When they should be running and playing outside, children in Delhi often find themselves armed with oral steroids, inhalers and nebulisers. Given the increasing air pollution in the city, children have become easy victims. But people burning firecrackers with infants in their arms or taking their kids for a stroll in this toxic atmosphere, are not fairly uncommon sights.
“The rising pollution levels are taxing for the health of expecting mothers. It can also be life-threatening for children since their lungs are not fully developed to filter the intoxicating levels of pollution post-Diwali,” points out Dr Rita Bakshi, Senior Gynaecologist and IVF Expert, International Fertility Centre.
So, before it’s too late, it is time to take appropriate measures, like ensuring kids to wear a proper anti-pollution mask. “There are two broad categories of masks,” says Jai Dhar Gupta, Founder of Nirvana Being, adding, “Lifestyle masks are for regular use and sports pollution masks for the active community. These kinds of masks come in different sizes for children and adults.” For the sporty kids, specialised pollution masks with N90 or lower-rated filters for low breathing resistance and a silicon seal make a snug and comfortable fit.
Pushing for the use of special masks for children is Pavan Reddy Yasa, Director, AirOk Technologies. He says, “Children are more affected because of air pollution since their breathing rate is high and immunity is low. They should wear masks that have a valve, which make your inhalation and exhalation more comfortable.”
Keeping these aspects in mind, Purelogic Labs India has launched an exclusive anti-pollution mask for children – Prana Air Junior Mask. Founder Rohit Bansal says, “Last year, more than one lakh children died from air pollution. We at Purelogic Labs wanted to address this. Our latest anti-pollution mask has micro-ventilators and a motor that allows children to breathe fresh purified air from one side and breathe the carbon dioxide out from the other. The motor in the mask filters out the buildup of CO2, ensuring fresh air at all times.”
Equipped with HEPA filters and a battery-driven fan, easily charged with a micro USB-cable, these masks come with five-layer protective filter that traps pollen, smoke and Particulate Matter 2.5 or less. The child can manually adjust its three different fan speeds according to the amount of air they need while performing various physical activities.
Purify your home
Contrary to popular belief, staying indoors won’t help you combat pollution. “At home you need air purifiers that will reduce the PM2.5 levels and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the indoor air,” says Gupta.
But not all purifiers are of good quality. During Diwali, the Air Quality Index peaks to 600 and good air purifiers can only maintain AQI below 30 indoors even though the outside AQI is 600. Yasa says, “The problem here is that normal HEPA filter-based air purifiers get choked within a week at these high AQI’s as these purifiers were designed as per European or US conditions where AQI barely goes above 50. So, one should opt for purifiers made in India as per local environment conditions to maintain better air quality indoors without any hindrance.”
Advanced air purifiers are better equipped to deal with the air pollution problem as these use a combination of purification systems as well as a set of filters, believes Dr Mahesh Gupta, CMD Kent RO.
“Such purifiers can monitor, measure the PM 2.5 contents in the air on a real-time basis and high accuracy and display it on the screen. Furthermore, such good purifiers make use of a 4-stage filtration process that is Primary Filter, Carbon, HEPA and Ionizer to filter out air and make it 100 per cent clean and pure,” informs Mahesh.
And so, combining a superior quality mask and air purifier can certainly go a long way in helping your child breathe right.