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Have a headache? Wildfire smoke could be to blame. The unexpected symptoms to know
Дата публикации: 17-07-2026 14:16:23



While inhaling wildfire smoke can lead to expected symptoms like coughing, trouble breathing, stinging eyes and more, there are some other more subtle symptoms that can come from breathing in the particles.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those in areas being clouded by wildfire smoke may also report symptoms that might not seem related, but are.
“Breathing in smoke can affect you right away,” the CDC reported.
Unexpected symptoms might include things like headaches, tiredness, a runny nose and more.
The full list of symptoms, according to the CDC, is:
Coughing
Trouble breathing
Wheezing
Asthma attacks
Stinging eyes
Scratchy throat
Runny nose
Irritated sinuses
Headaches
Tiredness
Chest pain
“Headaches is one of the most common symptoms people can get when they’re exposed to these chemicals in the air,” Dr. Jacqueline Dinh, a pulmonologist at St. Anthony Hospital, said. “The volatile organic compounds these particulate matters they’re breathing in.”
Dinh said headaches are a main symptom in more than 50% of people, but that could change the longer people are exposed.
Wildfire smoke attacks the body immediately, spiking asthma cases with increased ambulance runs within hours, swamps emergency rooms in a day or so with people suffering from heart attacks and other cardiovascular and lung issues, as well as mental health issues, doctors and scientists told The Associated Press.
Smoke also harms pregnant women, increasing the risk of premature births and low-weight babies who could have breathing problems the rest of their lives, doctors and studies say. And then there are long-term risks connecting prolonged smoke and other air pollution exposure to some cancers and dementia.
“I would say there’s going to be an increase in hospitalization for respiratory illnesses,” Dinh said. “Some people can get viral infections and those trigger off abnormal rhythm and heart attack and strokes. That can probably cause increased hospitalization for those in the short term as well.”
After huge global fires in 2018 and 2019, the medical and science communities started looking at the health effects from the smoke with “more and more studies coming out finding that there’s all types of impacts that may not have been so obvious before,” said Dr. Mary Johnson, a Harvard School of Public Health environmental health scientist.
Smoke causes inflammation by triggering the body’s immune system to go into overtime to fight the irritant. Scientists have found it can harm the brain, the skin and men’s sperm, with almost no system of the body spared, Johnson said. People over 60 become more prone to stroke in wildfire smoke, she said.
“Wildfire smoke is the toxic product of combustion of whatever burned,” which could include houses and cars, said Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician, chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association.
“So really it’s a big giant toxic soup of particles and gases.”
Scientists have counted at least 1,000 toxins in wildfire smoke, according to Colorado State University environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose.
“If I gave you a list, you would recognize some of these as being very bad, oftentimes associated with the burning of diesel fuel or cigarette smoke, things like formaldehyde or volatile organic compounds,” Montrose said. “So just the smoke itself can be bad.”
Dr. Jeremy Smiley at Endeavor Skokie Hospital told NBC Chicago the current conditions make protecting yourself even harder.
Smiley said the efficacy of a mask “really depends on the kind of mask.”
“A plain old cloth mask probably won’t really do much. If you’re going to be wearing a mask, you probably want to dust off like your COVID stockpile of N95s because it’s really that type of mask, that respirator, that will prevent a lot of the particle matter from getting into your lungs,” he said.
However, the heat complicates things.
“There’s a trade-off because it’s also really hot, and so breathing through a tight-fitting mask paired with the high heat — it’s probably better to just stay inside if you’re an at-risk population rather than to go outside and walk around if it’s not needed.”
Smiley said residents should pay attention to how they feel during the “hazardous” conditions.
If you notice the following symptoms, it’s time to get inside.
Eyes and/or throat irritation
Shortness of breath
Feeling generally unwell
If you feel those symptoms, it’s “time to just hide,” Smiley said.
“Get yourself inside. Get yourself out of the out of the environment,” he said.
The good news is milder symptoms will likely go away soon after exposure declines.
“The short term running nose and watery eyes – that is after a few minutes or hours of exposure and would go away once that exposure is gone, but those long-term effects that affect the heart? That is after a prolonged time and is a little bit delayed,” Dinh said.
For those who continue to experience symptoms while indoors, there are some steps you can take like:
Turn your air conditioning on
Consider getting a good air filter if you don’t have one
Avoid frying food
Don’t vape or smoke














Air Quality

Jul 17



When will the smoke clear? Hour-by-hour look as ‘hazardous' air quality continues for Chicago area















Pets

Jul 16



Wildfire smoke impacts pets, too. Here's how to protect them






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Основное содержимое страницы с новостью.

While inhaling wildfire smoke can lead to expected symptoms like coughing, trouble breathing, stinging eyes and more, there are some other more subtle symptoms that can come from breathing in the particles.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those in areas being clouded by wildfire smoke may also report symptoms that might not seem related, but are.

"Breathing in smoke can affect you right away," the CDC reported.

Unexpected symptoms might include things like headaches, tiredness, a runny nose and more.

The full list of symptoms, according to the CDC, is:

  • Coughing
  • Trouble breathing
  • Wheezing
  • Asthma attacks
  • Stinging eyes
  • Scratchy throat
  • Runny nose
  • Irritated sinuses
  • Headaches
  • Tiredness
  • Chest pain

"Headaches is one of the most common symptoms people can get when they’re exposed to these chemicals in the air," Dr. Jacqueline Dinh, a pulmonologist at St. Anthony Hospital, said. "The volatile organic compounds these particulate matters they’re breathing in."

Dinh said headaches are a main symptom in more than 50% of people, but that could change the longer people are exposed.

Wildfire smoke attacks the body immediately, spiking asthma cases with increased ambulance runs within hours, swamps emergency rooms in a day or so with people suffering from heart attacks and other cardiovascular and lung issues, as well as mental health issues, doctors and scientists told The Associated Press.

Smoke also harms pregnant women, increasing the risk of premature births and low-weight babies who could have breathing problems the rest of their lives, doctors and studies say. And then there are long-term risks connecting prolonged smoke and other air pollution exposure to some cancers and dementia.

"I would say there’s going to be an increase in hospitalization for respiratory illnesses," Dinh said. "Some people can get viral infections and those trigger off abnormal rhythm and heart attack and strokes. That can probably cause increased hospitalization for those in the short term as well."

After huge global fires in 2018 and 2019, the medical and science communities started looking at the health effects from the smoke with “more and more studies coming out finding that there’s all types of impacts that may not have been so obvious before,” said Dr. Mary Johnson, a Harvard School of Public Health environmental health scientist.

Smoke causes inflammation by triggering the body's immune system to go into overtime to fight the irritant. Scientists have found it can harm the brain, the skin and men's sperm, with almost no system of the body spared, Johnson said. People over 60 become more prone to stroke in wildfire smoke, she said.

“Wildfire smoke is the toxic product of combustion of whatever burned,” which could include houses and cars, said Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician, chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association.

“So really it's a big giant toxic soup of particles and gases.”

Scientists have counted at least 1,000 toxins in wildfire smoke, according to Colorado State University environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose.

“If I gave you a list, you would recognize some of these as being very bad, oftentimes associated with the burning of diesel fuel or cigarette smoke, things like formaldehyde or volatile organic compounds,” Montrose said. “So just the smoke itself can be bad.”

Dr. Jeremy Smiley at Endeavor Skokie Hospital told NBC Chicago the current conditions make protecting yourself even harder.

Smiley said the efficacy of a mask "really depends on the kind of mask."

"A plain old cloth mask probably won't really do much. If you're going to be wearing a mask, you probably want to dust off like your COVID stockpile of N95s because it's really that type of mask, that respirator, that will prevent a lot of the particle matter from getting into your lungs," he said.

However, the heat complicates things.

"There's a trade-off because it's also really hot, and so breathing through a tight-fitting mask paired with the high heat -- it's probably better to just stay inside if you're an at-risk population rather than to go outside and walk around if it's not needed."

People may want to consider wearing an N95 mask if they have to work or be outside Thursday, Lisa Chavarria reports.

Smiley said residents should pay attention to how they feel during the "hazardous" conditions.

If you notice the following symptoms, it's time to get inside.

  • Eyes and/or throat irritation
  • Shortness of breath
  • Feeling generally unwell

If you feel those symptoms, it's "time to just hide," Smiley said.

"Get yourself inside. Get yourself out of the out of the environment," he said.

The good news is milder symptoms will likely go away soon after exposure declines.

"The short term running nose and watery eyes - that is after a few minutes or hours of exposure and would go away once that exposure is gone, but those long-term effects that affect the heart? That is after a prolonged time and is a little bit delayed," Dinh said.

For those who continue to experience symptoms while indoors, there are some steps you can take like:

  • Turn your air conditioning on
  • Consider getting a good air filter if you don't have one
  • Avoid frying food
  • Don't vape or smoke

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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