Cold-induced asthma a potentially fatal illness

Rawalpindi:The number of cases with cold induced asthma registers a sharp increase in the northern part of the country including the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi every year after the setting in of extreme cold weather though the life threatening condition is not taken as seriously as it is.

The number of patients with cold induced asthma has already been on the rise and according to health experts, the influx of patients with the disease at both the public and private sector hospitals would increase further in the coming days when the mercury would fall around zero degrees Celsius.

Medically, any kind of asthma can cause death and it is documented that the maximum number of unexpected deaths are caused by asthma around the globe, said Deputy Director at Punjab Healthcare Commission Rawalpindi Region Dr. Tariq Masood Niazi while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.

He explained that cold induced asthma can be termed as allergic asthma. Cold air when inhaled acts like that of an allergen. The existing cold and dry air causes dryness in the respiratory tract because of which bacteria can easily enter the body through inhalation, he said.

He added that people must follow precautionary measures to avoid cold induced asthma and other seasonal infections. Hot fluids like green tea, soup and tea can be taken to minimise bad effects of cold and dry air while unnecessary exposure to cold outside homes should be avoided. If it is necessary to go outside home in the evening or night or early in the morning, one should cover nose, mouth and head properly with warm clothing along with the body. The patients who are already suffering with any kind of asthma should take steam inhalation two to three times a day to avoid dryness of the respiratory tract, he said.

People should understand that to avoid cold induced asthma and other cold related infections, dryness of the respiratory tract needs to be removed. If it is not possible for one to take hot fluids regularly, one should increase fluid intake simply, he suggested. It is worth mentioning here that every year in December only, the public sector hospitals in the region receive well over 2000 patients with the disease.