NOIDA: Doctors have reported a spurt in the number of people reporting to the city’s hospitals with respiratory and eye problems in the past few days. They blamed it on “pollution and smog”, which further worsened after Diwali celebrations in the city. According to doctors, the trend has been witnessed since mid-October but the situation has worsened due to bursting of firecrackers.With air quality in the ‘severe’ category, respiratory health among patients of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has taken a hit. Doctors of the district hospital and private hospitals such as Jaypee, Metro and Apollo said that the number of patients visiting them with respiratory problems had almost doubled, this Diwali week. Dr Deepak Prajapat of the Metro multispecialty hospital said, “Out of these patients, at least 10% need hospitalisation.”Doctors advised patients to not venture out and urged them to install air purifiers in their homes. “We are also advising families with children under one year or elderly persons over 80-90 years of age to install air purifiers,” said Dr Prajapat, adding that NCR had turned into a “gas chamber”.According to doctors, the high PM2.5 levels are not just dangerous for the lungs but also to the eyes. Doctors across city hospitals said that while four-five patients were reporting eye problems till recently, the number had trebled over the past few days. Dr Rajat Anand, eye specialist at the Metro multispeciality hospital, said that at least half of the 10-15 eye patients turning up at his OPD every day, were children. “This trend begins with the onset of winter, every year. But after Diwali, there has been a sudden spurt in eye problems,” he added.According to doctors, there has been a lower number of eye injuries on Diwali this year but the cases of eye patients reporting problems have increased compared to previous years.Dr Sanjiv Gupta, additional director, ophthalmology, Jaypee hospital, warned that those using contact lenses and suffering from CVS were likely to get eye allergies due the high PM2.5 levels. “We advise patients to stop using contact lenses. CVS patients should frequently wash eyes and drink water,” he said.

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