With winter still a few weeks away, Delhiites appear to be a worried lot as they know that air pollution turns toxic during this period of the year. And due to the accumulation of smog and toxic pollutants in the air, people suffer from respiratory problems.
Dr Vikas Maurya, Director of Critical Care and Respiratory Medicine at BlK hospital said people suffering from chronic asthma, bronchitis, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), allergies and immunodeficiency are likely to suffer a lot.
"Patients are complaining breathlessness, lung infections. And as Diwali is coming, definitely air pollution is going to rise and it will create health problems for the people," said Dr Maurya.
Health experts are concerned for health of people suffering from respiratory problems and other diesease. They said during this period patients need to take extra care.
Already this year, the city has faced one of the biggest epidemics in a decade wherein vector-borne diseases (dengue, chikungunya and malaria) infected thousands of people. Several deaths due to dengu and chikungunya were also reported in the city.
Dr Randeep Guleria, who heads the department of Respiratory medicine at AIIMS said, "Yes, we have come across few cases of influenza. As of now, we can say that there can be influenza outbreak like situation, but yes, cases are going to rise in the coming months."
Dr Guleria said particularly in winter's viral cases, pneumonia are on the rise. "Two things are to be taken care of in winter: Timely medical intervention and efforts should be made to curb the air pollution," said Dr Guleria.
According to Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare (MoH&FW), 4 out of 10 Indian children don't receive full immunisation during infancy thus making them vulnerable to immunodeficiency.
Apart from respiratory diseases, poor air quality and climate change can also lead to ENT problems and auto-immune diseases such as arthritis among people, said doctors.