On November 13, 2021, Seniors Today hosted its weekly Health Live Webinar with Dr Shivanshu Raj Goyal on Overcoming Respiratory Disorders for Seniors.
Dr Shivanshu Raj Goyal has worked extensively in the field of Respiratory Medicine, Tuberculosis, Immunology, Sleep Medicine & Critical Care. Before joining the Artemis Hospital in Gurugram, he had worked at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi.
Dr. Goyal completed his residency at VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi in Department of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine under Prof (Dr) J C Suri (credited with establishing first sleep laboratory of the country). He has presented his work at multiple academic forums on the national and international levels
After the festive season, though the number of cases of COVID-19 have gone slightly up, but the cases are nothing as compared to the rise that we saw during the second wave; and most of the cases and individuals that are testing positive are coming in with milder forms of the disease, and most of these individuals do not require ventilators or any such extreme supportive measures.
The air around us, during these times is macroscopically bad, which means that we can’t even see through the air.
WHO says that an AQI (Air Quality Index) of more than 50 is problematic. We further have gradings in this system. And in Delhi, sadly the numbers are as high as 500, 700. There was a time when it had crossed 1000.
We tend to think that pollution only tends to affect the lungs, but no; you name an organ and it gets affected by pollution. There are individuals, who get strokes, develop cardiac problems, renal problems, cancers and it is all an outcome of pollution.
Pollution is broadly divided into 2 categories-
- Particulate matter- like the dust, pm 2-5, pm 10
- Other gases- like NO2, VOCs
This is all because of human interventions.
In Dr Goyal’s opinion, we are at the moment in a situation that should be treated like a national emergency.
Every 20 2.5 pm = 1 cigarette; so when you are breathing air through the tune of 2.5 or 500 or 1000, imagine how many cigarettes you’re smoking within a day.
There are 30 year old individuals, non-smokers, coming to the hospital with lung carcinoma. This was something that was never heard of. This is primarily because of the air they are breathing. You require 20-30 years of continuous exposure to carcinogens to develop a carcinoma.
Before you step out, check the AQI for the day. If you step out for important work, you need to have your face and mouth to be covered. Covering does not mean cloth or surgical masks. Covering means, using specific masks which have a capacity to filter the 2.5 pm, these are called anti-pollution masks. They do not have to be worn every day, but on days when you know that your AQI indices are very bad, it is sensible to wear one.
An N-95 mask filters out all pollutants including viral particles. But let’s say for example, you go for a jog, you cannot wear an N-95 for the amount of resistance it creates for you to breathe. That is why, at that time, you need a specific mask, with the grade of an N-95 but with a valvular system. By the brand, they come by the name of Respro-masks specifically meant for persons akin to sports activities and ones who go for jogging/ cycling and other activities.
Indoor air is the same air that comes from the outdoors. And thus it is well known that the indoor air is also equally polluted. But, there is some possibility of controlling your indoor air which you might not be able to contain in an outdoor environment. The outdoor air can only be controlled by 2 ways- either if it rains or if there are heavy currents. If there is no rain and there is no flow of the air, the pollutants tend to settle in the air outdoors.
In an indoor setting, you can have air purifying plants, and other measures can be taken to control the kind of air that you breathe.
Air purifiers are an expensive answer to a man-made problem. Here are some drawbacks associated to it:
You have to regularly change the filters, which people do not do, mostly because most companies do not tell you about that part. If you do not change the filter to your air purifier, you’re causing more harm to your room than good. 90% of the air purifiers have a signal that tells you when the air filter is choked and the filter requires changing. But as a practice, if you can change the filter or get it cleaned every 2-3 months that is sensible too.
Any air purifier with an ionized air filter is NOT recommended. You can however get activated carbon filters and HEPA filters
Having a poor quality air purifier, it is as good as not having an air purifier. It is best to get a good quality and a good capacity filter.
