Describe the issue ( Exposure to pollen and asthma risk) and expand on how expos

Question

Describe the issue ( Exposure to pollen and asthma risk) and expand on how exposure and human health may be modified for the given topic in relation to climate change. This may be in terms of both severity, frequency and geography. Additionally, you should indicate if you think that there are Environmental Justice (EJ) issues associated with the health aspect, and expand on the nature of this concern. This could include location, built environment and lack of empowerment of affected groups. Finally indicate what may be useful to remediate the selected problem

Explanation / Answer

Exposure to pollen can cause allergy and is a common trigger for asthma in susceptible people. The lungs are affected in case of asthma and leads to common symptoms like cough, chest tightness, wheeze, diffculty in breathing. The allergy due to pollen can cause symptoms like runny, blocked nose, itchy ears,mouth and throat, hay fever, watery and itchy eyes and sneezing. During spring and summer pollen causes relatively more impact in Australia as compared to other times of the year. whereas in the warm northern regions of Australia grass pollens can cause problems for people with asthma all year the round. The pollen season occurs when the trees have flowers. Some trees shed their pollen during the early spring, others will shed through spring as well as summer and some other trees shed throughout the year.

There is rise in number of asthma patients during thunderstorm. This is because due to increase in frequency of rain and humidity around the time of thunderstorm which break apart the pollen grain and release starch granules which can be breathed into lungs more easily than intact larger pollen grains.Also simulateneous exposure of allergens like pollen and air pollution from automobile exhaust increase the risk of asthma and allergies in the people. Also exposure of pollen by the women in her late pregnancy can increase the risk of asthma in the child.

Environmental justice issues related to health are poor air quality, improper diet, extreme events like increase in temperature due to greenhouse effect are the factors that exagerrate the effects of pollen on the asthma patients, inadequate regulations to control the air pollution

Remedial measures:

Close the doors and windows properly and if possible stay indoors when there is high pollen days and windy days as well as during and after thunderstorms. Also check the weather forecast on the newspaper or news channel for the pollen count and plan the day accordingly. Also check which type of pollen can cause allergy to you and the time of the day when it is worst for your asthma during the pollen season. Wear a face mask when the exposure to pollen is unavoidable. Also wash your hands and face when you return to reduce the amount of exposure of pollen allergen on your skin. You can also wear sunglasses to prevent the entry of pollen grains into your eyes. If symptoms of allergies and asthma condition deteriorates immediately consult a doctor and carefully follow his prescriptions.

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