Wear masks for protection from air pollution: Doctors

PATNA: As the city’s air quality index (AQI) level continues to remain in the “very poor” zone, health experts have advised people to wear masks to protect themselves from both Covid and pollution. “Polluted air can have a major impact on respiratory health, especially on people with lung, heart diseases, asthma and those who suffered serious ailments during the second wave of Covid pandemic,” they said.

The number of patients experiencing respiratory problems has increased at the outpatient departments (OPDs) of different health facilities in the city due to the deterioration in air quality.

Dr Sanjiv Kumar, nodal officer for Covid-19 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Patna (AIIMS-P), said deterioration in air quality would affect people’s respiratory system and cause cardiovascular diseases.

“Exposure to particulate matters can affect lung and heart. With the rise in pollution, the level of carbon dioxide has also increased, causing breathlessness especially to those suffering from comorbidities. It can also affect heart because of acidosis (build-up of acid in the bloodstream), which occurs when kidneys and lungs cannot keep body’s pH in balance. In this situation, people get easily fatigued (respiratory) and it also causes depression in cardiovascular. Those whose lungs are already compromised during the second wave of pandemic will be more affected,” Dr Kumar said.

Dr Mukul Kumar Singh, an epidemiologist at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital-Patna, said there has been a rise in number of patients suffering from asthma, lung and heart diseases as well as tuberculosis due to rise in pollution level. “If we compare with the previous year, the number of patients with respiratory problems is more in the OPD this year,” he said, adding people should wear face masks to keep diseases at bay.

Dr A K Ashu, joint director of Indira Gandhi Institute of Cardiology, said poor air quality could also affect healthy individuals. “People should use mask to avoid respiratory and other health problems. The society should also contribute to control the rising level of pollution. In Patna, there is very little paving. If paving is not possible, there should be grass over it, which is the natural way of controlling air pollution. Just sprinkling water on roads will not help much,” he added.

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