Asthma

milliemoon · Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:01 am Post subject: Asthma

Like an awful lot of people, I'm asthmatic. I haven't been in hospital with it for a long time, but I do get good and bad patches, and have to take steroids.

A guy who's just started working with my Mum is from ChCh, and told her it's th asthma capitol of the world Eek

I also have a friend living there who said that the smog in the winter does tend to sit over ChCh. You can see the layer if you're up high.

Does anyone have any ideas for areas to look at for houses in Chch that might avoid this Confused

Or should we be looking at other towns/cities Very Puzzled

Many thanks for your help fingers crossed

JCM · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:34 pm Post subject:

Hi milliemoon,

In general, the lowest air pollution levels are found in the extreme west of the city and, more so, in the hill areas of Cashmere and such like. Chch gets very little wind in winter so any air pollution tends to hang around. On average there is a wind that blows from the mountains to the sea at about 2 miles per hour. That means pollution is blown from west to east, as it is in most British cities, hence why the posh folks have traditionally lived on the west of cities and the poorer folks in the east. BTW, I hardly notice the pollution. What I notice in the mornings is a smell of woodsmoke, but it's not strong.

I couldn't help myself from doing a little research on asthma - stay awake now. Wink

The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) says that more than 37 per cent of Scottish youngsters aged 13 to 14 experienced asthma symptoms in the space of a year, compared to 30 per cent in England and 34 per cent in Wales.

New Zealand and Australia, which in the past have had the worst asthma rates, are marginally behind Britain.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=189082004

New Zealanders suffer asthma at three times the global rate, according to the first international assessment of the disease.

The New Zealand-led assessment, which combines previous studies, estimates that 300 million people, about 5 per cent of the global population, suffer asthma.

The rate among New Zealanders is 15 per cent.

The prevalence of the disease is rising - particularly where populations are urbanising and adopting Western lifestyles - but the basic reasons remain unclear.

The latest study, for the World Health Organisation and the Global Initiative for Asthma, is published today to coincide with World Asthma Day.

... said the rising prevalence was driven by a growing population, people shifting from rural areas to cities and the spread of Western habits.

"We know that with the adoption of urban and Western lifestyles the rate of asthma goes up markedly.

"One of the strong factors from studies, particularly in developing countries, is that asthma prevalence rates are much higher in cities than in rural areas.

The exact features of the lifestyle associated with urban living have not been identified with certainty in terms of why their rates are so much higher."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=3564313&reportID=16

There is evidence that, in combination, air pollution and exposure to aeroallergens may have synergistic effects (8,37). However, the asthma prevalence in Christchurch was similar to that in less-polluted urban areas. Thus, although we cannot exclude some role for air pollution in explaining the pattern of asthma prevalence in New Zealand, this seems unlikely to explain the extensive regional differences reported here.

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/1998/106p607-610hales/hales-full.html

milliemoon · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:15 am Post subject:

Wow.............thanks for that JCM Nice One

I think i can take that as "go west it's best" Laughing

I'll check out them there hills then Wink

MM

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

must say that i don't think asthma is caused by air pollution from fires. if it was it would have been much worse in the uk smogs in the 1900's. but asthma's worse in the uk now than then. asthma would be terrible in some asian cities now if fires caused it. but it isn't. cough cough.

mattford · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2004 1:07 am Post subject:

maybe it has something to do with the housing in new zealand - we often hear that the houses are cold and damp in winter. maybe that causes a particular build up of mould or mildew? since my wife left new zealand 8 years ago, her asthma has cleared up. for her it seems like there is something lurking in NZ her lungs don't like..

nisse · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 31

asthma would be terrible in some asian cities now if fires caused it. but it isn't.

I don't know about other Asian countries, but I do know that asthma is a huge problem in many Chinese cities that traditionally have cooked and heated with coal burners. Add to that the immense pollution caused by car traffic these days, and one might get an idea of where all this asthma is coming from.

Cheers

Nisse