Date:31/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/31/stories/2007123160690400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

A difficult winter for those with respiratory problems

Sahana Charan

Many asthma patients admitted in the last two months

Precautions to be taken
Wear a scarf or mask over nose and mouth when outdoors
Keep yourself warm and avoid going out in the early morning

Bangalore: As the year draws to a close, people are revelling in the festive season and making the most of the cool weather. But the sudden drops in temperature, especially in November and December, has made it a difficult winter for asthmatics and those with other respiratory infections.

This year, the city saw an all-time low of 12.7 degrees Celsius in November which dropped even further to 11.8 degrees in December. This was not good news for those with respiratory problems.

“It has been a harsh winter for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. We have seen many patients who had their asthma and COPD in control for a few years, being admitted for severe wheezing in the last two months,” said Shashidhar Buggi, director, SDS Tuberculosis and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases.

Dr. Buggi said that colds and upper respiratory infections were common during the winter season. He said that those suffering from asthma or bronchitis should be particularly careful because viral infections could make their condition even worse and they might need hospitalisation. The usual symptoms were wheezing, cough and expectoration, he added.

H. Paramesh, paediatric pulmonologist and director of Lakeside Medical Centre, said that children with respiratory infections faced more problems as they had smaller airways and in the cold, dry weather they had difficulty in breathing. “Owing to decreased humidity, children also have clogged noses, sore throats, cough and sometimes chronic bronchitis triggering breathing problems. Infants cannot breathe through their mouths and therefore, have severe breathing problems. They may also face difficulty in feeding during the dry winter months,” Dr. Paramesh added.

A recent study by researchers in the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute reiterates that asthma and respiratory infections were aggravated in children during the winter season and hospital visits and admissions increase during this time.

K.R. Ravindra from the Department of Medicine at Victoria Hospital said, “Since the last one month, there have been at least 20 admissions of people with respiratory infections, especially those affected with bronchospasm (abnormal contraction of the smooth muscle of the bronchi resulting in an acute narrowing and obstruction of the respiratory airway).”