Over 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma with one-tenth of those living in India. The country has witnessed a huge rise in asthma in the past decade, especially among children, due to a spike in environmental pollution, experts have warned.Asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder caused due to inflammation of the airways in our lungs. Some of the most common symptoms of asthma include breathlessness, tightness in the chest, and night cough. The sudden rise in asthma cases has been blamed on various causes ranging from allergies to environmental pollution."The incidence of asthma is on a rise because of recent changes in our global environment -- increasing air pollution and dust particulate matter,” says Dr. Anshum Aneja Arora, Consultant at W-Pratiksha Hospital in Gurgaon.
According to a poll conducted by Curofy, a community of Indian health experts, 82 percent doctors agreed that there has been an increase in the incidence of asthma in children due to increased environmental pollution. While 11 percent of the doctors blamed second and first hand smoking, and seven percent chose genetic predilection as the leading cause for increased risk of asthma. "A large number of kids are suffering from asthma which is a matter of great concern,” Nipun Goyal, co-founder at Curofy, said while emphasizing on the need to control environmental pollution to save the younger generation from this chronic disease.While asthma is more common among young boys as compared to girls, the severity of an asthma attack is generally higher in women as compared to men. "This is majorly due to female hormonal changes which results in asthma being more severe in women. The ability to breathe normally can be affected by the changes that occur during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy or even menopause,” explains Dr. Randeep Guleria, Head of Department, Pulmonology and Sleep Disorder at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Moreover, it has also been found that asthma can affect fertility. "Women with asthma may take more time to get pregnant and have a lower pregnancy rate than those without the lung diseases,” warns Dr. Archana Dhawan Bajaj, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Nurture IVF Centre in New Delhi. She suggests that women with asthma should conceive at an early age and step up their asthma treatment before getting pregnant. "Inhalation therapy for asthma is recognised as the most preferred form of treatment worldwide, with developed countries like the US and Britain adopting inhalers as an integral part of asthma therapy. This therapy is safe and easy to use for expecting mothers and women who are breastfeeding,” Dr. Randeep Guleria added."Self-management is very important for asthma patients. Young children may not necessarily understand the chronic nature of this disease or how asthma can affect their daily life,” Dr. Sandeep Nayar from BLK Hospital."Parents should make kids aware about the effects of asthma and also teach them what should be done in case of an emergency or an asthma attack,” DR. Nayar advises.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
According to a poll conducted by Curofy, a community of Indian health experts, 82 percent doctors agreed that there has been an increase in the incidence of asthma in children due to increased environmental pollution. While 11 percent of the doctors blamed second and first hand smoking, and seven percent chose genetic predilection as the leading cause for increased risk of asthma. "A large number of kids are suffering from asthma which is a matter of great concern,” Nipun Goyal, co-founder at Curofy, said while emphasizing on the need to control environmental pollution to save the younger generation from this chronic disease.While asthma is more common among young boys as compared to girls, the severity of an asthma attack is generally higher in women as compared to men. "This is majorly due to female hormonal changes which results in asthma being more severe in women. The ability to breathe normally can be affected by the changes that occur during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy or even menopause,” explains Dr. Randeep Guleria, Head of Department, Pulmonology and Sleep Disorder at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Moreover, it has also been found that asthma can affect fertility. "Women with asthma may take more time to get pregnant and have a lower pregnancy rate than those without the lung diseases,” warns Dr. Archana Dhawan Bajaj, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Nurture IVF Centre in New Delhi. She suggests that women with asthma should conceive at an early age and step up their asthma treatment before getting pregnant. "Inhalation therapy for asthma is recognised as the most preferred form of treatment worldwide, with developed countries like the US and Britain adopting inhalers as an integral part of asthma therapy. This therapy is safe and easy to use for expecting mothers and women who are breastfeeding,” Dr. Randeep Guleria added."Self-management is very important for asthma patients. Young children may not necessarily understand the chronic nature of this disease or how asthma can affect their daily life,” Dr. Sandeep Nayar from BLK Hospital."Parents should make kids aware about the effects of asthma and also teach them what should be done in case of an emergency or an asthma attack,” DR. Nayar advises.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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