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Air Pollution: Dangers and Diseases Associated with It

October 5th 2008 04:33
Air gives life. We can't live if we cease on breathing. We need fresh air in order to live healthy. Those who live in the countryside breath fresh air and enjoy the good benefits of living close to nature. Those who live in the city suffer from the harmful effects industrialization brings. Different air related chronic respiratory diseases such as emphysema, asthma, bronchitis, allergies and many others endanger their lives. They have no choice though as this is where their homes are. This is the place where they earn their bread and butter and they just have to continue living a life like this, unless they move to the countryside and start their lives anew.


Air pollution has caused great disasters in different parts of the globe. In a killer five-day smog in an industrial town of Western Pennsylvania in 1948 (Chemistry by Mendoza and Religloso p. 202), almost 7,000 inhabitants became ill and while those who survived had permanent health impairment.

Children who live near factories have higher risk of developing asthma and acute respiratory infections and allergies. Some of these diseases are explained below.

Emphysema is also a deadly disease similar to lung cancer. Its victim experiences shortness of breath. The life-span of an emphysema sufferer is shortened as their breathing capacity is much less than that of a healthy person. This illness develops slowly as a result of the breaking down of the walls between the air sacs because of toxic chemicals breathed in the polluted air. This results to large holes in the lungs. Emphysema is a progressive disease which results to fatal outcome since the tissue changes cannot be reversed.

Asthma is one of the major causes of death in children. It is a disease that results from allergies and may be caused by air pollution. I have a friend who lives at the back of their own paper factory. Her children are suffering from regular asthma attacks. She suspects that the dust and fumes coming from the factory may be the cause but it is hard for them to transfer as they are the ones managing the business and they do supervise production.


In asthma, there is interference with the passage of air through the membrane-lined tubes that serve the lungs. The lining of the bronchi becomes congested and swollen, and an unusual amount of mucus is secreted within those tubes. One of the major causes of asthma is dust and air pollution.

Bronchitis maybe caused by infection and by certain gases and chemicals that pollute the air. It is an irritation of the smallest tubes of the lungs called bronchioles. Chlorine and other gases or fumes accidentally encountered in laboratories or factories can produce severe bronchitis.

Khassandra also shares health articles at HealthMad and Hubpages. She also makes an online diary of her journey to earning money online in her blog, "How To Earn Money Online".



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