Updated on: Aug 15, 2008
Beware Of Pollution During Common Cold! Common cold in tandem with pollution can extraordinarily increase the inflammatory secretions. Pollution apart from increasing inflammatory secretions on its own, may act as some sort of catalytic agent to multiply the quantity of these secretions. And hence the severity and duration of common cold increases extraordinarily. Normal people can suffer from common cold from the usual 7 days to 15 days because of two factors: common cold and pollution. Allergic people can suffer from the usual 15 days to about 30 days because of all the three factors: nasal allergy, common cold and pollution. So, it is crucial to avoid exposure to pollution like auto smoke and other chemical fumes etc, while suffering from common cold. Do not get exposed to smoggy weather during common cold as there will be abnormally heavy concentration of pollutants. Autumn & Winter Care Pollutants get trapped in the lower layers of air near the ground during the cooler days of autumn/winter seasons. The quantity of pollution in that smoggy weather may be over ten times and even around 100 times that of normal level. This process is known as: Thermal Inversion. One can sense the typical smell of this smoggy weather. This can cause nasal irritation and itchiness of eyes. The injury caused to mucus membranes in the APNC area by the heavy concentration of irritants in autumn/ winter air, makes it easy for the entry of viruses into deeper tissues, which leads to inflammation and runny nose. Purely, the cold temperature part of these seasons is actually beneficial as it reduces the sensitivity of the mucus membranes by say one unit. But, if the vast amount of various pollutants present during thermal inversion can sensitize the mucus membranes by say ten units, the net effect is more sensitization of mucus membranes. One should avoid exposure to smoggy weather of winter. If it is unavoidable, one should cover his nose with pollution guard and also use goggles to protect the eyes. If you are at home close those windows and doors to stop the entry of smoggy air. In case, you get exposed, treat the nasal cavities and eyes with cold water as explained in the earlier web page. Breezy Weather: Avoid going for a walk in breezy weather. Plenty of molds, pollens and pollutants that have become airborne can create nasal problems. Summer Care On a sunny day, temperature outside in most parts of the world is very unpleasant. The heat of summer dries up the irritants and make them airborne. The bright light combined with heat and pollution can cause swollen/strained eyes. This calls for the use of umbrella and sun glasses. Mucus membranes of the nose also get sensitized due to heat and pollution. As far as possible, one should avoid going out in the sun, especially the nasal allergic people. Even in summer after the sunset, the temperature gradually falls till the sunrise. If one's place of residence is near factories, highways, surrounded by trees, the cold air gets saturated with the pollutants and pollens. One should close the windows during such morning hours before the sunrise. Swollen eyes and the nasal sensitization due to exposure to bright light along with heat and pollution could cause a unpleasant headache and runny nose. So along with the precautionary measures, one should resort to CWT for eyes and nasal cavities to come out of the problem. Please remember, the summer season of your hemisphere is the winter season of the other hemisphere. People coming from there can still carry those cold viruses and infect you! Regulate The Speed Of Fans & Air Conditioners
Night time blues from fans: When one goes to sleep in the night, the atmospheric temperature gradually falls till the sunrise. With the gradual fall in temperature in the night, the pollutants get trapped in the air, this increases the concentration of the pollutants at the lower levels and fans draw them inside the homes. Surge of voltage in the night increases the speed of fans automatically, even if the fan speed is kept at low level while going to bed. If one is sleeping below/near the fans, nasal cavities get congested due to tissue erection/thick mucus. This type of congestion takes place invariably among the nasal allergic people and children. The remedial action is to slow down the speed of fan or to keep the fan stopped as soon as the congestion takes place and to resort to CWT. CWT should be repeated after half an hour if the nasal congestion persists. It is advisable to keep the windows closed, if the pollution outside is more. Air conditioners: like fans give great comfort but not always and not to everybody. Nasal allergic people may feel initially very comfortable with air conditioners on while sleeping or working. Those invisible air waves created by the air conditioner lash the mucus membranes to cause the nasal congestion. The remedial action is to slow down the speed or to keep the air conditioner stopped. Perfumes should not be sprayed in the air conditioned enclosures as this aggravates the nasal congestion among the nasal allergic people. One should resort to CWT to clear off the nasal congestion. If the congestion persists even after 1/2 hour, cold water treatment should be repeated. Blowing of the mucus should be done gently by narrowing down the nasal cavities with the help of index finger and thumb. One can also use a piece of paper to stimulate sneezing to get rid of thick mucus. After the sneezing CWT should be done. Pets, pests, utility and other animals: Dander, saliva, urine and droppings of various pet animals (like: cats, dogs, birds), pests (like: rodents, cockroaches), utility and other animals (like: horses, buffaloes, chickens) can act as allergens to nasal allergic people. Nasal allergic people should find way to avoid these allergens. Exposure to viruses: People get exposed to cold viruses by coming across those suffering from viral colds. It is not possible to get isolated from the people suffering from viral colds. If you happen to come across those people suffering from viral colds resort to CWT as soon as possible. I came across some articles, which suggested, one should wash hands after touching things like telephone receivers, door knobs, etc., and avoid shaking hands during viral cold breakouts. In my opinion, just washing hands will not help, one should also resort to CWT. Avoid cinema halls, cyber cafes, conferences in enclosed halls/chambers during common cold outbreaks and avoid sharing of towels and shaking of hands with the people suffering from viral colds. Household activities: To eliminate offending smoke/smell, it is desirable to fix exhaust fans in kitchen, toilet and bath room. It is advisable to fix exhaust fan in other rooms also. While cleaning the house, one should switch on exhaust fan and also cover nose with a piece of cloth or employ some other person who is not allergic to dust and dust mites to clean the house. It is advisable to wipe out the dust from surfaces with slightly wet cloth instead of raising clouds of dust. Similarly care should be taken while using pesticides, bleaching powder, acids, etc. It is advisable to avoid encounters with burning of incense stick, cigarette smoke, perfumes, paints, pets, etc., if one has nasal hypersensitivity. Minimize the use of carpets, wall hangings. Usage of easily washable synthetic carpets should be preferred. Scented hair oil and the constant harassment: There appears to be very less awareness about the nasal problems caused by the scented hair oil among the people with nasal hypersensitivity. The main point, one has to be aware of the scented hair oil is, it will be creating nasal irritation 24 hours a day. People with nasal hypersensitivity go on inhaling the minute molecules of the scented oil round the clock and suffer from nasal congestion constantly due to tissue erection. Formation of thick mucus and the resultant post nasal drip makes their life more miserable. The fine molecules of scent dissolve in the saliva in mouth to give bitter taste and cause itchiness of throat and cough. Apart from scented oil, even the smell of coconut oil can create nasal problems. People with hyper nasal sensitivity may suffer from anxiety and depression due to this. These conditions can limit the cognitive functioning/ performance and impair the judgment power and quality of life. Breathlessness after inhaling perfumes, dust, etc.!: Several times, I have experienced breathlessness when some body near me sprayed perfume. I have experienced breathlessness while cleaning the fine dust collected over a period of time in nooks and corners of our flat. The innumerable ultra fine particles of spray or that of old fine dust/dust mites, we breathe in a single inhalation stimulates quickly the erectile tissue of nasal cavities. Especially, the tissue over lower turbinates and the surrounding area swells very fast. This narrows the nasal passage suddenly to such an extent to make the breathing tough among the nasal allergic people. One gets panicked due to sudden choking of nasal passages. Simultaneously, one may feel headache and the increased pulse rate. To add to this, formation of thick mucus blobs in the nasal cavities worsen the breathing problem. The sticky mucus is difficult to blow out. The perfume inhaled may cause itching/irritation in the throat, bitter taste in mouth and can stimulate cough. Inhaling of cigarette smoke, incense stick smoke, water vapor containing the minute ingredients of the cooking material released suddenly by the pressure cooker can cause nasal congestion. The best thing, one has to do is to avoid inhaling such irritants. The breathlessness may subside gradually in about an hour. One can come out of the problem quickly by CWT. Prompt medical treatment for diarrhea: Diarrhea is known to coincide with viral runny nose, it is necessary to get medical treatment for diarrhea. Medical treatment for stomach worms will also help to reduce runny nose due to eosinophilia. Job related activities: Nasal allergic people should be very careful while choosing a profession to avoid constant encounters with the job related allergens/ pollutants. Nose picking: Nose picking habit should be stopped as this will sensitize the mucus membranes and also helps to introduce dirt/microbes from external sources. Dental and oral health: Dental and oral care is also of utmost importance to maintain your nose as well as sinuses free of microbes. Keep your mouth free of infection. Life style: Keeping anxiety and worry out of life will help a lot to improve runny nose conditions. Avoid all such activities like: speculative stock market investments, lotteries, betting, bad investments, advancing of heavy amounts without proper security and legal documents. Avoid alcohol, smoking, excessive use of tea, coffee and other beverages. Keep yourself away from unnecessary controversies. What's Next: You would come across the experience of the users of CWT/CWPT. |
7.Preventive
Measures!
Ceiling
fans are one of the major sources of nasal sensitization especially to the
nasal allergic people and children. Fans while rotating, make the fine
dust, dust mites and molds settled in the house airborne and bombard mucus
membranes with them and cause the nasal congestion. Fans also draw in
the pollutants floating in outside air and increase the concentration of
pollutants in the rooms. Mucus membranes are sensitive to touch and
pressure, the air blown into the nasal cavities with great speed along
with the irritants can cause tissue erection which narrows the nasal
cavities leading to nasal congestion and formation of thick mucus. So,
keep the speed of the fans at minimum level. If the minimum speed is also
causing problems, switch off the fans. When one sleeps below the fan while
suffering from runny nose, the breeze of the fan and the horizontal
position of head can aid the post nasal dripping.