What is fine dust? The harmful effects of inhaling ultra-fine dust in the air you need to know

In recent days, environmental pollution and dust pollution have reached alarming levels. The term "fine dust" is mentioned a lot. However, do you know what fine dust actually is and the health effects of fine dust? The answer will be as soon as you refer to this article!

What is fine dust?

Dust is a complex mixture of inorganic and organic particles in liquid or solid form suspended in the air. These include: Sulfate, nitrate, ammonia, sodium chloride, carbon black, mineral dust and water.

Dust or compounds in dust is collectively known as Particulate Matter, symbolized as PM.

The most known micro-sized fine dust particles are three types:

1. PM10: Dust particles with diameters from 2.5 to 10µm in diameter.
2. PM2.5: Dust particles with a diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 µm.
3. PM1.0: Dust particles with a diameter of less than or equal to 1µm.

Fine dust particles PM10 and PM2.5 can be generated from the nature such as: from wildfires, desert dust, volcanic smoke, sand storms, tornadoes or from pollen, mushroom spores, water discharge insects. However, most of this dust is created from human activities through burning charcoal, burning waste, smoking, smoke from industrial parks, construction works, street dust. .

Learn about the harmful effects of fine dust on your health

According to a study by the World Health Organization WHO and the International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC shows that there is a positive correlation between the level of smog pollution and the incidence of cancer.

More specifically, the concentration of PM10 in the air increased to 10 µg / m3, which means that the rate of cancer will increase to 22%. If the density of PM2.5 increased by 10 µg / m3, the incidence of lung cancer increased to 36%.

PM2.5 and PM10 enter the pool when people breathe, but the level of penetration differs according to the size of dust particles. If PM10 enters the body, causing irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, which is often not easy to reach the lungs, PM2.5 is more dangerous because they are so small that they can slip into lungs, veins and enters the blood circulation system.

At normal levels of contact, these fine dust can cause healthy people to have a stuffy nose, sore throat, and bronchitis. Long-term accumulation will increase the risk of disease in the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, circulatory system and reproductive system of humans. Health experts have issued the following precautions regarding fine dust effects:

1. PM2.5 is the cause of blood clotting, blood poisoning causing severe circulatory system damage, depressing the nervous system, causing cardiovascular diseases.
2. Fine dust entering the body will reduce lung function, cause chronic bronchitis, cause asthma and lung cancer. Patients with preexisting lung disease will make the condition worse and increase the risk of death.
3. Fine dust is also the cause of placental blood poisoning, causing fetal growth retardation, being born underweight, high risk of neurological diseases and autism.
4. An expert from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also said that PM2.5 particles contain many heavy metals that can cause cancer or affect DNA causing genetic mutations.
5. Professor Sudha Seshadri, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, said fine dust and air pollution also had a direct effect on brain activity, increasing the risk of stroke and heart failure. Memory loss especially in middle-aged people.
6. Ultra-fine dust particles can also cause psychosis

Can you see that the fine dust particles are extremely small but have extremely dangerous effects on human health? Facing these dangers, what should we do to be able to limit the impact of dust in general and fine dust in particular? Follow the article to get the answer!

Measures to prevent dangerous harms of haze, fine dust to health

1. Should wear a mask when going out. Facemasks must have 4-5 layers of filters including coarse filter, antibacterial layer, activated carbon layer . and have appropriate designs to ensure tightness.
2. Establish a diet full of nutrients, with priority given to green vegetables, fruits, and those rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and beta-carotene to form and maintain the mucosa in the respiratory and digestive tract. resistance to cell damage.
3. Limiting movement on busy roads, highways .
4. Plant lots of greenery around and indoors especially those that purify the air.
5. Limit the use of charcoal and incense .
6. Using air purifiers, currently some machine brands have launched models with the ability to filter PM2.5 dust particles, this will be an ideal choice to help keep the family's living space clean. and more secure.

Fine dust is gradually becoming our obsession. It has a direct and extremely serious effect on health. Understanding their harms will help you take steps to intervene in time to avoid posing harm to yourself and your family members.

I wish you always healthy!

See also :

1. Top 10+ air purifiers that deal with pollution the most effectively
2. How to choose an air purifier according to room size
3. Should you buy an air purifier and deodorize your car?