Delhi Health Crisis: 50 Per Cent Spike in Respiratory Ailments as Air Quality Continues to Deteriorate

The air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the 'poor' category as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city reached 249 on Friday morning, as per the SAFAR monitoring system.

By Saturday, it is expected to deteriorate even further with PM 2.5 reaching 286 and the PM 10 concentration at 182.

"Amidst the rising levels of pollution in Delhi-NCR, we are witnessing a notable increase in patients with COPD and chest problems coming to us in our OPD these days. We are seeing roughly 30 to 35 patients each day in our OPD, from 7-10 patients a day earlier, marking almost a 50 per cent increase," Dr. Kuldeep Kumar Grover, Head of Critical Care and Pulmonology, C.K. Birla Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS.

Dr. Vivek Nangia, Principal Director and Head of Pulmonology at Max Hospital, Saket, added he is also seeing a "dramatic increase" in the number of patients visiting the OPD and the emergency room.

"The majority of patients that we treat nowadays present with cough, cold, sore throat, feeling of a foreign body in the throat, watering eyes, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath. And in the majority of cases, we must administer medications such as nasal decongestants and anti-allergy medications," he said.

“The particulate matter is staying near the ground,” he added.

Dr. Grover said patients who already had respiratory issues are now getting diagnosed with pneumonia and are being hospitalised. People are also getting newly "affected with upper respiratory issues and if not treated well in time they can also get affected with lower respiratory issues", he said.

Dr. Arun Chowdary Kotaru, Consultant, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine at Artemis Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS the effect of air pollution is profound in the lungs and heart. "We are also seeing one member of every family is suffering from a cough, sore throat and fever. Supportive therapy and a good diet with physical activity is a must for all the patients," he suggested.

The health experts also advised quitting smoking and staying away from secondhand smoke, avoiding dust and pollution as much as possible. They recommended people above 60 years of age or below 15 years to take flu and pneumonia vaccines.

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The above article has been published from a wire agency with minimal modifications to the headline and text.