Page 16 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine
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     Mortality Rates Increase With Increasing         Stating that air pollution increases the frequency of
     Heat Waves in Urban Areas                        asthma and asthma-related emergency applications,
                                                      Turkish National Allergy and Clinical Immunology As-
                                                      sociation (AID) Board Member Prof. Dr. Ozge Soyer,
     The number of extremely hot days is getting longer and/
     or increasing; the number of cold days is decreasing, the   said:  “Today,  most  of  the  global  energy  comes  from
     human body, which gets used to the summer heat over   fossil fuels. With the combustion of these fuels, carbon
     time, cannot achieve this physiological adaptation in   dioxide, methane gas, black carbon, nitrogen oxides and
     sudden temperature increases, according to urban heat   sulfates are released. Such air pollutants increase the
     island  studies,  cities  are  seen  as the  most  risky  living   permeability of the respiratory tract and cause damage.
     areas, it is revealed that death rates increase with the in-  As a result, it causes sensitivity in the lungs, sputum
     crease in heat waves in urban areas. The waves can also   formation and asthma attack.
     have negative effects on newborns and children, who are
     physically more vulnerable than adults, and long-term   Traffic Causes Childhood Asthma!
     exposure causes respiratory system problems. It is pre-
     dicted that malaria cases will explode in underdeveloped   Emphasizing  that  traffic-induced  air  pollution  is  an
     countries due to the temperature increases in 2050, the   important cause of childhood asthma, Pediatric Immu-
     decrease in water resources, the decrease in access to   nology and Allergy Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Özge
     food resources and the climate crisis.           Soyer explains traffic-induced air pollution as follows:
                                                      “Nitrogen dioxide is the most exposed substance in traf-
     Cancer Cases Increase with Global Warm-          fic-related air pollution and causes nearly 4 million chil-
     ing                                              dren (64% living in cities) to be diagnosed with asthma
                                                      annually.  Children  exposed  to  traffic-induced  air  pol-
                                                      lution are more likely to have germ-free inflammation
     The  International  Agency  for  Research  on  Cancer   caused  by  asthma.  Unfortunately,  studies  have  shown
     (UKAA) reported in 2009 that UVR is carcinogenic to   that intense contact with traffic-induced air pollution
     humans at wavelengths between 100-400 nm. In addi-  during prenatal and early childhood causes genetic
     tion,  a  10%  reduction  in  the  total  amount  of  strato-  changes that cause respiratory tract to become allergic.
     spheric  ozone  accounts  for  approximately  1.7  million   Sitting close to traffic also increases the risk of develop-
     additional cases of cataracts worldwide each year. Air   ing allergic rhinitis.”
     pollution is responsible for an estimated 7 million deaths
     annually.
                                                      Avoid Going Out During Polluted Air
                                                      Periods
     How much health will be affected by climate change de-
     pends on the quality of health services we can access.
     Communities that do not receive quality health care   Underlining that asthma patients should stay away from
     will be adversely affected by the health problems that   indoor and outdoor air pollution as much as possible,
     climate  change  may  cause  directly  or  indirectly.  The   Prof. Dr. Özge Soyer recommended that asthma patients
     worldwide development of health services and access   avoid heavy physical activities in very cold weather or
     to the right service will greatly reduce climate-related   on days when air pollution is intense, keep the windows
     health problems.                                 closed  and  not  go  outside  unless  necessary.    Prof.Dr.
                                                      Soyer continued stated: “If they have to go outside in
     Intense  Air  Pollution  Causes  Damage  to      polluted weather, they should prefer to wear a mask, al-
     the Body                                         ways use their medicines regularly and should not leave
                                                      their breathalyzers with them,” and said :

     Today, air pollution is one of the most important prob-  “The best method to reduce air and environmental pol-
     lems affecting the health of asthmatic patients. Among   lution is to change existing policies.  Using renewable
     the main factors that cause air pollution, there are or-  energy sources instead of fossil fuels and stopping the
     ganic wastes from traffic, industry, heating, energy pro-  use of coal in industry will be one of the most important
     duction, animal husbandry, and gases such as ammonia   steps to be taken for both our world and the future of
     and methane, which are mostly of human origin.
                                                      our children.”
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