Health Matters (13); AIR POLLUTION

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Hello my dear Steemians,

 

I would like to invite you to the contest that is running by @sahmie and if you would like to have a look, here is the link:

https://steemit.com/hive-168205/@sahmie/health-matters-13-air-pollution

 

What are the main sources of air pollution in our environment?

 

The main sources of air pollution are everywhere around us, while living in a big cities one of the commonest source of pollution is from transport that we have on street such as cars, lorries, buses and everything that uses fossil fuel such as gasoline and petrol. Sometimes cars are too old and the amount of pollution is high.

The other source is wood or coal burner that used in some places, often it is there where people have cold weather and in order to keep their home warm using either wood for heating or coal. By the way the time in 60-70’s it was very popular to use coal for heating and those winter time the number of exacerbation of Asthma and difficulties to breath was significantly increased.

Of course, industry that is one of the major contributor to increasing the amount of CO2 in atmosphere and cause of green house effect.

 

How does air pollution affect human health, especially vulnerable groups like children and the elderly?

 

We need air in order to exist, if we do not have pre-existing lung condition then our body can compensate that. But in case of people who have asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) can develop shortness of breath, not able to move around because of being exhausting. Long term exposure can cause physical and mental development of children but also could give impact to their life.

The time when people used coal widely in coal mining industry the workers, had not only COPD but Lung cancer. By the way when we touching lung disease then another source of pollution was Asbestos that is fibrosis mineral that used in the past in building materials and could land in the lungs of workers, creating fibrotic tissues of lungs and people are then not able to breath normally and their lung capacity is limited.

 

What are some common symptoms or health issues caused by exposure to polluted air?

 

Polluted air enters our body via nose, windpipe and lung and subsequently it could cause difficulty with breathing, shortness of breath that is why both children and adults are looking rather grey and slightly blueish because of lack of oxygen. Understandably even small movement will be like running marathon. Some people may develop cancer in any part of their respiratory system starting from nose, throat, lung.

 

How can individuals contribute to reducing air pollution in their daily lives?

 

We should start from ourselves:

• stop smoking and encourage people to stop smoking both inside of buildings, home and outside, especially where there are children

• stop using coal for heating our houses, reduce wood and maybe switch to solar and wind energy

• nowadays it is forbidden to use asbestos in building but also the old buildings with asbestos are closed down and removed.

• limit using excessive driving cars and use public transport or bicycle.

 

How does air pollution vary between urban and rural areas?

 

In bigger cities there is much higher level of pollution but also noticable that many children in big cities prone to have Respiratory diseases. In rural area pollution is less because of more trees, bushes and plants. Also people in such area do more walking, using cycling and sometimes riding horses instead of using cars. Often when family with children suffering from Asthma move to seaside then it is noticeable that after short time children reducing usage of inhalers and also become more active and also start better developing themselves. In my opinion, we need to appreciate how much damage we cause to our environment and air, it is easy to fix now when we still can improve it and let our children to experience that wonderful life too.

I would like to invite following users @dequeen, @memamun, @sitaraindaryas for the contest.

 

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