Poison in the air as Delhi grapples with massive health due to increased pollution

The national capital is grappling with a massive health crisis linked to escalating pollution levels. The city has been consistently making headlines as one of the most polluted cities in the world, with air quality often reaching hazardous levels.

Hospitals across the city are overwhelmed with patients whose chronic respiratory conditions like bronchitis, asthma etc have exacerbated. A sharp rise is being seen in patients seeking treatment for pollution-related health issues.

Dr Anant Mohan, head of the department of pulmonology at AIIMS, said there is a significant increase in patients who are coming with worsening symptoms of their heart and lung-related illnesses.“Besides, those who don’t have such issues are coming with upper and lower respiratory tract problems. Much of it can probably be attributed to the current environment,” he added.

While the OPDs are filled with patients of upper respiratory tract issues, the wards and ICU are filled with patients of lower respiratory tract illnesses. In many hospitals, up to 50 per cent of the beds in ICUs and wards are occupied with patients who are suffering from respiratory diseases.

However, this season, patients with no history of such diseases are also turning towards the health centres with severe symptoms and eventually being diagnosed with pneumonia and acute bronchitis. Hospitals are also noting an increased influx of patients suffering from COPD, asthma-like symptoms, chest congestion and other issues. A large chunk of them are requiring hospitalisation.

Doctors are attributing this trend to the hazardous rise in pollution.“The patients are exhibiting all the symptoms of upper to lower respiratory tract issues. It shows that the pollution is now affecting their lungs deeply. Half of our ICU and ward is filled with cases of respiratory diseases. But a significant number among them are those who did not have a history of respiratory illnesses but suffered asthma-like attacks and severe viral infection like Pneumonia,” said Dr Davinder Kundra, consultant pulmonologist at Manipal Hospital.“Meanwhile, the problems have increased among the patients with a history of respiratory illnesses and they are also being admitted to the ICU,” he added.

“Due to pollution, we are seeing a surge in patients on a daily basis, primarily in the age bracket of 35 to 75. Notably, it’s important to emphasize that a significant portion of these patients do not have a history of asthma. As of now, we have 28 beds occupied, with 14 of those being in the ICU, and 2 patients on ventilators,” says Dr Ambarish Joshi, senior pulmonologist, Primus Super Specialty Hospital.

These patients have reported a series of discomforting symptoms, which include itchy throats, burning eyes, and exacerbated allergies, along with congested lungs. This diverse age range and the inclusion of patients with various respiratory conditions highlight that these symptoms can affect individuals across different age groups and health backgrounds,” he added.

Dr Akshay Budhraja, senior consultant, respiratory and sleep medicine at Aakash Healthcare, said the number of patients complaining of respiratory symptoms like non-resolving cough, throat irritation, sneezing, greyish-coloured sputum and breathlessness, has gone up by twofold in the last 14 days.