Are there health risks in being exposed to wood burners?
Smoke is not an allergen but it is an irritant and causes breathing problems with allergy sufferers and especially with those who have asthma and COPD. I can walk in a house with a wood burning stove and my nose gets stuffy in less than a minute so I totally understand where you are coming from on this issue. I’m not sure what you can do to help the situation though unless you can convince your neighbor that your health is more important than his little outdoor fireplace. Maybe it’s the type of wood he is burning. Pine tends to burn hot and puts out black smoke, we have locust hard wood, it burns hot and makes a good fire but it stinks when it burns and really messes my sinuses up. Maybe you could call the local Fire Marshall and have him check the fire place to see if it is up to code and is drawing right (without upsetting your neighbor too much) and last but not least, keep some Claratin D or Benadryl on hand to help with symptoms and use saline to clean your nose this helps a lot.
