Lungs are damaged primarily because of these two factors of ‘धूल‘ or Dust and ‘धुआं‘ or Smoke.

Smoke or ‘धुआं‘ emitted from various sources such as vehicular sources, industrial sources, high exposure to other VOC fumes and burning landfill sites. People residing in the areas closer to high traffic areas/ dense industrial regions / living in conditions where they inhale smell of paints/ lead or mercury are at greater risk of damaging their lungs.

Dust or ‘धूल‘ originating from various sources like roadside, construction site and unauthorized dumps of construction waste, empty grounds with no grass or plantation etc.

Cold weather greatly affects our Lung Health. Cold air is often dry and aggravates breathing and lung function problems especially for chronic patients with lung diseases like asthma, COPD or bronchitis.

Cold dry air makes the airways lose water vapour, which causes an indirect spasm in the airways causing wheezing, coughing and flaring up of asthma like symptoms.

For people suffering from chronic respiratory –

• Avoid going out in extreme cold weather
• Wear sufficient warm clothing and cover your nose & mouth with a warm scarf in case you do have to going out.
• Take your medications as prescribed
• Avoid exercising outdoors in extreme cold
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water / use hand sanitizer to prevent flu infections