Gurgaon residents fail lungs screening test, pledge to curb air pollution

Around 100 people on Wednesday took a pledge to curb air pollution in the city after they participated in a lung screening test at an event in CyberHub. To their surprise, most residents of Gurgaon discovered that their lungs were not healthy.

Kavita Kapoor, a 35-year-old non-smoker, who lives in DLF Phase-II area of the city was shocked to find out that her lungs are unhealthy. “I am a non-smoker and the results are scary. My lungs are unable to process more than 70 liters of carbon dioxide every day.”

Healthy lungs of a woman of same age group should be able to process about 450 litres of cardon dioxide per day, said the diagnostic experts on spot.

However, Kapoor was not alone in being surprised by her ‘ill-health”; most residents of the city had similar lung capacity at the event organised to generate awareness about the impact of pollution on our lungs and general health. The event also shed light on the lung capacity of a patient suffering from respiratory illness by making participants hold their breath for a minute.

Residents pledged to mitigate air pollution by not burning waste in the open, avoid using vehicles whenever possible and not smoking.

The objective of conducting the lungs screening test was to give citizens an insight into the impact of air pollution and to raise awareness about clean air in the city on World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) day.

Accepting that respiratory problems are increasing at an alarming rate, chief medical officer of Gurgaon Civil Hospital BK Rajora said temporary aids, including pollution masks and respiratory medicines, are not a solution.

“Clean air is required for development of human beings,” said Rajora, adding that the reduced lung capacity of people living in polluted cities in not surprising.

At the event, doctors claimed the region is witnessing a 25% rise in year-on-year COPD patients because of poor air quality.

“At present COPD is the No.2 killer disease; it used to be at No.6 four years ago. It is a big concern as this leads to poor lung functioning and results in structural damage that cannot be treated,” Dr Himanshu Garg, a city-based pulmonologist, told residents at the event.

Health experts also pointed out that Delhi-NCR region is now seeing over 90 ‘poor’ air quality days in a year and this is affecting the health of children who are less than five years old.

Dr Naresh Sharma, president of Indian Medical Association, Gurgaon, said, “Non-smokers, children and people with allergies are suffering more because of air pollution. It is the need of the hour that residents become proactive in consciously reducing air pollution.”