How Does Air Pollution Impact Your Lungs?
Medical studies have found that more prolonged exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased risk of brain damage and silent stroke. The type of air you inhale directly affects your blood pressure and blood vessels. Long-term exposure to low quality of air can cause inflammation in the lungs leading to stiffening of the blood vessels, reducing their flexibility, and weakening the blood vessels, which can increase the chances of heart problems, including a stroke.
What Are the Health Problems Associated With Air Pollution?
Air Pollution can pose serious health issues for the elderly as the immune system gets weakened with age. It’s important to acknowledge that how does air pollution affects the elderly. Read on to get an insight into the health problems caused by pollution.
Airborne Infections
Elders are more vulnerable to catching weather viral infections as their immune systems cannot vigorously fight off the impacts. Illnesses are caused when the microbes in the air are inhaled or contacts the mucus membrane or when an infected surface is touched. Thus, it is important to have facilities to combat low humidity, which can innate resistance against various forms of airborne bacteria.
Respiratory Issues
Air pollution is linked to increased respiratory issues in the elderly. High levels of humidity can take respiratory issues to a higher level in the elderly. Elders with underlying diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, or weakened lungs are at an increased risk of falling ill because of air pollution.
ENT Infections & Discomfort
As the age increases, the quality of the air you breathe in affects your respiratory system, skin, ear, nose, and throat directly. Low-humidity conditions can cause skin and eyes irritability, general discomfort in breathing, sore throat, and other health issues.
What Can Be Done to Deal With Air Pollution & Reduce Its Effects?
Air pollution may reduce the cognitive ability of elders and may also lead to strokes. Exposure to poor quality of air can also increase the risk of lung cancer. Thus, it is essential to acknowledge and understand the unavoidable need to deal with air pollution to combat its ill-effects. Affective humidity control is necessary to keep the elders safe from pollution related health problems. Read below to get some helpful tips to deal with air pollution.
Install an Air Purifier
The air purifiers suck in the harmful pollutants and particles present in the indoor air. Studies have found that indoor air is 5-10 times more polluted than the air outside. Getting an air purifier installed in your home would help purify the air quality to some extent.
Avoid Smoking
Passive smoking is one of the common causes of indoor air pollution. If you have a smoker in your family, make sure they don’t smoke inside the house. Inhaling smoke can directly impact your lungs’ health, which can increase the risks of respiratory diseases.
Go Green with Air Purifying Plants
Indoor plants like aloe vera, spider plant, and peace lily are some of the easily available indoor plants that are believed to improve the house’s air quality. Air purifying plants can be used in the home and offices to purify the air naturally.
Eat Jaggery to Detoxify
Jaggery, also known as gudd, is linked to removing the pollutants from the lungs. Consuming jaggery daily can help make your lungs healthy, thus reducing the risks of respiratory disorders.
Cover Your Face with Masks
N95/99 masks are believed to filter the air, which can help you avoid inhaling the polluted air. Try to cover your face when you are outdoors to prevent breathing smog.
Ventilate Your Rooms & Kitchen
Ensure your house is fully ventilated and has a chimney or an exhaust to promote ventilation across all the rooms. This will help the air to be recirculated and will thus keep the airflow intact.
Elders need to keep themselves healthy and strong in order to avoid health problems. Following the ways mentioned above would help them to decrease the risks of respiratory issues caused by pollution.
What to do next
- Check the air quality index each morning and limit outdoor time when it is poor.
- Walk at cleaner times and places such as parks, after the morning peak.
- Keep windows closed during high pollution and ventilate when the air is better.
- Use a purifier in the bedroom or main room, sized for the room, with filters changed on schedule; see indoor air quality for older lungs.
- Avoid indoor smoke: incense, mosquito coils, cooking smoke and tobacco.
- Follow the doctor's plan for asthma, COPD or heart disease, and carry reliever medicines.
- Wear a well-fitting mask (N95 or equivalent) outdoors on bad days.
Warning signs
Worsening cough, wheeze, breathlessness, chest tightness, eye or throat irritation or unusual tiredness on polluted days need a doctor's advice.
When to ask a professional
A chest physician can set a plan for people with lung or heart disease.
Equipment mentioned in this guide
Frequently asked questions
Why are older adults more affected by air pollution?
Their lungs and hearts are less resilient, and they often have existing conditions.
Do air purifiers help?
They can lower indoor particles when sized right and maintained, but they do not remove every pollutant.
Is exercising outdoors safe on polluted days?
Better to exercise indoors when the air quality is poor.
Which masks work?
Well-fitted N95 or FFP2 masks filter fine particles; cloth masks do little.
Sources and further reading
- World Health Organization, Ambient (outdoor) air pollution fact sheet
- Central Pollution Control Board, India, National Air Quality Index
- Health Effects Institute, State of Global Air reports
Tags: Air Pollution #Health #Eldersair pollutionrespiratory healthindoor airlung careBreathing supportRoom air purifierIndoor air quality monitorHealth monitoring devicesHealthy ageing
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Speak to your doctor before changing your exercise, diet or medicines.
