Effects of Pollution on Our Health

Air pollution has adverse effects on your health. The use of fire for heating and cooking is responsible for exposure to smoke. This is one of the most important reason due to which respiratory ailments happen. The concentration and the rise in the emissions of pollutants from dwellings and factories is also responsible for you and your young one coughing. The new age pollutants from increasing industrialization and electric power generation causes further increase in pollution. All in all, when we go for our comfort , we have a heavy price of pollution to pay.

There are numerous varieties of pollutants of which six ‘criteria’ pollutants are:

• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Particulate matter (PM)
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Ozone (O3)
• Lead (Pb)

The harmful effects are determined on the level of concentration, duration of exposure and susceptibility of the individual.

Some common symptoms are like watering and irritation of eyes, throat pain, cough, difficulty in breathing, wheezing, running nose and even chest pain.

People at risk due to air pollution are:

Individuals  with heart disease, lung problem (Asthma, Bronchitis, and COPD), high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, pregnant women, children and any person whose body defence mechanism are weak.

Indoor pollution is also a major reason for respiratory ailments:

A special mention is to be made of indoor air pollution which comprises like:

• Smoke (tobacco, mosquito repellents)
• Cooking
• Burning of biomasses fuels (Like wood, animal dung, crop residues, dried twigs and dry grass and fossil coal)
• Last but not the least the second smokers: Spouses and children of smokers.

Scientific studies highlight the short & long term effects of air pollution:

Scientific studies have linked short and long term effects of fine particle pollution with health risks.

The health hazards can be immediate (like worsening of cardio respiratory symptoms due to poor supply of oxygen in air that we breathe) and permanent due to prolong exposure (like reduced lung function, reduced lung capacity and development of lung diseases like asthma, emphysema ,chronic bronchitis and even lung cancer)

Now we have enough evidence that shows the harmful effects of air pollution (both outdoor and indoor) on our health, so it high time to take necessary steps to prevent pollution. Every person has the right to breath clean air.