How To Protect Your Health From The Effects Of Climate Change?

Climate change is real, isn’t it? We all feel drained almost all the time either due to the heat waves or the cold waves. Rising sea levels, rampant cyclones and typhoons are harmful for our health. For the unversed, environmental changes do have direct and indirect effects on your health.

“The climate change is one of the risk factors most doctors consider when assessing their patients for certain conditions. The change in weather is a natural phenomenon. Our bodies get used to a certain climate and seasonal transition. Of late there have been disturbances in the climate and environment – prolonged spells of summer, unexpected rain leading to sudden lowering of temperatures etc. ends up confusing our body and health,” says Dr Ravi Gaur, Founder & Director, DRG Path Labs, New Delhi, and Chairman Unipath Specialty Laboratories, Ahmedabad.

Changes in weather basically challenges our immune and musculoskeletal system. The fluctuating temperatures provide an apt condition for different groups of viruses to flourish, which then spread contagious diseases.

Climate change is no longer limited to polar bears. It is not a future problem. It is jeopardizing our health and well-being as we know it, and certain areas are facing the brunt of it.  “Rising temperatures may rob people of 50 to 58 hours of sleep each year. Every year, that’s equivalent to losing more than a week of sleep. People find it more difficult to sleep in hot weather, especially if they do not have access to cool or air.  Rising temperatures and fluctuations in rainfall can make places more or less friendly to disease vectors like mosquitos and ticks, potentially causing malaria, dengue, and Lyme disease to spread into previously unaffected areas,” says Dr Aniket Mule, consultant internal medicine, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road.

Warmer temperatures increase ozone pollution, often known as smog, which damages the airways and aggravates asthma and chronic lung disorders such as emphysema and bronchitis; ozone pollution may also induce asthma.

“Warmer temperatures also cause plants to generate more pollen, and many allergy sufferers are reporting that their allergies are worsening and the allergy season is lengthening,” adds Dr Mule.

The common health conditions that can be triggered by a sudden change in the weather include – infections and illnesses of the upper respiratory tract, sinusitis, seasonal asthma and bronchitis, diarrhea, muscle aches, dengue, malaria etc.

“Use of ACs can create a false sense of security. It’s advisable to stick to natural surroundings more than artificial ones. We need to live as close as possible to nature. Invest in your immunity every single day. A strong immunity is the only way to deal with changing weather conditions.  Hydrate well, take adequate sleep, meditate, use   stress management techniques, exercise, healthy diet etc. helps in building immunity and keep us safe from adverse effects of climate change,” signs off Dr Gaur.