Delhiites prone to incessant coughing due to high pollution

As the air quality worsens in Delhi due to high pollution levels, a palpable effect that it is causing can be witnessed from the coughing and wheezing problems felt by many citizens of Delhi. 

At a time when the city’s air quality level in the most severe with PM2.5 levels ranging from 210-290 micrograms per cubic meter to PM10 levels ranging from 340-480 micrograms per cubic meter, many do not want to take a chance with their upper tract respiratory health said the doctors. On Thursday, while presenting a blueprint for implementing the odd even scheme for traffic movement, Arvind Kejriwal also urged the citizens to make it a success saying: “We are all coughing.” Many doctors, however, claimed that the high pollution levels is not the only reason of coughing troubles among Delhiites but high levels of bacteria and virus present in the air also adds to problem of cough.

Dr Randeep Guleria said: “Normally you cannot differentiate between a cough caused due to pollution or by microbial infection but if the cough is more persistent, irritable, dry without the sputum, of a long duration and in extreme cases results in breathlessness, chances are the patient is residing in a very polluted place.”

The doctors also said that the PM10 usually present in pollens, dust matters affect the upper tract of body while PM2.5 levels which are mostly present from vehicular emissions affect the lungs.