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Cough Cough, everyone, cough, is sick.
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[ New Topic]
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| Regular Member |
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| 4798 Posts |
| of utter crap |
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| Hong Kong |
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| posted by keymaker 63 days ago |
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f**k me rugged. Everyone seems to be having this sore throad/chest infection s**t going. The bastard won't go away with anti-septic s**te.
Time to get bottle of Tequila at OCH and sort it out I think.
Caution: this post contains content that might lead to unrealistic expectation in real relationships. keep out of reach of immature people.
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| Regular Member |
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| 2894 Posts |
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| posted by bunthorne 63 days ago |
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This rang true from the SCMP the other day, if you can be arst to read it.
If you can't, basically there's f**k all you can do except leave.
It may start with a few sneezes and a runny nose, progress to a cough and then turn into a full-blown hacking
wheeze. At first you may think you're suffering from a chest infection brought on by a cold, but when the cough
fails to show signs of abating two weeks later, you consult your doctor. The problem: Hong Kong's bad air. You're
suffering an allergic reaction to pollution.
The smog that regularly cloaks our skyline is getting worse, and it's not only annoying tourists who make the trip
up Victoria Peak only to see nothing and driving businesses to other Asian cities, it is also interfering with the
quality of life and the general health of people who work and live in the city.
A recent report by the think-tank Civic Exchange claimed poor air quality was responsible for 10,000 premature
deaths and 440,000 hospital bed days a year in the Pearl River Delta, at a cost of 6.7 billion yuan (HK$7.6 billion)
annually.
And it's not just the very young, old or those with existing respiratory problems such as asthma who are paying
the price for pollution. Ear, nose and throat experts claim they are seeing an increasing number of seemingly
healthy people seeking help for problems of the upper respiratory system caused by pollutants in the air they
breathe.
Some are suffering in silence - blaming their symptoms on colds, stress or being overtired, and letting the
problem affect their life, sleep patterns and working day. They may be dangerously self-medicating or dosing
themselves with cold remedies. Others are seeking help from their GPs, only to find there's little they can do.
The Civic Exchange report claims pollution is behind 11 million doctor visits a year. A separate study by the
Chinese University of Hong Kong published in 2005 found a significant link between people making first visits to
their GPs with upper respiratory tract problems on days of increased pollution. This led the researchers to conclude
that air pollution, besides affecting at-risk populations [those with existing problems], also affects the relatively
healthy population.
The Chinese University study monitored more than 300,000 consultations from 13 participating GP surgeries
across Hong Kong between 2000 and 2002 to assess the risk of less serious or short-term effects of pollution on
health (as opposed to the serious effects, which require hospitalisation). Researchers say about threequarters
of the consultations were first visits for new health problems - and of those, two thirds were for respiratory
disorders. They also found that as the concentration of pollutants such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the air
increased, the greater the number of first-time visits there were for upper respiratory disorders.
Although these illnesses are minor in nature with minimum long term effects on health, they represent a
substantial proportion of overall morbidity in the community, the study concludes, adding that the problems are a
financial drain on Hong Kong in terms of escalating medical costs and loss of productivity.
According to ear, nose and throat (ENT) expert John Woo Kong-sang, in most cases an allergy to pollution
manifests itself as rhinitis or rhino-sinusitis - inflammation of the mucous membrane lining of the nose or sinuses -
causing symptoms such as runny noses, sneezing and coughing. A sore throat, phlegm, loss of smell, watery or
itchy eyes are also common reactions to pollution.
Woo, an honorary clinical associate professor in the department of otorhinolaryngology at Chinese University,
estimates that patients with allergic rhinitis or rhino-sinusitis account for about 30 to 40 per cent per cent of cases
at the ENT clinic, up from about 10 to 15 per cent a decade ago.
We don't know for sure whether the increase is due to the growth in population in Sha Tin [the area the clinic
serves], but judging from the number of people turning up at our clinics, I am quite sure the problem has become
worse as pollution has grown worse, and it is affecting the health of the population in general, he says.
Woo says the nose, as the air filter for the lungs, is the first to suffer from exposure to pollution. When it's
working properly, the nose filters out about 90 per cent of pollutants. But when you have a lot of pollutants in the
air, it has to work harder, he says.
In people with allergic tendencies who have become sensitised to pollutants, a slight increase in pollution may be
too much for the nose to bear, resulting in an allergic reaction - the inflammation and all the symptoms which come
with it.
You may think you have a cold and the symptoms may be the same. But the difference is that an infected
condition, even without treatment, is self-limiting. It may last one or two weeks and then you get over it, says Woo.
With allergic rhinitis, the symptoms will linger on.
It's the lingering nature of the symptoms that distinguishes an allergy from a cold, and which eventually leads
many people to their GPs. Likewise, it's the fact that symptoms occur year-round that makes many experts believe
the problem is more likely to be pollution than pollen.
Respiratory specialist Lam Bing, an honorary assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of
Hong Kong, says rhinitis is known to affect about 20 to 30 per cent of the world's population.A recent report by
the multi-centred International Study into Allergies and Asthma in Childhood claims that although cases of asthma
appear to have reached a plateau, rhinitis is on the rise.
I would say in Hong Kong the number of people with rhinitis is a similar number to the worldwide figure, says
Lam. If you were to ask people a simple question such as, `Do you suffer from nasal discharge, blockage or
congestion in the morning?' you would probably find many people suffer some kind of complaint.
It's a common problem, but many people ignore it. Especially as a typical feature of rhinitis is that the symptoms
are worse in the morning but gradually improve during the day, so people tend to think they can cope with
problem. If they have a sore throat they think it's because they have talked too much or that it's an infection.
To what precise extent pollution is to blame for the growing number of minor respiratory problems is difficult to
say because of the lack of research, says Lam, although studies have also shown that people living nearer
highways have far more chance of developing respiratory problems than those living in urban areas.
Johnny Koo Tak-ching is in no doubt pollution is partly to blame for Hong Kong's worsening coughs, sniffles,
sneezes and sore throats. He's an ENT expert at a private clinic in Central, the majority of whose patients are
expatriates who move from city to city in their work.
Those patients who have long-term rhinitis, sinusitis and nasal polyps get worse when they're working in a city
with higher pollution. They can tell which city has the worst pollution by how bad their symptoms get, he says.
They feel much better in places like the Mediterranean and some northern Chinese cities, such as Harbin, but
feel worse when they move to places like Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Singapore is better than Hong Kong,
and Kuala Lumpur is better than Singapore.
The bad news for everyone living and working in central Hong Kong is that there's little we can do while pollution
remains a problem. Antihistamines, which reduce allergic reactions, can alleviate itching and sneezing, steroid-based
nasal drops can reduce some of the inflammation and clear the nose, and pain killers provide relief for a sore throat.
But all of these treatments only address the symptoms and not the cause, and, in the long term, nasal allergies can lead to
nasal polyps, which may require surgery.
Koo says: Reduce your exposure to very polluted areas. If you know you're going to a more polluted area, then
start the preventive medicine for the allergy before you go. If you have minor symptoms such as throat discomfort
or more phlegm, keep an eye on your health, drink more water and take some vitamin C, and you should be fine.
However, if symptoms last more than a week, you had better see a doctor to see if there's a more serious
problem. Unfortunately, my impression is, generally, there is no escape - unless you move to another country that's less
polluted.
Koo's observation is reflected by the experience of Elaine Tse, who has suffered from a sore throat that has
persisted for months despite the installation of a HK$12,000 air purifier in her home. Nothing was working, so I
went to the ENT specialist, who stuck a camera up my nose and down the back of my throat, she says. He asked
me if I'd visited any toxic plants in China. I hadn't, of course. He concluded that it was allergies to the pollution and
gave me antihistamines.
That conclusion was borne out when Elaine took a trip to Australia. After just 24 hours the sore throat went away,
she says. Now I am back in Hong Kong, it's back again.
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| Newbie |
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| 12 Posts |
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| posted by Pomodoro 63 days ago (edited 63 days ago) |
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Cause da deadline comin. Didn't sleep fking tired n very weak.
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| Regular Member |
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| 5836 Posts |
| movin along |
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| Hong Kong |
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| posted by The Crone 63 days ago |
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Got that too, blocked nose and sneezing every morning and sneezing at all times and inflamed membranes etc etc.
I dream again
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| Senior Member |
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| 11918 Posts |
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| posted by Load Toad 63 days ago |
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Lay off the charlie for a day or two Crone.
Average by Intention.
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| Junior Member |
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| 581 Posts |
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| posted by 2hot2handle 63 days ago |
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yup got it as well.....very stuck nose......all pollution again
Ex Freak on a Leash & Killer Tomato Soup, sorry but had to change as was being chased down by the spelling bee masterchampionships
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| Junior Member |
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| posted by beer guy 63 days ago |
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i thought u were off to vacation chef.............
The above comments are personal and meant for comedic purposes only and in no way reflect the thoughts, ideas or other general lunacy of HKExpats Limited.
third world city with a third world mentality
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| Junior Member |
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| 581 Posts |
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| posted by 2hot2handle 63 days ago |
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flying 10 am sunday morning
Ex Freak on a Leash & Killer Tomato Soup, sorry but had to change as was being chased down by the spelling bee masterchampionships
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| Junior Member |
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| 1848 Posts |
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| posted by beer guy 63 days ago |
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have a great time...................
The above comments are personal and meant for comedic purposes only and in no way reflect the thoughts, ideas or other general lunacy of HKExpats Limited.
third world city with a third world mentality
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| Junior Member |
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| 1347 Posts |
| in Shangri-La |
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| Senior Member |
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| 11918 Posts |
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| posted by Load Toad 63 days ago |
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Aye - I can't say I've noticed much these last few days.
Average by Intention.
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| Junior Member |
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| 581 Posts |
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| in |
| Hong Kong |
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| posted by 2hot2handle 63 days ago |
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do you seriously trust te hk government with reporting pollution?
Ex Freak on a Leash & Killer Tomato Soup, sorry but had to change as was being chased down by the spelling bee masterchampionships
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| Senior Member |
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| 11918 Posts |
| Pottering |
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| posted by Load Toad 63 days ago |
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No but I trust my eyes and nose.
Average by Intention.
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| Junior Member |
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| 581 Posts |
| Hong Kong |
| in |
| Hong Kong |
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| posted by 2hot2handle 63 days ago |
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ahahaha pollution can all be seen with naked eyes, thats why we have sophisticated equipment to measure it.
in belgium i recall once all our vegetables in the garden were kind of "nibbled up" his while we had beautiful days......days later we heard there was some chemical pollution escaped from a factory nearby
Ex Freak on a Leash & Killer Tomato Soup, sorry but had to change as was being chased down by the spelling bee masterchampionships
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| Newbie |
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| 39 Posts |
| Swingin Low |
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| posted by The Dogs Bollocks 62 days ago |
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quote:
Originally posted by bunthorne
The smog that regularly cloaks our skyline is getting worse..
So it's official.
Word of the day:
quote:
Originally posted by bunthorne
otorhinolaryngology
One country, no f*cking system.
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| Regular Member |
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| 6577 Posts |
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| posted by puyi 62 days ago |
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I cycle up to the peak most nights doing 25 kms in the dead air zone and have done for the past 6 years and about half way up hatton path its very noticable the change in air quality as one moves into the pollution zone................cough cough hack have had that for past month and its a bugger to get rid of
darren rudd is and never was a sinophile
but the reports were a smoggy mistake
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