[h=1]Gurgaon: Cases of respiratory illness up by 20% post Diwali in Gurgaon[/h] [h=2]Doctors said due to a fluctuation in temperature in the morning and evening, cases of respiratory illness have gone up in Gurgaon[/h]
gurgaon Updated: Oct 22, 2017 21:55 IST
Ipsita Pati
Hindustan Times
Despite a ban on the sale of firecrackers in place and the Punjab and Haryana high court setting a time limit (from 6.30pm to 9.30pm) for residents to light crackers on Diwali night, city hospitals reported a spike in cases of respiratory illness after the festival.
Health experts said after Diwali, there was a sudden spurt in the concentration of suspended particulate matter in the city air, making it difficult for residents to breathe. Since PM 2.5 consists of sulphate, ammonia, nitrates, black carbon, mineral dust and sodium chloride, oxygen becomes a rarefied commodity in the air, thereby making it hard for residents to breathe.
The rise of PM 2.5 in the city?s air has worsened asthma and other respiratory problems, as it settles inside the thin passage of lungs making it difficult for the organ to function. Since Diwali, the out patients department (OPD) at the government hospitals in the city have been reporting a steady stream of patients with lower respiratory tract infection, acute asthma and breathing problem.
?We have reported a 20% rise in cases of respiratory illness since Diwali. The level of pollutants in the air is high in the mornings and evenings, posing a major health hazard for children and the elderly,? BK Rajora, chief medical officer, Gurgaon civil hospital, said.
Doctors were of opinion that as there is a fluctuation in temperature in the morning and evening, cases of respiratory illness in the city has gone up significantly...
