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Q: So has China's air pollution given you asthma yet?
I've heard it said numerous times that the prevalent air pollution in China is a major trigger for asthma, and that lots of expats who don't have it before coming here develop it after a short while.
How much truth is there to this? Have you developed asthma while living here? If you already had it, has China made it worse?
11 years 13 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
I've had asthma since I was a kid.
I don't think it made it worse, but I sure had a harder time breathing than before, which I blame on pollution and cigarettes. I think I had less asthma attacks there, actually, since there aren't a lot of plants and flowers around to give me allergies. Nor a lot of cats.
But I've never heard of anyone developing asthma after coming to Beijing.
icnif77:
My cousin had asthma since she was little. I thought asthma was not 'adopted' disease, but inherited illness.
The large amount of particulates in Beijing's air (specifically, PM2.5) can lead to respiratory disease and infection, including asthma, shortness of breath, bronchitis, pneumonia, increase in blood pressure, and an all-around overtaxed immune system. It can be especially hard on children and the elderly.
However, there are sevices out there to help test your exposure to particulates amongst other things, and companies like PureLiving China also walk you through the solutions and remediation process.
The pollution increases the risk of Asthma, (and other respiratory ailments) however, it takes a considerable time to develop, typically decades. A couple of months isn't going to do much at all, apart from cover your nasal hairs in dirt.
