“We at the Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland in Rotterdam are currently busier than usual with children who have respiratory problems,” says pediatric pulmonologist Ismé de Kleer. “Today there are three children in the intensive care unit of the Sophia Children’s Hospital with a very serious, life-threatening asthma attack. That is quite exceptional.”
De Kleer hastens to add that there is often an increase in lung complaints in September. “I sometimes call September back-to-school asthma month. More factors come together. Children go back to school and infect each other with all kinds of viruses. We are again en masse in traffic jams, which increases air pollution. And this week There is also smog in the Netherlands, which causes children to develop lung complaints even more quickly.”
The R in the month
Because of that smog, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment issued a warning. Meteorologist Marjon de Hond says that air quality in the Netherlands will probably remain very poor until Sunday.
Joël Israëls, pediatrician at the Willem-Alexander Children’s Hospital in Leiden, also says that his profession is becoming busier with lung patients. “We have had more children in the ICU in recent weeks, while this was significantly less in the summer. I would not immediately call the increase alarming or striking, but it is indeed getting busier.”
There are two moments every year when you see complaints increase, says Israëls. A shorter period in the spring when the pollen is released. And when the R comes in the month. “So that starts now.”
The peak of complaints is often between September and December, Israels says. In urban areas, where air pollution is often worse, the number of patients with serious complaints is more numerous, say both pulmonologists.
Human behavior can also contribute. Ismé de Kleer: “Asthma can be triggered by all kinds of things. By exhaust fumes and smog, but also by a virus. A barbecue in the neighborhood is also not beneficial, just like smoking.”
Class sent home
According to De Kleer, around 6,000 children are diagnosed with asthma for the first time every year. “Since the 1970s and 1980s, this has increased dramatically every year, because the air quality was much worse then than it is now. At that time, entire school classes in the Rotterdam region were sometimes sent home if the air became too polluted. In recent years, the increase is stable around 6,000 new patients per year. This is partly due to more conscious behavior around smoking and cleaner combustion engines, which have improved air quality. Although it is still far from good enough.”
De Kleer says that the topic of increasing complaints was discussed last week during a lecture she gave to other pediatricians. “It was emphatically agreed that it is starting to get busier.”
She says, ‘like every year’, that she is passionate about her patients. “Especially with the smog now. That can lead to significant shortness of breath, sometimes even a lack of oxygen, and that is very frightening for patients. In Rotterdam, about 1 in 7 children suffer from asthma, so it really concerns thousands of children who suffer from asthma these days. may develop additional complaints, or are regularly limited in their physical activity.”
Viruses cannot be prevented
She advises children with asthma not to exert too much physical exertion during these days with a lot of smog. “Normally it is good for children with asthma to exercise a lot, but with smog it is better to stay indoors and take it easy.”
The advice of colleague Israëls: “Vulnerable children should use their medication carefully, especially in periods when they are at greater risk. If you notice that you are getting worse, sound the alarm. Because unfortunately you cannot prevent contracting viruses. “
2023-09-08 13:44:43
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