The air quality of Delhi continues to detoriate, due to which many schools and offices have announced operating from home. Air pollution is now one of the biggest environmental risks for death, contributing towards more than 6 million premature deaths every year caused by heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and respiratory conditions. Few researches show that long term exposure to certain air pollutants can increase the risk of emphysema even more than smoking a pack of cigarettes in a day. Another recent study says that air pollution can also affect mental health. Read this article further to know about the main health effects of smog and pollution.
Health hazards of smog and pollution
Even healthy individuals can get prone to the ill effects of polluted air including respiratory issues or breathing difficulties, especially when outdoors. The potential of risk and severity depends on a person's personal health condition, the pollutant type and concentration, and the duration of your exposure to the polluted air. Here are the health hazards caused by smog and air pollution:
1. Cancer
Air pollution is strongly linked with the high risk of lung cancer. According to a study, not just lung damage, pollution and smog can exposure can also increase the risk of other types of cancers such as breat, liver and pancreatic cancer. Particles in air pollution damage DNA in cells and gradually lead to cancer. Thus, long term exposure to smog can lead to several kinds of cancer.
2. Lung damage
Smog and pollution contains various harmful chemicals which can interfere with the functioning of lungs. The effect of pollution depends on the concentration and nature of pollutants. Long term exposure to smog and pollution can also lead to lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and even lung cancer. It can also impact the development of lungs in young children.
3. Fatigue
The increasing number of pollutants in the air can cause fatigue in some people. Not everyone might get affected by this health effect, but it is common in people with poor immunity. Carbon monoxide can intervene with inhaling oxygen, thereby causing difficulty in breathing and sluggish feeling. You should not exercise outside due to the amounts of bad air.
Also read: Air Pollution Can Also Cause Infectious Diseases, Pulmonologist Explains
4. Respiratory disease
One of the major health problems caused by smog and pollution is respiratory disease. Inflammation of the respiratory tract can lead to dry coughing, mucus secretion, worsening of asthma symptoms and can even trigger chronic bronchitis. It puts individuals at risk of infections of the respiratory tract. It is advised by experts to avoid stepping outside, and even if it is important, you should go out only with a mask.
5. Stress on cardiovascular health
Another health hazard of air pollution and smog is that it can stress on your cardiovascular health. According to a study, it was found that long term exposure to poor particles in the air and nitrogen oxides at high levels can put you at an early risk of damaging blood vessels and lead to a major buildup of calcium in the coronary artery.
Also read: Your Skin Can Get Affected By Smog, Here’s How To Protect It
6. Eye irritation
Smoke contains certain gases which are very harmful for human eyes. Smoke contains harmful gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur oxide, including aldehydes, acid gases, nitrogen oxides, benzene, metals and dioxins which lead to tear production in our eyes. Smog can also lead to dry eyes which can further increase the risks of allergies and infection. A person might also feel that their eyes feel tired and facing difficulties in day to day work.
These were the main health hazards of smog and pollution. These are serious impacts that can even put you at a risk of early death. Air pollution is hard to escape, but one can take certain individual steps such as wearing N95 masks and avoiding going out itself.
Image credits: Freepik
