World Asthma Day: Rise in Air pollution has made this condition common among Indians

In India, 5 to 10% of individuals have asthma, the above health issue mostly goes undiagnosed. The patients tend to have episodic cough, chest tightness, breathlessness and wheezing (a whistling sound from the chest). These issues can be easily treated with the help of inhalers or by using cough syrups, warm water, antibiotics or other home remedies.

Prof (DR) GC Khilnani Chairman, PSRI institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep medicine and member, technical advisory Group of WHO Global Air pollution and Health shares his views with regards to rising cases of Asthma in the nation. Globally, more than 300 million are affected by Asthma and about 2,50,.000 people tend to die each year of the disease.

In young children and infants, it is seen as frequent cough and rapid breathing. Fever is not a symptom of asthma.

Chronic Issue

Asthma is a health issue, which is genetically transmitted in response to triggers, there is inflammation (swelling) of airways, leading to narrowing, which is revisable. If not recognized and treated, asthma can become chronic with persistent symptoms and eventual decline in lung function. Diagnosis is carried out by doing spirometry, where the patients blow into a machine that measures the calibre of the airways.

Common asthma triggers

• Smoking

• House dust mites (these might be invisible to the naked eye)

• Air pollution

• Emotional stress

• Viral infection

• Noxius fumes, including perfumes and other strong chemical irritants

• Very cold air

• Artificial coloring agents in foods and beverages

What are the treatment options available?

The treatment is both simple and safe. Inhalers are given with metered dose inhaler (popularly called pumps, dry powder inhaler and nebulisation. These can be equated to eye drops for eye ailments as well as ointments for skin conditions. They are not habit forming.

Most of them do contain corticosteroids in micrograms, which are safe and they have systemic absorption is minimal. In recent year, there has been an exponential rise in the prevalence of asthma in India due to rise in air pollution.

As per the recent study by Lung Care Foundation revealed that, 29.4% of Delhi children compared to 22.6% in cities in South India had asthma. This is due to higher PM2.5 levels. Asthma is twice more common in children who are overweight.

A majority times, asthma is not recognized for a long time, which leads to permanent decline in lung function and persistent symptoms of cough, wheezing and breathlessness.