The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Beware of cold and allergies this winter

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 27, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Beware of cold and allergies this winter

Staff Reporter

“Common cold exaggerated response to a foreign body”

Continue medication if you have history of asthma
Consuming alcohol does not cure cold but only induces dehydration.

CHENNAI: Have you been suffering from sudden bouts of sneezing, watery eyes, laboured breathing and blocked nose these past few “winter” months? All these may be symptoms of asthma, especially if you have a family history, say doctors.

You could catch a cold because of either viral or bacterial infection and some people catch infection faster. Dusting could trigger an allergic cold that could last anywhere from an hour to days.

Some people could end up in wheezing too. As our exposure to infection falls, our body’s reaction to foreign bodies becomes exaggerated, says Ranjana Kumari, assistant professor of ENT at Government Kilpauk Medical College.

Common cold, she says, is an exaggerated response of our immune system to a foreign body.

She says, “These dust particles are outsiders and our immune system reacts. It is like attacking an ant with a hammer. Even in airconditioned offices the virus and bacteria circulate in the air, spreading the cold”.

“We say if you treat a cold it stays for a week and if you don’t it is gone in seven days”, she adds.

Allergies trigger asthma

Asthma is a bigger problem in winter, doctors say. Chairman of the Respiratory Research Foundation of India R. Narasimhan says, “Exposure to sudden variations in temperature could trigger allergic bronchitis. Preventive inhalers are more important than inhalers used for relieving symptoms.”

“Extreme climate change, mosquito repellents and other allergies add to the problem. When people are exposed to cold their nose and lungs become dry as there is absolutely no lubrication. Now what we have is smog. When children inhale the dust the sensation to sneeze is very high,” he adds.

When allergic reactions are high doctors advise medication to relieve discomfort caused by itching. Asthmatics must use inhalers regularly. Some stop it and when asthma is triggered sometimes they have to be hospitalised.

Doctors say it is common for known asthma patients to give up their regular medication when they feel better.

Lalitha (name changed), who is in her fifties, suffered an asthma attack at the age of 16. She gave up learning Bharathanatyam after her first stage performance as the asthma, inherited from her father, prevented her from practising.

When Lalitha went to the United States, she became asymptomatic. “I was there even during winter and I had no symptoms of asthma, so I stopped taking medicines for the six months I was there. A couple of months after I returned home, the symptoms returned. My doctor says I should not have stopped the medication.”

Doctors say consuming alcohol does not help cure cold. It gives temporary relief from the symptoms and that too, is lost if one is a smoker. But it can prolong symptoms as alcohol induces dehydration.

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