Repairs for growing up in a polluted area

We're all aware that air pollution and exposure to smoke is harmful, but for children it's worse because their lungs are still growing and developing. The following tips will show you the benefits of avoiding these toxins and the long-term effects of damage to young lungs.

There is a high propensity for lung-related disease for those with constant exposure to smoke and pollution. This was vividly revealed in a study that compared healthy children in a heavily polluted area of Mexico City against similar kids raised in rural Mexico. X-rays of the children's lungs revealed that more than half of the city kids already had lung damage that may be predictive of future problems.

Another study shows that exposure to pollution for many years can raise your lung cancer risk by as much as 24 percent and can be as destructive as breathing secondhand tobacco smoke. In a different study that tracked 500,000 people from 100 cities for 16 years, researchers found that dirty air also increased the risk of dying from heart disease by six percent or more. The more polluted the air, the higher the death rates.

Damage done to young lungs doesn't get repaired by your body. But there's plenty you can do to keep your lungs healthy and to protect against future damage.

Achieving better lung health means improved, deeper breathing. Delivering better-quality air to your lungs results in greater stamina and overall energy, too.

Avoid smoke and dirty air. The only way to consistently avoid polluted air is to live far from heavy traffic, smokestack factories and highly crowded neighborhoods. Not everyone has that choice, however. If you must live in an urban area, there are still many things you can do.

• Pay attention to the pollution forecast for the day, especially on hot summer days when there may be higher levels of ozone in the air.
• Explore better air filtering for your home.
• Take frequent trips out of the city.
• Stay indoors during peak traffic times.

Call your doctor right away if you have chest pain or aches when you inhale or exhale or if you are coughing up blood. These, along with unexplained weight loss, can be symptoms of lung cancer, as can shortness of breath, a hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, pain under your ribs and/or swelling of your face or neck.

See your doctor if you're coughing frequently, wheezing, have frequent lung infections or have a lot of mucus. These symptoms can be a sign of a complex breathing problem that doctors call chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD.

It strengthens muscles that help you breathe.

If you have COPD, your doctor or a respiratory therapist can teach you how to relax when you're feeling short of breath.

Tobacco smoke irritates fragile, already-vulnerable lung tissue.

The antioxidants can help protect lungs from future damage.