Does Automobile Pollution Effect Asthma, Bronchitis, Sinusitis ?

Does auto pollution, diesel fumes and bad smog affect existing asthma? YES! Does motor vehicle exhaust–MVE– cause new cases of asthma in children? YES! Have we previously underestimated the effects of MVE on childhood asthma? Yes.
A current article in European Respiratory Journal by SJ Brandt stresses the effects of air pollution on childhood asthma. Dr Brandt concludes that the effects of motor vehicles exhaust (MVE) on children’s health is much larger than previously estimated.
In my own backyard, Long Beach and Riverside, researchers show that exposure to MVE increases incidence and costs of childhood asthma, ear infections and sinusitis. Brandt SJ, et al “Costs of childhood asthma due to traffic?related pollution in two California communities” Eur Respir J 2012.

Analysis of these two Southern California communities, Riverside and Long Beach, suggested that the impact on preexisting asthma represents only half of traffic-pollution-attributable costs, Sylvia Brandt PhD, of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and an international group of colleagues reported. Studies have focused on MVE effects on preexisting asthma in children. New studies demonstrate new cases of asthma in children due to MVE, as reported in the European Respiratory Journal.
Homes within 82 yards of a major roadway/freeway had a significantly higher incidence of pollution than homes further away. They showed a higher incidence of asthma and related problems of ear infections, bronchitis and sinusitis.
The researchers used a new approach to determine the impact of air pollution from vehicles in Riverside and Long Beach, where traffic is the main culprit. In these cities, residential areas are close to heavily used roads.
The researchers recommend that homes not be built along roadways with heavy traffic, and that there be better control of auto emissions.
Meanwhile what can you do if you are stuck behind a diesel bus in heavy traffic? Best, on arriving home, drink hot tea with lemon and honey. Make sure you and your child are adequately hydrated. Because the sulphides in auto emissions can impair nasal and chest cilia, irrigation with a pulsing device to restore cilia such as the Hyro Pulse is an excellent means of restoring the good actions of nasal cilia.
Humming at a pitch that is “harmonious” to the normal cila movement will vibrate the nasal and chest and encourage that impaired cilia return to good movement where they move dust, bacteria and pollen out of the nose and chest. That is the principle of the pulse rate of the Hydro Pulse® nasal/sinus irrigator; it pulses at a rate to restore cilia movement. Tea, black or green, with or without caffeine, is also a good cilia mover.