I woke up this morning and what I should receive along with my cuppa tea is such dreadful news-environmental warming leading to illnesses in children.I ought to be worried;I have two young kids and I work as a community paediatrician .
Though one obviously knows about the havoc man is wreaking upon the environment,in the hustle and bustle of daily living,these thought stay reg elated to the back of the mind .And life goes on. But once in a while you hear/read such stuff and start panicking.
On a daily basis I come across children who have chronic colds, persistent coughs, recurrent mild grade fevers with no apparent cause and so on.I am forever monitoring their health reassuring their parents about Mumbai's environment being the culprit,and to not take the problem too seriously if health other wise is normal. But I have to confess here that my mind needs convincing first.If there is something so drastically wrong with a city that it robs kids of their rights to a cold/allergy free childhood,that "something' needs to be addressed urgently.
With my own kids ,perhaps I could afford the mental and monetary strain of tests and check ups to confirm that their insides are all right . But its neither feasible not advisable for kids I work with .They are children of slumdwellers mostly coming to me with the greed of not having to pay any money for the consultation!And that would not be any solution either.
And isn't there something one could do at own own level something small but effective,that one does not have to live with dread for children's future ?My own children and the ones I take care of, are all less than ten years.what kind of environment are we readying for them?
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