When you are exposed to haze you are more likely to have chances of getting a spectrum of diseases involving your respiratory tract as you breathe in those particles, and also your eyes, which is exposed to the hazy environment.
Possible of illness you might get:-
- Conjunctivitis or inflammation of the eye.
- Nasal irritation, causing you to produce a lot of mucous and start clearing your throat excessively, or sneeze and cough.
- Throat irritation, leading to a sore throat, which in turn can produce mucous and clog up your pharynx area.
- Lung tissue inflammation and scarring. At high levels of the haze, you may start to cough and even feel breathless. At lower levels of pollution, people with a pre-existing lung or heart disorder may start to feel breathless and cough.
How would I know if the haze is affecting me?
You may start to experience these symptoms. These are usually short-term. Look out for:
•Watery or irritated eyes.
•Actual reddening, itchiness, and inflammation of the outer lining of your eyes (conjunctivitis).
•Runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing.
•Post-nasal drip (where the mucous from the back of your nose drips into your throat, causing irritability, soreness and cough, especially at night when you are trying to sleep).
•Sore, dry and irritable throat, which you have to keep clearing.
•Coughing.
•Headache and dizziness.
•Fatigue and the feeling of malaise.
•Mental irritability and the feeling of being stressed out.
•Difficulty breathing, especially on exertion, because your lung function has decreased.
•Bronchitis and lung infections.Most of these symptoms are usually mild.
Will the haze have any long-term effects, like lung cancer?
Particles emitted by forest fires can be toxic to the lungs. They can penetrate deep into the lungs and get absorbed by the bloodstream.
Studies have shown that people exposed to the haze (fine particles) frequently experience a faster thickening of their arteries, and this reduces life expectancy by a few years.
Long-term exposure to particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller can increase your risk of developing diabetes.
For pregnant mothers, be extra careful, because this is associated with spontaneous abortion, birth defects, and high infant death rates.
It is not known at this stage if the risk of lung cancer is higher.
People who are at high risk of illness from the haze
So, take the right precautions to prevent from haze related illness. Here is some useful tips during the hazy days !
Refferences
Image credit:
1.https://images.app.goo.gl/SUQr2vmqENPCQTjK9
2.https://images.app.goo.gl/yKCBQi5gEzsizk8r9
3.https://images.app.goo.gl/jij55uzHF726KKXJ9
4.https://images.app.goo.gl/98DGDrqHHP7hQ5cB8
