Ohio & Mahoning Valley - Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff is asking Ohioans to be aware of possible air quality health effects due to the poor air quality in the state caused by smoke from the recent wildfires in Canada.

Smoke from the wildfires contains particulates, which could be inhaled into the lungs causing irritation of the eyes, nose or throat, coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain. Particulates could also aggravate chronic heart and lung conditions.

The Ohio EPA issued a statewide air quality advisory on Wednesday stating that particulate levels are expected to be elevated through Thursday.

Dr. Vanderhoff warns that exposure to smoke could cause health problems for just about anyone, but certain groups may experience worse problems than others.

"These include people with chronic heart or lung disease, children, the elderly and pregnant women. It is important to take precautions until our air quality improves," Dr. Vanderhoff said.

These precautions include:

- Limit outdoor activity and spend more time indoors

- Spend time in a room you could close off from outside air

- If your have a central air conditioning system, use high-efficiency energy filters to capture fine particles from smoke. If your system has a fresh air intake, set the system to recirculate mode or close the outdoor intake damper

- Stay hydrated, and if your nose, eyes or throat are irritated, running a humidifier may cause some relief

Those with asthma should follow an "asthma action plan" closely if they have one and make sure they have enough medication to last for several days.

Those with heart disease or COPD should pay close attention to symptoms such as chest pain, tightness, a fast heartbeat, feeling more out of breath than usual or extreme fatigue. If you are experiencing these symptoms, call your doctor or 911 if they are more severe.

To monitor the air quality in your area, click here.