At this time of year, we’re indoors a lot more. So paying attention to indoor air quality is even more important, especially for people with asthma.

It pays to take steps to make sure the air inside your home doesn’t harm your health.

• It’s wet outside, but indoor air is quite often very dry in the winter. Dry skin and sinuses can crack and peel, cause infections, and make it difficult to breathe. Humidifiers can help. Some people put a pot of water on their wood-burning stoves.

• Some houses have the opposite problem: high humidity. This can cause mold to thrive, which can trigger allergies. You can clean areas prone to mold, such as shower curtains, behind drapery or on window sills, using a mold and mildew remover, such as M-1 House Wash, AllerMold or Vital Oxide.

• If you want to use an air cleaner, try to find one that’s marked as a “HEPA sir purifier.” There are also vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters, if dust and pet dander are problems for you.

Exercise is always a good idea. But exercise and cold air can be a problem if you have asthma so you should always talk to your doctor about exercising in the winter.

If wood is
your heat source

Burning firewood is not the cleanest way to stay warm in the winter. But for many Oregonians, it's an important source of heat.

And you can make it cleaner and safer. Here are some tips:

• Make sure your wood-burning stove is in good shape so smoke doesn't get into your home.

• Keep your home ventilated. Wood stoves need to breathe, too.

• Only burn dry wood. That can reduce fine air pollution particles (PM10) by as much as five times.



• Keep fresh batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and test that they work properly.

• Don't burn treated wood, particleboard, MDF, plywood or plastics. They give off poison gases.

• For wood stove-burning advisories, see www.deq.state.or.us
  /aqi/index.aspx.

Tobacco cessation treatment and counseling

The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line is a free, telephone-based program that offers confidential counseling and support services when you want to quit smoking.

• 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)

• Spanish Quit Line: 1-877-2NO-FUME
  (1-877-266-3863)

• TTY/TDD: 1-877-777-6534

Tobacco cessation services covered by CareOregon include counseling, treatment, nicotine patches and prescriptions. Talk to your provider about quitting.