Sometimes we do not realize to what extent the environment is a factor of weight in the ailments that affect our children. According to the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), 30 percent of childhood diseases are associated with environmental pollution.
The most frequent are asthma, allergies and respiratory infections, conditions that have doubled in the last 15 years, but are not the only ones.
Air pollution constitutes an environmental risk to health, which affects the most vulnerable, children. The deterioration of the air contributes to a higher incidence of asthma crisis, the most frequent chronic disease in childhood, as well as allergies and respiratory tract infections.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), environmental pollution causes about two million premature deaths a year worldwide, of which almost half are from pneumonia in children under 5 years.
Children living in cities are the most exposed to environmental pollution, and therefore the most vulnerable to suffer conditions such as asthma. Contaminants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone favor the appearance of symptoms and exacerbations in children with asthma. It is no accident that in some cities, approximately 12 percent of children suffer from asthma.
He Road Traffic It is one of the factors that contributes to the proliferation of respiratory diseases. But pollution is not just cars. The effects of air pollution on people's health is a complicated matter, many studies are required and it is costly to prove.
Experts point out that they are increasing in childhood ailments whose causes are related, among other things, to environmental factors, such as food intolerances and disorders, allergies, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (SQM), skin problems, asthma, hyperactivity, problems of weight, insomnia, irritability or autism.
They also believe that the proliferation of chemicals is behind the alteration of our endocrine and immune systems.
That we are more allergic than before due to food contamination, the small toxins incorporated into certain products make them more harmful than 20 or 30 years ago and our immune system is altered.
The growing number of childhood diseases associated with environmental pollution It is alarming. The solution as simple and complex as reduce air pollution.
At least we can start by changing habits in the closest environment, doing what is at our fingertips to build a healthier environment for our children.
