New Delhi [India], December 14 : As Delhi recorded an AQI above 450 on Sunday, Doctors in the national capital sounded alarms on how young people are coming in with increasing respiratory problems, and advised people to stay "at home to the extent possible."
Dr GC Khilnani, Chairman of the PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, advised people to wear N95 or N99 masks when going outside to help block pollutants.
"I see two types of patients, the young people who do not have any illness or respiratory illness, asthma, or bronchitis. They are coming with a very troubling cough, sore throat, running nose. When I examine them, I don't find anything... A test called fractional exhaled nitric oxide is done, which actually indicates the level of inflammation in the airways, and that I am finding is very high," Dr Khilnani said.
He further said that in such cases, antibiotics would not help, as the cause is pollution.
"Another type of patient is the one who has previous heart disease, lung disease. They come to the emergency room with increased requirements of nebulization, breathlessness, and increased requirements of oxygen. Younger children and the elderly are the worst affected because of this pollution," he added.
Dr GC Khilnani further noted that younger children and the elderly are most affected by this pollution.
"It is very important for everybody to stay at home to the extent possible... A special advisory for people who have asthma or heart disease or who are elderly is that these people should not go for early morning walks when the smog is there... If they want to go for a walk, they should use an N95 or N99 mask... Everybody is using air purifiers... But there are some precautions to be taken, like the air purifier should be on all the time, the room should be closed, and the filter should be replaced repeatedly," he said.
Doctor Atul Mathur, Interventional Cardiologist and Executive Director at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, urged the residents to "wear light masks" and "reduce their outdoor exposure".
Emphasising its impact on public health, he categorised the two types of pollution components: gases such as nitrogen oxides, which are harmful, and particulate matter.
Earlier today, Residents of Delhi expressed deep concern over deteriorating air quality as the city's Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to 497, remaining in the 'severe' category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In response to the severe pollution, the Delhi Government's Directorate of Education on Saturday directed schools to conduct classes for grades IX and XI in a hybrid format. This decision followed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoking Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) as AQI levels approached the 'severe' mark.