Ramya Kannan
CHENNAI: Forget global warming, think about just breathing. In the best interests of living without a greasy lung, may be we should take a quick look at how our lifestyles are leading to high levels of pollution that impact directly on our health and well being.
ENT specialists and allergy experts agree the number of people reporting with respiratory infections is increasing.
“There is a definite increase in respiratory diseases among people of all ages,” says C.N.Deivanayagam, former director, Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram, “because of the increased density of noxious fumes, particulate matter and dust from construction and road laying activities in the atmosphere.”
The burgeoning vehicle population is to blame, says Ravi Ramalingam, senior consultant ENT surgeon at KKR ENT Hospital, here.
Rajan Santosham of Santosham Chest Hospital says while space has remained constant, the number of vehicles on roads is increasing by the day basis. According to one statistic, everyday close to 500 new vehicles are being registered with Regional Transport Authority offices in the city and suburbs. All these are adding exhaust pollutants to the roads, causing problems for those predisposed to breathing difficulties, but also affecting those who have no such history. In addition, Dr. Ravi says, the increasing smoking habit complicates matters, damaging the lungs.
Another important cause, hitherto unexplored, in lung, nose and throat related problems is central air-conditioning. Have you noticed how if one person falls ill in office, the infection soon spreads around? It could well be because of unclean ducts of a central air-conditioning system.
Where there is a moist patch, either in the air conditioner system or on the walls, mould forms and fungi grow. The fungi spores are then dispersed via the ducts all over the office. These fungi can worsen asthma and also cause new varieties of pneumonia.
With more people beginning to work in centrally air-conditioned offices than before, it is, perhaps, time for maintenance departments to reconsider the attention they pay to the ducts. Dr. Ravi says often even when the filters are cleaned, the ducts are ignored, leading to problems.
“There is a genuine increase in uncommon respiratory infections these days-mostly fungal. This is a clear indication of atmospheric pollution,” says Mohan Kameswaran of Madras ENT Research Foundation. Obviously, lifestyle changes come at a price, he says, adding that while air conditioning is convenient, it can also be very unhygenic.
Since the process of changing the environment cannot happen overnight, it pays to protect oneself in the meantime.
Using breathing filters while on the roads, ensuring that the home and office spaces is dust-free by constantly cleaning and making sure the central air-conditioning ducts are cleaned periodically are some things we can do. For the rest, there is always the ENT clinic.