As the Formula One racing
circus visits Singapore for its latest race, air pollution and the haze created
has been brought into sharper focus than for a long time. There are reports of the
haze closing schools in Malaysia and fears for the visibility and wellbeing of the
F1 teams and their drivers in Singapore. Suddenly, something that is a constant
for those who live in the region becomes big news.
But
what is Haze?
The definition is that it is
an atmospheric phenomenon where suspension of extremely small dry particles in
the air obscure the clarity of the sky.
Its components can be gases
such as ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Particulate matter also in the air includes
benzene sulphate, organic carbon, microbial components and pollen.
These particles can penetrate respiratory and
circulatory systems and can cause damage to the health of an individual exposed
to it for any length of time, or on a regular basis,
Haze
and your health.
Air pollution can affect your health in all
sorts of different ways from eye irritation and redness, headaches and
dizziness, runny nose, sneezing as well as nasal congestion. But it’s not just the head that
is affected. By breathing in particulate matter, this can cause problems in the
throat with irritation, dryness and soreness causing coughing.
Extreme cases can create
chest discomfort and respiratory tract infection. Asthma attacks are often prevalent
and even something as natural as drinking water can be an issue if the drinking
water is contaminated by dense haze. This can lead to stomach upset and
vomiting. The skin can also be irritated by constant exposure to Haze.
So
what precautions can be taken to prevent all these outcomes?
Top of the list is wearing appropriate dust
masks when going outdoors. Those of us who don’t live in such badly affected
areas will have seen the sort of protection worn by people appearing on news
items about air-pollution.
The advice is always to consult a doctor if
there is any difficulty in breathing, coughing, chest pain and any of the
symptoms detailed above.
Spend
less time outdoors.
Sadly, at a time when we are
encouraging our children to spend less time on their iPads and more time
outdoors, the advice in areas of high air pollution is to reduce outdoor
activities such as jogging and cycling amongst others.
Drink plenty of water as long
as it does not fall into the contaminated category.
Wash your hands and face on a regular basis and
especially after outdoor activities and finally, please make sure that if you
are prescribed medicines by your doctor that you take them on a regular basis
especially if you have an underlying respiratory or cardiovascular dilute
disease.
We will be revisiting the subject of air
pollution in future blogs but in the meantime stay safe.
Mayfair, we care.