Source: Environment America

Excerpt:

When Dr. Gabriel Cisneros, MD, FAAP, opens the door to his young patients’ clinic rooms each day, coughs and deep breaths are some of the first sounds he hears. 

Dr. Cisneros is a pediatrician at UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics in Pittsburgh and he’s witnessed numerous children suffer from pediatric asthma. According to a report from the Allegheny County Health Department, 11% of children in Allegheny County have been diagnosed with asthma.

“I call the start of colder weather ‘respiratory season,’” Cisneros said. “Many children I treat this time of year come to me with a severe cough and congestion, with some struggling to breathe. Oftentimes their symptoms are triggered by an asthma attack. And symptoms can be severe, sometimes requiring children to remain in the hospital for days.”

The reason so many children suffer from asthma? Dr. Cisneros points directly to the quality of the air we breathe. 

“There is a direct correlation between asthma and air quality,” Cisneros explained. “Lowering asthma cases in children requires cleaner air. It’s as simple as that.”

Read more: Taking a Deep Breath: The Concerning Connection Between Poor Air Quality & Children’s Health