What To Do If Smoke Inhalation Makes You Nauseous

Widespread smoke dispersion might not happen in your neighborhood every day. However, depending upon where you live, you may be regularly exposed to an unusually and abnormally high degree of smoke from environmental disasters such as wildfires. You don't have to be next door to a wildfire to experience its smoky effects, either. In August 2024, Canadian wildfires caused poor air quality for hundreds of miles. As noted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), many states throughout New England (hundreds of miles south) were blanketed by air containing wildfire-originated particulate.

Another example of how far smoke can travel: During the January 2025 California wildfires in southern parts of California, the smoke reached well beyond its source of origination. Per the Los Angeles Times, the scope of the wildfire smoke extended to multiple counties outside the fire zone areas. According to Scott Epstein, a locally based air quality assessment manager, the smoke could be detrimental for those sensitive to breathing air with higher-than-normal concentrations of pollutants.

How do you know if you're sensitive to ambient smoke? In addition to having respiratory and other common systematic responses to smoke inhalation, you may feel nauseous. At that point, you need to know how to mitigate your nausea and protect your health.

It may sound strange to think that inhaling smoke could make you queasy. But it's yet another way your body signals that something's not right. According to the U.S. Forest Service, wildfire smoke can contain a variety of toxic elements, including carbon monoxide. As those pollutants are inhaled, they can settle in your throat and lungs. As a result, you might find yourself with a wide range of symptoms, not the least of which is nausea. Carbon monoxide isn't the only cause of nausea from smoke; your stomach could be unsettled because of the smell, especially if you have a history of being sensitive to odors.

A 2017 article in Endocrine Abstracts explored the connection between smoke inhalation, nausea, and vomiting. Though the article's focus was on tobacco smoke and not wildfire smoke, it still has merit in discussions surrounding people's nausea-related responses to secondhand and thirdhand smoke. Namely, the researchers theorized that one of the body's innate peptides, endokinin, could produce feelings of nausea in some people who were around smoke.

Regardless of the mechanism that affects your stomach when you breathe in smoke, you probably just want the feeling to go away. That's where knowing the steps to take can help.

If you're experiencing nausea with life-threatening side effects of smoke inhalation (e.g., breathing difficulties and dizziness), call 911 or head to the nearest emergency department. Smoke inhalation can be deadly, and the negative effects of symptoms can escalate rapidly.

For nausea without emergency-level symptoms, contact your provider for personalized treatment recommendations. At the same time, move to a space with cleaner air. You may even want to consider using an air purifier that's powerful enough to remove smoke particulates from indoor spaces. The New York Times recommends purchasing one with a HEPA filter capable of removing particles as small as 0.3 microns in diameter. 

However, if smoke has infiltrated carpets and textiles, you'll need to take extra measures to remove surface-level matters and odors. There's another catch: A wildfire smoke fact sheet from the EPA reveals that some smoke particulate is smaller than 0.3 microns. This means that even the best air purifier might not give you 100% relief. Regardless, taking in cleaner air may reduce your nausea.

What if you need to go outdoors? In a 2023 interview for CNN, New Jersey-based pulmonologist Dr. Aida Capo said she suggests wearing an N95 mask if you're sensitive. Additionally, Johns Hopkins University's Dr. Peter DeCarlo recommends staying updated on your area's air quality by monitoring the AirNow.gov website regularly.