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Gasp! We beg for some oxygen
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Most children in Bangalore suffer from respiratory problems. It is not just the vehicular pollution that does them in, but also our stress-packed lifestyles, discovers CHARUMATHI SUPRAJA.
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Thanks to Bangalore's temperamental weather, parents can't stop worrying for their children. — Photo: K. Gopinathan
"OH! IT is so pleasant here," is a common reaction to Bangalore weather from an outsider. Come rain and the compliments turn sour. For those who settle, it is a battle — cough, sniff, and wheeze, in this City.
Bangalore's weather label transforms from "pleasant" to "unhealthy" within no time. From asthma to allergic bronchitis to just plain coughs and colds (that last forever and develop into congestion sometimes), Bangalore is becoming the capital of children's respiratory problems. The experts no longer blame just the increased vehicular pollution. They point to the significant change of lifestyle, which includes food, sleep and eating habits, in "moditional" (half modern, half traditional), nuclear households.
Most parents, working or otherwise, pass on the stress and anxiety of daily living to their children. Surrounded by pressure to eat fast, sleep fast, learn fast, and grow up fast, children experience stress. That manifests in a variety of health problems, especially respiratory ones.
Dr. H. V. Shankar, of Ashwini Homeo Clinic, agrees that heredity and atmosphere play a vital role in the development of respiratory ailments. But he stresses the change in food and sleep habits as the beginning of all health problems for children. "When both parents are working, they are forced to use the services of a day care, day school or creche for their children. They have to wake up children early, get them to eat something, and drop them off. This requires a lot of pushing especially if the children came late, the previous evening," he says.
A young child needs at least 10 hours of sleep. Whether the children are exposed to the weather outside or confined to the indoors, they miss the warmth of their home and family, unconsciously, he says. Also, most parents, live on and feed their children a host of instant foods, juices, and other packed foods. However, Dr. Shankar believes that there can be no substitute for warm, fresh, home-made food. Most readymade or half-cooked foods contain preservatives and food colours, which are harmful to the system in the long run. He also laments the rise of an eat-now-and-regret-later mentality. "Eating the right fruits in the right season could save your children from a lot of illnesses," he says. Apple, Chikoo, and Papaya are good for most part of the year. Citrus fruits and banana are to be avoided in wet weather.
"Most of the children put on homeo medicine and preventive care for bronchitis or asthma have shown good results in six months," says Dr. Shankar, strongly advising against introducing kids to cola-culture. Even children catch onto healthy habits early, if given the option, asserts the doctor. When software employee, Vijayasree's in-laws went out of the country, she had to send her 18-month-old child to daycare. The respiratory tract infection he developed there, got so complicated, he lost almost four kilos in a month. "It was obvious that he was getting worse because of the daycare setting, because he became completely normal at home," she says. He did not improve till one of them took leave and kept him home. Now he is taken for short walks outdoors, though the doctor has advised him against long rides on polluted roads.
Asha, a housewife by choice says: "I've noticed that my children are healthier when we don't eat out. There is no one time of the year when you can eat out or plan outings in Bangalore as the weather is so unpredictable. When you have small children, it is better not to take chances", says she.
Anyone who has a small, sick child on their hands can vouch for that. Kavayatri, a working mother, is driven to her wits end when Bangalore weather fluctuates, causing her two-and-a-half-year old daughter to catch a cold-cough. Specially after "she developed chest congestion and was hospitalised a year ago, my husband and I are never sure when to stop worrying," she says. "The cough usually gets worse at night and that means sitting up long hours. With no leave from work, it can be very difficult." Since it was during Diwali that she was worst hit, this is a tough season for them.Dr. H. Paramesh, Director, Lakeside Medical Centre, says "sometimes, mothers are so stressed out by their children's illness that I have to spend time counselling them". Dr. Paramesh has all the research based statistics he needs, to prove that respiratory problems in children, are on the rise in Bangalore. Yet, he has simple, practical suggestions that families can effect, to help such children. The chances of a complication in these ailments is rare, he adds. "Every child has at least seven-eight bouts of cold/coughs per year till age five. It is just a normal, healthy way of building resistance."
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