Island Senior: Simple Home Remedies For Smokey Days

Smokey Sky on the Island - Nancy DeVaux photo

Its wild­fire sea­son in the west and air qual­i­ty is bad. Every­one, but espe­cial­ly those of us with com­pro­mis­ing health issues are rec­om­mend­ed to stay indoors with win­dows closed and avoid breath­ing the par­tic­u­lates in the smokey air as much as pos­si­ble. You can check cur­rent air qual­i­ty on the web­site Pur­ple Air.

In my house even with doors and win­dows closed I can smell the wild­fire smoke. It irri­tates my eyes. Luck­i­ly, I found some relief heed­ing the advice of my friend, Dr. Orna Izak­son. Dr. Orna is a natur­o­path­ic doc­tor, reg­is­tered herbal­ist, and online edu­ca­tor liv­ing in what is now ground zero for wild­fire smoke, Port­land, Oregon.

Simmering Fir and Bay Leaf - Peggy Sue McRae photo

One of the best things about Orna’s advice is that I could apply it using just what I have around the house, herbal steams and hot show­ers. A pot of water sim­mer­ing on the stove with cedar and rose­mary not only helped to clear my indoor air but also made my home smell fan­tas­tic.  In her YouTube video, Wild­fire Smoke + No Air Fil­ter? Do This, Orna explains that using steam to clear par­tic­u­late from the air applies the same prin­ci­pal we are now so famil­iar with in social distancing.

When you exhale, you breathe out tiny droplets. We stand six feet apart so that these droplets, should they con­tain the Covid-19 virus, will be weighed down by the liq­uid they are encased in and be pulled by grav­i­ty to the ground before they reach us.

Dr. Orna explains…“But in wild­fire sea­son with all of this smoke we can use some of those same ideas of basic physics to our advan­tage” You may notice that after tak­ing a hot show­er you breathe a lit­tle eas­i­er. “The mist from the show­er basi­cal­ly pulls what­ev­er par­ti­cles are in the air, grabs them and drops them to the ground.  So this is what we want to do”.

A pot of steam­ing herbs and conifers uses the same prin­ci­pal. The herbs may have detox­i­fy­ing qual­i­ties, but as Dr. Orna says, “bot­tom line is, it will work even with­out herbs”. It is the steam that brings the par­tic­u­late to the ground. That said, today I’ve got some fir and bay leaf sim­mer­ing. It does smell good. Be well.

Link to: Pur­ple Air to check air quality.
Link to: Dr. Orna Izakson’s You Tube Channel

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