Doctors: Weather changes, air pollution can trigger respiratory diseases Mumbai News

MUMBAI: Changes in weather coupled with declining air quality are leading to respiratory illnesses among Mumbaikars, especially the elderly and children, but on the other hand, dengue and malaria cases continue to rise unabated in the city, health experts said.

Dr Honey Savla, consultant internal medicine, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, said there has been a significant increase in OPD cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and bronchitis in the last two to three weeks.

Dr Samrat Shah, consultant internist at Bhatia Hospital-Tardeo, said respiratory diseases are usually worsened by two factors: environmental factors like smoke, weather changes, surrounding construction sites and host factors like smoking, asthma and atopy Sexual illness. “We have received as many as eight patients, compared with one or two last month. These are triggered by environmental factors such as haze and weather changes,” he said.

While the overall air quality level in the city was in the ‘moderate’ category on Tuesday, several districts including Chakara, Mazgaon BKC, Maladsi, Sion and Deonar recorded AQI in the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories “Level level.

Rakesh Kumar, former director of NEERI, said the poor air quality was mainly due to smaller construction activity in the city, which was exacerbated by lower winds and higher humidity. While the poor visibility is not entirely due to pollution, atmospheric conditions brought about by the end of the monsoon have reduced the spread of pollutants in the air.

Doctors say the October heat can also cause dehydration, headaches, sudden drops in blood sugar levels, urinary tract infections and gastroenteritis.

“We recommend that people get influenza vaccine and pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine, especially the elderly and immunosuppressed patients. People should drink boiled water, avoid eating food from outside, wear masks in crowded and poorly ventilated areas, and maintain hand and cough hygiene, And stay hydrated,” said Dr Vimal Pahuja, internal medicine physician, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital, Powai.

Dengue fever, malaria cases remain consistent

Meanwhile, the city is reporting four to five dengue cases every day. “Currently, around five dengue patients require hospitalization due to symptoms such as elevated hemoglobin levels leading to low platelet count, persistent fever and dehydration. All these patients are currently in stable condition,” Dr Arora said.

From October 1 to 17, 492 dengue fever cases and 418 malaria cases have occurred in Mumbai. The city has also detected 30 cases of swine flu.