Megan Adams, Dana Brestel and their baby daughter Maddy live at Ascot Park and were inundated with bushfire smoke throughout 2019, due to fires at Lindfield Park and Lake Cathie/Crestwood.

The Port Macquarie-Hastings experienced a long bushfire season from July when the Lindfield Park bushfire broke out, up until early 2020 when rainfall provided welcome relief.

Read more: Smoke from Lindfield Park Road fire blankets region

Ms Adams said there were times when she couldn't see three blocks up the hill from where they live.

"One of my stress relievers is walking and I couldn't do that at all," she said.

Ms Adams was pregnant with her daughter Maddy through 2019.

She now questions if the bushfire smoke has resulted in her daughter experiencing some respiratory issues.

Ms Adams and Mr Brestel also find themselves coughing a lot more than what they did before the bushfires in 2019.

Respiratory physician Dr Steven Chung said the number of people he treats who have chronic coughs and those who have preexisting conditions don't appear to have increased since the bushfire period.

However, he said bushfire smoke does have the potential to cause long term respiratory health issues.

"We had such a prolonged (bushfire) period," he said.

"Those effects won't really be able to be accessed until probably many years down the track."

Dr Chung said due to the prolonged nature of the smoke it has the potential to flare-up pre-existing conditions and may impact the development of lungs for young people.

"On some days I would say the bushfire smoke would have been worse then smoking a packet of cigarettes, but it's very hard to quantify," he said.

Dr Chung is urging people to get outdoors, exercise and breathe in clean air during the time before the next bushfire season starts.

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