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Jun 12, 2011
MY husband, four-year-old-son, and I moved into a flat in April 2010, and this is when all our health issues started. My little boy was always seeing paediatricians due to constant respiratory problems.
FIREWOOD and charcoal stoves are a common sight in many homes. In fact, much as they are designed for outdoors, many people use them inside poorly ventilated houses. Gilbert Kidimu,/b> lets us in on why you need to keep away from the fumes emitted during cooking
MY husband, four-year-old-son, and I moved into a flat in April 2010, and this is when all our health issues started. My little boy was always seeing paediatricians due to constant respiratory problems.
My husband was admitted to hospital several times due to severe headache, and I was also constantly at the doctor’s due to ringing in the ears, dizziness, anxiety attacks and depression.
That is when it occurred to me that there could be a problem with our diet and the condition was getting worse. I explained the situation to a doctor, and the first question was whether we were cooking from the house, which was true.
We were advised never to cook on the charcoal stove inside the house, citing carbon monoxide poisoning. Our health has drastically improved and three months down the road, we feel much better. My son’s breathing has greatly improved.
Why you should not cook inside the house
A typical village woman cooks dinner for her extended family on firewood inside a small, poorly ventilated mud-and-wattle hut. She labours for hours in the thick smoke every passing day.
Similarly, her urban counterpart cooks on a charcoal or kerosene stove, and rarely on a gas or electric cooker. When it rains, or after sunset, she moves the charcoal stove into the house.
The similarity between both women is they inhale toxic chemicals released by burning wood or other solid fuel as they cook. In fact, the entire family is exposed to these chemicals.
Who is prone to pollution?
Air pollution can affect our health in many ways with both short-term and long-term effects. Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways.
Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than are others, but young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution.
People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted. However, the extent to which an individual is harmed by air pollution usually depends on the total exposure.
Short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions.
Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma
“The consequences of air pollution are chronic respiratory diseases such as pneumonia,†says Dr. Amos Mulindwa of Family Care Clinic.
“Cooking over open fires and charcoal stoves is slowly killing millions of people,†he adds. Exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to acute lower respiratory infections, especially in children under five, and cause chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.
According to a World Health organisation (WHO) report, nearly two million people die from effects of indoor emissions each year, more than twice the number from malaria.
According to Evelyn Lutalo, the district support officer for NEMA, pollution is high among fireplaces and charcoal stoves because a lot of wood is used from trees that contain lethal chemicals.
“Trees such as the eucalyptus and mango trees emit menthol among other chemicals that can be fatal,†she adds.
Whereas using gas is one of the safer cooking methods, the fumes emitted during cooking may have harmful effects on the lung cells. Tiny particles of pollutants produced when gas is burnt have an inflammatory effect on the lungs.
Carbon monoxide most lethal
“Carbon monoxide is formed when organic compounds burn. It is a colourless, odourless poisonous gas produced by burning material containing carbon,†says Mulindwa, adding that carbon monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage and in extreme cases, death.
“When carbon dioxide is inhaled, it forms what is called carboxyhaemoglobin, which inhibits oxygen circulation in the body. One is, therefore, likely to pass out or could die because of lack of oxygen circulation,†says Arnold Waiswa, the director of environmental monitoring and compliance, National Environmental Management Authority.
He lists the commonest sources of carbon monoxide in homes as kerosene lamps or stoves, charcoal stoves, petrol and diesel-powered generators.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Early symptoms include headaches, nausea and fatigue. Waiswa says carbon monoxide can also have severe effects on the foetus.
Precaution, treatment
“The first step is moving all family members to fresh air away from the source of carbon monoxide. Since no home therapy is available for carbon monoxide poisoning, you must seek medical care in a hospital emergency department,†Mulindwa says.
Because signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are not specific, a blood test is the best way to make a diagnosis. The treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is high-dose oxygen.
“Cooking should never take place inside the house unless it is in the kitchen, which must be well ventilated,†says Waiswa, adding that incomplete combustion is the main cause of pollution and also when lighting the charcoal stove or even kerosene stove.
“Never leave the charcoal or kerosene stove inside the house especially at night when all windows/ doors are closed,†he cautions.
The cook stove invention
Spearheaded by the UN, the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves joined efforts with the Global Clinton Initiative Foundation to cut the estimated 1.6 million to 1.8 million premature deaths linked with indoor emissions from inefficient cook stoves.
This is being done through promoting the production of cook stoves, said to improve human health, cut deforestation and provide significant climate benefits.
The cook stove is a substantial brick-built stove, incorporating a rocket elbow for efficient combustion and heat transfer, and a chimney to take smoke out of the kitchen.
It has a hotplate which allows for several pots to be used at a time. It also reduces both the use of wood and smoke output.
Lutalo reveals that cook stoves are much more durable, efficient and affordable. They reduce deforestation by curbing the large quantities of wood and other biomass used to make charcoal.
The largest reductions in indoor air pollution can also be achieved by switching from solid fuels to cleaner and more efficient fuels and energy technologies such as liquid petroleum gas, electricity, and solar power.
Improved ventilation of the cooking and living area can contribute significantly to reducing exposure to smoke.
MY husband, four-year-old-son, and I moved into a flat in April 2010, and this is when all our health issues started. My little boy was always seeing paediatricians due to constant respiratory problems.
My husband was admitted to hospital several times due to severe headache, and I was also constantly at the doctor’s due to ringing in the ears, dizziness, anxiety attacks and depression.
That is when it occurred to me that there could be a problem with our diet and the condition was getting worse. I explained the situation to a doctor, and the first question was whether we were cooking from the house, which was true.
We were advised never to cook on the charcoal stove inside the house, citing carbon monoxide poisoning. Our health has drastically improved and three months down the road, we feel much better. My son’s breathing has greatly improved.
Why you should not cook inside the house
A typical village woman cooks dinner for her extended family on firewood inside a small, poorly ventilated mud-and-wattle hut. She labours for hours in the thick smoke every passing day.
Similarly, her urban counterpart cooks on a charcoal or kerosene stove, and rarely on a gas or electric cooker. When it rains, or after sunset, she moves the charcoal stove into the house.
The similarity between both women is they inhale toxic chemicals released by burning wood or other solid fuel as they cook. In fact, the entire family is exposed to these chemicals.
Who is prone to pollution?
Air pollution can affect our health in many ways with both short-term and long-term effects. Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways.
Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than are others, but young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution.
People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted. However, the extent to which an individual is harmed by air pollution usually depends on the total exposure.
Short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions.
Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma
“The consequences of air pollution are chronic respiratory diseases such as pneumonia,†says Dr. Amos Mulindwa of Family Care Clinic.
“Cooking over open fires and charcoal stoves is slowly killing millions of people,†he adds. Exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to acute lower respiratory infections, especially in children under five, and cause chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.
According to a World Health organisation (WHO) report, nearly two million people die from effects of indoor emissions each year, more than twice the number from malaria.
According to Evelyn Lutalo, the district support officer for NEMA, pollution is high among fireplaces and charcoal stoves because a lot of wood is used from trees that contain lethal chemicals.
“Trees such as the eucalyptus and mango trees emit menthol among other chemicals that can be fatal,†she adds.
Whereas using gas is one of the safer cooking methods, the fumes emitted during cooking may have harmful effects on the lung cells. Tiny particles of pollutants produced when gas is burnt have an inflammatory effect on the lungs.
Carbon monoxide most lethal
“Carbon monoxide is formed when organic compounds burn. It is a colourless, odourless poisonous gas produced by burning material containing carbon,†says Mulindwa, adding that carbon monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage and in extreme cases, death.
“When carbon dioxide is inhaled, it forms what is called carboxyhaemoglobin, which inhibits oxygen circulation in the body. One is, therefore, likely to pass out or could die because of lack of oxygen circulation,†says Arnold Waiswa, the director of environmental monitoring and compliance, National Environmental Management Authority.
He lists the commonest sources of carbon monoxide in homes as kerosene lamps or stoves, charcoal stoves, petrol and diesel-powered generators.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Early symptoms include headaches, nausea and fatigue. Waiswa says carbon monoxide can also have severe effects on the foetus.
Precaution, treatment
“The first step is moving all family members to fresh air away from the source of carbon monoxide. Since no home therapy is available for carbon monoxide poisoning, you must seek medical care in a hospital emergency department,†Mulindwa says.
Because signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are not specific, a blood test is the best way to make a diagnosis. The treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is high-dose oxygen.
“Cooking should never take place inside the house unless it is in the kitchen, which must be well ventilated,†says Waiswa, adding that incomplete combustion is the main cause of pollution and also when lighting the charcoal stove or even kerosene stove.
“Never leave the charcoal or kerosene stove inside the house especially at night when all windows/ doors are closed,†he cautions.
The cook stove invention
Spearheaded by the UN, the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves joined efforts with the Global Clinton Initiative Foundation to cut the estimated 1.6 million to 1.8 million premature deaths linked with indoor emissions from inefficient cook stoves.
This is being done through promoting the production of cook stoves, said to improve human health, cut deforestation and provide significant climate benefits.
The cook stove is a substantial brick-built stove, incorporating a rocket elbow for efficient combustion and heat transfer, and a chimney to take smoke out of the kitchen.
It has a hotplate which allows for several pots to be used at a time. It also reduces both the use of wood and smoke output.
Lutalo reveals that cook stoves are much more durable, efficient and affordable. They reduce deforestation by curbing the large quantities of wood and other biomass used to make charcoal.
The largest reductions in indoor air pollution can also be achieved by switching from solid fuels to cleaner and more efficient fuels and energy technologies such as liquid petroleum gas, electricity, and solar power.
Improved ventilation of the cooking and living area can contribute significantly to reducing exposure to smoke.