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If you are suffering from an allergic rhinitis issue, then this article would throw some light on how pollution outside could worsen this health issue!! Allergic rhinitis refers to a condition that would cause inflammation in the nose due to overreaction of the immune system due to the allergens such as pollen, dust etc present in the air. Point is that this issue has become a growing health concern across our country. Persons with allergic rhinitis would show several symptoms like nasal blocks, sneezing, running nose, itchy eyes/nose/throat, coughing, clogged ears etc. Some persons with this issue would have reduced sense of smell also. There are 2 types of allergic rhinitis such as seasonal allergic rhinitis that occurs at specific times in a year and perennial where allergic rhinitis would occur throughout the year. Strong association between pollution and allergic rhinitis: According to some research studies conducted in recent times it has been brought out that there is some strong connection between the pollutants present in the environment and allergic reactions in us. Truth is that air pollution caused by emissions from several vehicles has increased respiratory allergies such as allergic rhinitis. It is worthy to note that various pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10), sulphur dioxide etc could make respiratory diseases such as allergic rhinitis worse. The shocking piece of information is that in India about 77% of the population are exposed to PM 2.5 levels higher than what WHO or World Health organisation recommends. Since 2019 onwards, urban areas have been affected with Mumbai having 2.6% increase in toxic PM 2.5 levels. It must be noted that a 20% increase in the upper respiratory infection cases has been witnessed in Hyderabad. Severe rhinitis symptoms are witnessed in those persons who have been exposed to PM 2.5 and PM 10. It is true that air that is present inside the houses can also be responsible for allergic rhinitis issues. Point is that indoor pollutants like pet hairs, mould, skin flakes and harmful chemicals released from household products etc could result in allergic reactions in us. This is mostly witnessed in kids and in the senior persons etc who are very sensitive to allergens. How pollution can worsen allergic rhinitis? When the air that has been polluted enters our body through our nose, our breathing system would get affected. Some particles get filtered by our nose but small particles would slip through. The particles could then go to different parts of airways depending on their sizes. Larger particles or PM19 would stay y in the nose, windpipe throat etc. Finer particles or PM 2.5 could reach deeper into our lungs and ultrafine particles or PM0.1 could travel into the air sacs present in our lungs. It is noteworthy that ultrafine particles PM 0.1 are more dangerous when compared to larger particles as they would go deeper into our lungs.  They can lead to symptoms like sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose etc in us. Our symptoms can worsen when PM 2.5 combines with allergens such as pollen, dust mites etc. Our allergy risk would be increased by pollution by increasing allergen levels leading to weak immunity, inflammation, irritation etc and would make the present conditions worse. Managing allergic rhinitis: Conventional medications might not be able to fully control symptoms due to pollution and due to this it would be difficult to manage the allergic rhinitis symptoms in a polluted environment. Therefore, addressing this issue would need a combination of medical management, lifestyle and societal changes to reduce exposure and to improve the life quality of the affected persons.

Have you recently observed some small reddish or brownish coloured spots on your legs and wondered what these are?  The reason for that might shock you!! Being a part of our digestive system, the liver is an important organ in us. It is known that the liver produces bile which is a yellowish green coloured liquid that goes into our small intestines and helps in digestion of food. Liver also plays a role in the excretion of bilirubin, cholesterol etc plus in the fat and protein metabolism also. It is highly essential that we must have good liver health. Not many would know that when the liver gets damaged then the first sign would be shown in the feet. Bitter fact is that some minor changes in the feet (due to wearing poor quality shoes or due to long hours of standing etc) might actually be due to damaged liver. Various poor or damaged liver signs seen in the legs are Presence of spider veins on ankles and feet: On the feet and ankles in some persons, there would be spider veins or tiny web-typed blood vessels just beneath the skin surface. Truth is that in liver cirrhosis estrogen metabolism gets disrupted and blood vessels would get dilated due to hormonal imbalance. This would make spider veins appear to indicate liver malfunction. Presence of reddish or brownish dots on lower legs: It is worthy to note that the presence of red or brown coloured dots would be due to liver damage and not bug bites mark etc. There are also possibilities of blood leakage under skin. Point is that poor liver functioning would affect the clotting ability of the blood leading to small capillaries bursting easily. Cracked heels: Sign of dryness or poor foot care could result in cracked heels. Not many of us would know the fact that liver damage could affect our body`s ability to absorb fat soluble vitamins like A,D, E and K etc. It must be noted that deficiency of vitamin A would lead to thick dry and cracked skin on the heels. Burning or hot feet: Tiredness or neuropathy etc could cause burning sensation in our feet is known. There are chances of getting affected by peripheral neuropathy (alcohol related liver disease)in cases of advanced liver damage. These people would have a burning or tingling kind of feeling in their feet. Smelly feet: Smelly feet are not only caused due to sweating and bacteria etc but also due to liver damage. It is noteworthy that when the liver fails to properly process and remove toxins the waste products would get removed through sweat glands present in the feet also. This could cause an unusual pungent smell in the foot as the metabolism of the body would get altered plus due to hormonal changes etc. Pitting edema: This sign on the feet could be due to advanced sage of liver dysfunction and is a very serious issue. It is learnt that low levels of albumin caused by poor liver function could result in the fluids getting leaked to the surrounding tissues.