Indoor threat: Winter of discontent turns unhealthier
Lung diseases surge across the country, due to fumes inhaled from stoves.
Lung diseases surge across the country, due to fumes inhaled from stoves.
ISLAMABAD:
Winter should be about sipping coffee, sitting with family members in a cozy room, eating dried fruit or home-cooked carrot halwa. But the season is incredibly tough for 58-year-old Naeema Bibi.
It becomes harder for her to cook food and keep her home warm in the absence of a safer means of lighting her stove. As winter arrives, this Bhara Kahu resident shifts the stove into the room where all the family members’ sleep to stay warm. The room lacks proper ventilation, due to which the smoke usually stays inside for long hours until the door is opened.
Naeema suffers from asthma that is exacerbated by fumes of an indoor stove. Now she has to contend with onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
What is this disease?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), COPD is an under-diagnosed, life-threatening lung disease that interferes with normal breathing and is not fully reversible. COPD may be seen as an umbrella term used to describe many conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Chairman of the Medicine Department at Aga Khan University Hospital Dr Javaid A Khan says COPD prevalence in Pakistan is as high as 2.1 per cent in population aged 40 years and above, but currently there is no accurate data which can tell how many people are suffering from COPDs in Pakistan and die every year.
“A person who is suffering from COPD is prone to multiple diseases such as cardiovascular or renal diseases, diabetes, asthma and viral infections, among others,” he states, adding that some of these conditions could prove fatal.
Deadly winter spells
Winter has become harsher in the wake of the persistent energy crisis. This is especially true for those who cannot afford to buy liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). They have to depend on burning wood logs, branches, dry leaves and coal for stoves to cook food and keep the house warm. This stokes the threat of indoor air pollution which ultimately makes them vulnerable to COPD.
Every morning, Naseema starts burning wood to prepare breakfast for her family. Sometimes she covers her mouth with a shawl or with one of her hands to avoid inhaling smoke. “During winters, I usually keep an inhaler next to me as I find it difficult to breathe,” says Naeema.
She is also a grandmother to three kids who sit around the stove at night to keep themselves warm. “I have spent my life like this but I do not want my grandchildren to experience the same,” she says.
Dr Osman Yusuf, adviser to WHO Global Programme on Respiratory Diseases and member of Pakistan for Global Initiative against Obstructive Lung Disease, tells The Express Tribune that medical studies show that children and babies who are kept in the kitchen while the mother cooks food may develop COPD in early life. “Elderly people and females are affected more due to indoor biomass,” added Dr Yusuf.
“However, even in better ventilated, less cold places like regions of Sindh and Punjab, cases occur more than expected,” he said.
According to a latest report of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), COPD affects more than 200 million people and is the fourth leading cause of death in the world. Tragically, most cases go unnoticed and unreported.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2014.
Winter should be about sipping coffee, sitting with family members in a cozy room, eating dried fruit or home-cooked carrot halwa. But the season is incredibly tough for 58-year-old Naeema Bibi.
It becomes harder for her to cook food and keep her home warm in the absence of a safer means of lighting her stove. As winter arrives, this Bhara Kahu resident shifts the stove into the room where all the family members’ sleep to stay warm. The room lacks proper ventilation, due to which the smoke usually stays inside for long hours until the door is opened.
Naeema suffers from asthma that is exacerbated by fumes of an indoor stove. Now she has to contend with onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
What is this disease?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), COPD is an under-diagnosed, life-threatening lung disease that interferes with normal breathing and is not fully reversible. COPD may be seen as an umbrella term used to describe many conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Chairman of the Medicine Department at Aga Khan University Hospital Dr Javaid A Khan says COPD prevalence in Pakistan is as high as 2.1 per cent in population aged 40 years and above, but currently there is no accurate data which can tell how many people are suffering from COPDs in Pakistan and die every year.
“A person who is suffering from COPD is prone to multiple diseases such as cardiovascular or renal diseases, diabetes, asthma and viral infections, among others,” he states, adding that some of these conditions could prove fatal.
Deadly winter spells
Winter has become harsher in the wake of the persistent energy crisis. This is especially true for those who cannot afford to buy liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). They have to depend on burning wood logs, branches, dry leaves and coal for stoves to cook food and keep the house warm. This stokes the threat of indoor air pollution which ultimately makes them vulnerable to COPD.
Every morning, Naseema starts burning wood to prepare breakfast for her family. Sometimes she covers her mouth with a shawl or with one of her hands to avoid inhaling smoke. “During winters, I usually keep an inhaler next to me as I find it difficult to breathe,” says Naeema.
She is also a grandmother to three kids who sit around the stove at night to keep themselves warm. “I have spent my life like this but I do not want my grandchildren to experience the same,” she says.
Dr Osman Yusuf, adviser to WHO Global Programme on Respiratory Diseases and member of Pakistan for Global Initiative against Obstructive Lung Disease, tells The Express Tribune that medical studies show that children and babies who are kept in the kitchen while the mother cooks food may develop COPD in early life. “Elderly people and females are affected more due to indoor biomass,” added Dr Yusuf.
“However, even in better ventilated, less cold places like regions of Sindh and Punjab, cases occur more than expected,” he said.
According to a latest report of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), COPD affects more than 200 million people and is the fourth leading cause of death in the world. Tragically, most cases go unnoticed and unreported.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2014.