People with long Covid-19 need to take extra precaution in polluted air: Experts

Pollution does not have an immediate effect on your health and according to health experts the harmful effects are witnessed years laterHowever people suffering or have recovered from long Covid19 are at greater risk this year as air pollution knocks at our doors in north IndiaWhile the Punjab Pollution Control Board says it will take 45 years to solve the stubble burning problem Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently announced a 15point Winter Action Plan to curb air pollution with stubble burning remaining a top concern at this time of the yearAccording to Gyanendra Agarwal director department of internal medicine respiratory and critical care medicine Jaypee Hospital Noida one should avoid strenuous activities going outside and engaging in outdoor physical activity like cycling jogging etc during early morning and evening hoursPatients who have recovered from Covid19 and have respiratoryrelated illness should keep their inhaler and medicines handy and follow the above precautionary tips Agarwal told IANSThey should drink plenty of water since it clears the airways in the body and take herbal tea ginger tea and green tea as these help the body rinse out the toxinsExposure to air pollutants in particular fine particles PM25 and nitrogen dioxide NO2 increases the risk of hospitalisation in Covid patients by up to 30 per cent even for the fully vaccinated according to a study from the University of Southern California USC that analysed medical records from patients at Kaiser Permanente Southern California KPSCThese findings are important because they show that while Covid vaccines are successful in reducing the risk of hospitalisation people who are vaccinated and exposed to polluted air are still at increased risk for worse outcomes than vaccinated people not exposed to air pollution said Anny Xiang study author and a senior research scientist at KPSCMuzaffar Izamuddin design manager environmental care at Dyson told IANS that every year during this season we tend to witness a rise in AQI levels and this year is no differentAccording to the Central Pollution Control Board CPCB bulletin the AQI in Delhi on October 5 was 211 AQI between 201 and 300 is considered to be poorWhile poorer air quality is a concern now outdoor air is only a part of the problem Every day we can breathe in up to 9000 litres of air and can be breathing in more pollutants indoors as we are spending up to 90 per cent of our time behind closed doors Izamuddin informedAs our homes increasingly become spaces where we work exercise sleep and play the quality of the air we breathe in all aspects of our routine is nonnegotiableWe are empowering people to breathe cleaner air and enjoy hygienic homes taking back control of their indoor environment he addedOver the long term pollution is linked to an increase in cardiovascular and lung diseases which are in turn associated with more severe Covid symptoms said researchers in a paper published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care MedicineIn the short term air pollution exposure may worsen inflammation in the lungs and could even alter the immune response to the virus they saidAlso read Women at a greater risk from air pollution than men StudyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever