car, whereas using internal air will cut down on this problem.

N95 Mask

Finally, purchase an N95 mask for yourself. This is a type of respirator mask that goes over your mouth and nose. Unlike other types of hospital masks, an N95 mask is regulated and removes the vast majority of particulates from smoke and other hazardous conditions before the air you're drawing through it can get to you. It can feel a bit awkward or embarrassing to wear one of these masks, but chances are if you're in a poor air quality area, you'll see others wearing them, too. In the end, it's better to feel a little silly than to put your lungs through unsafe breathing conditions.

When poor air quality strikes, make sure to keep using your medication as directed by your doctor. Breathing treatments with a nebulizer or emergency inhalers can be helpful for loosening up your lungs and breathing more easily in poor conditions. If you feel like you're having difficulty with your breathing, seek help from a specialist, such as at Allergy Asthma Specialists, or reach out to emergency services if you think you're in serious trouble.