HOWARD (NBC 26) — People are outside walking their dogs, playing on the playground and lying on the grass at Pamperin Park in Howard. Above them is a smoky, hazy sky, filled with particles from Canadian wildfires.
An air quality advisory issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources remains in effect through Thursday for the entire state. As of Tuesday, air quality levels for some of Northeast Wisconsin are "unhealthy," and Dr. Steven Gale, a family physician with Prevea Health, said this means people need to take precautions if they're going outside.
"People that are in those highly sensitive groups, definitely trying to limit exposure right now makes good sense," Dr. Gale said. "If you're someone who's generally pretty healthy and enjoy outdoor activities, I don't think you necessarily want to completely avoid doing anything, but it might make sense to instead of doing high-intensity exercise, pull back for a couple of days."
He said unhealthy air quality levels can have a negative impact on your lungs, but luckily, this isn't something we typically see in Wisconsin. He said since it's just for the short term as of now, long-term lung damage isn't really something people need to be worried about.
However, Dr. Gale said breathing in the air still means you're breathing in some particles that aren't too different from cigarette smoke; which can cause some lung inflammation, that can make people feel sick.
"You often end up with some reactions that can affect our breathing. They can cause some irritability in our eyes or in our respiratory tracks, so like our nose, which can lead to some irritation...runny nose," Dr. Gale said.
Drew Knapp, a De Pere resident and regular parkgoer at Pamperin Park, said he hadn't noticed any breathing issues while playing disc golf at the park on Tuesday but was sneezing more than usual.
He said what was unusual, however, was the excessive smoke in the air.
"I was just talking with my friends and was like, 'We don't really remember it, in at least recent years, being like this hazy in the summer, so the air quality has been... kind of on and off," Knapp said.
Dr. Gale recommends if you do get short of breath or experience breathing issues that don't clear up after a few hours, it's best to reach out to your doctor.
He also emphasized the importance of still getting physical activity in despite the environmental conditions, but "modifying" your plans.
"Even if we have bad environmental exposures or other things, it’s still important to get some exercise to make sure that we’re staying active, even if that has to be indoors," Dr. Gale said.
The air quality advisory is in effect through noon on Thursday.
