Air Quality in 'severe' category in Delhi NCR; children upto age 16 more vulnerable to pollution, says expert
Nov 03, 2022
By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], November 3 : Air quality continues to dip and is now in 'severe' category in Delhi NCR. According to experts, diminishing air quality is affecting the paediatric group more severely as compared to adults, said Paediatric Pulmonologist at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Dhiren Gupta.
"The paediatric population is suffering from frequent exacerbation, asthma, allergies, nasal blockage, allergic rhinitis and mental problems. The children of age group 0-16 years are having frequent headaches, dryness of eyes, irritation, dryness of skin," he added.
"Earlier children were getting admitted to OPD only, but now due to air pollution, emergency visits have also increased. In past 10-15 days children's visits to the emergency room have increased," said Dr Dhiren.
According to Dr Dhiren, this year even those children are also suffering who do not have any history of allergies. "There are two groups of children: one group is the one who has never had allergic problems, while the second group suffers from asthma allergies etc. In fact with this pollution level, both groups are getting affected. It is not just confined to the patients who are already predisposed to allergies."
On being asked about precautions, Dr Dhiren said, "all we need to understand is, it's tough to fight against nature, and we cannot avoid schooling for a long time. So in order to avoid pollution, children must wear an N95 mask. So probably when kids are going to school during transition time that is on the bus or during transportation, they can wear the mask. Secondly, try to avoid outdoor activities, especially during the early morning and afternoon and in the late evening because at that time pollution levels settle down at the surface level and you are more predisposed."
He further explained how air pollution affects children more: "When we talk about the paediatric age group, their respiratory rate is faster than an adult one. Their height is moderate and they are more into outdoor activity so they are more predisposed to pollution effect and also their airways and everything is immature so once they get affected at this age they carry it for lifelong."
