Pollution woes: 30% of patients in this city suffer from lung infection

Amid worsening levels of air pollution, the hospitals here have registered a 30 per cent increase in patients with respiratory ailments.

While a majority of them complain of nose and throat infections, others suffer from breathing problems, heart attack, brain stroke, inflammation of eyes and lungs.

Besides, the number of patients with diabetes and blood pressure is also increasing.

Dr Rishi Raj Borah, Country Director, Orbis India said, “Air pollution is known to erode lung and heart health, but it can affect the eyes too, even for those who wear spectacles. Those who are exposed to polluted air regularly are said to have experienced watering of or a burning sensation in their eyes.”

According to Dr Nishant Verma, cardiologist, due to pollution, the speed of lung infection is increasing along with throat, nose and eyes. These numbers are most affected by pollution. When oxygen does not reach inside the blood, the ability to function decreases resulting in heart attack, brain stroke.

“Irritability increases, diabetes and blood pressure also become uncontrolled. Due to worsening pollution, the risk of cancer is increasing among the city dwellers. Also, the chances of cancer are increasing due to lung infection,” Dr Verma said.

“Pollution can lead to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a serious breathing disorder. Its symptoms are similar to asthma and bronchitis. This is chronic bronchitis in which the patient’s energy decreases, he gets tired after walking a few steps. Oxygen supply decreases due to swelling in the windpipe between the nose and the lungs. Children and pregnant women are more likely to get sick due to deteriorating pollution,” he added.

“The air quality has degraded beyond our control, the onset of winter adds to the adverseness of the situation. The pollution caused around this time takes around 4 months to dissipate and therefore increases prolonged exposure to these gasses. Every individual is affected by bad air quality, the most badly affected are children. Children’s ability to filter out or detoxify environmental agents and pollution is different.

For children who grow up in highly polluted cities like Delhi and Gurugram, the impact of this dangerous air can be catastrophic on their undeveloped lungs and respiratory systems. No surprise, our pulmonary department overflows with patients,” Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals said. (With inputs from IANS)