Chennai city pollution affecting kids most

The chronic respiratory disease, asthma, arising from allergies is more prevalent among urban children compared to rural kids. “We see many parents accompanying kids with recurring episodes of wheezing, breathlessness and coughing. A school kid travels at least six km from home to school and they are exposed to vehicle emission and air pollution.

Parents drop kids to school on two-wheelers, some kids travel on buses and autos. They are often exposed to vehicle emission in the traffic signals with no mask to cover the face,” says Dr R. Sridharan, founder of Asthma and Allergy Resource Centre.

While pollution masks are available for adults, there are hardly any for children. The asthma specialist who orders special masks for these kids say anybody can wear these masks, especially kids who are allergy prone should use the masks so as to protect from the outdoor pollution.

Simple cotton masks or using dupatta or handkerchief does not fully protect one from pollution, but people have a false sense of security that they are protected against dust particles, doctors say. Allergy leads to cough and cold and slowly it again leads to sinus and subsequently asthmatic inflammation.

“There are food allergens, indoor, outdoor and occupation allergens. Automobile emission, cigarette smoking, industrial emission all come under outdoor category,” says Dr Sridhar.

Both Dhanisha Niwakar and Charulatha say their kids were first misdiagnosed and were just given antibiotics. “My son had chronic cold and cough that he was on antibiotics for a while before he was diagnosed as asthmatic. For many years now he has been using inhalers and even went on a trek to the Himalayas,” says Charulatha.

“Considering the effectiveness and lower side effects, children suffering from asthma should be considered for inhalation therapy, depending on the requirement and severity of the disease,” says consultant respiratory physician Dr Prassana Kumar Thomas.