Is Your Child’s Health at Risk?

Is your child’s health at risk for climate crisis health problems?  According to Frederica Perera, environmental health sciences professor at Columbia University and author of Children’s Health and the Peril of Climate Change, almost every child across the globe is already at risk from climate change-related threats like extreme heat, poor air quality, pollution, and disease-carrying mosquitoes and ticks.

But it’s not just children in other countries. Babies and children are at risk in our country also. Approximately 20% of children in the United States suffer from hay fever, because climate crisis is causing longer and more intense allergy seasons. For children with asthma, allergy season can result in higher numbers of emergency room visits. High pollen counts can cause runny nose, congestion and sneezing, lack of sleep, and poor school performance. 

Poor air quality comes from industry and heavy traffic. Climate crisis also worsens air quality by increasing the frequency of wildfires. We have all experienced poor air quality and wildfire smoke in Delaware County.

Extreme heat days are becoming more intense, lasting longer, and are more frequent in our country as climate crisis progresses. New research shows extreme heat increases the risk of premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and congenital heart defects. Some studies suggest heat exposures in the first trimester, when major organs are forming, could contribute to birth defects. In later years, heat can affect a child’s ability to learn and increases the risk for mental health conditions.

Why are babies and children especially at risk?

Fetuses, infants and children are more vulnerable than adults because of their rapidly developing bodies. A child’s ability to detoxify toxic chemicals, regulate body temperature, repair DNA damage, and provide an immune defense against infectious disease is still immature. 

Exposure to toxins can have long-lasting physical, mental, and cognitive health consequences. Risks to children in low-income communities are even higher and made worse by additional stressors like poverty, lack of access to healthy foods, and pervasive racism. In these communities, children are exposed to toxic air pollution, which can cause increased rates of chronic illness that can compromise the immune system.

What can a parent do?

• Check air quality and real feel temperature daily
• Keep kids hydrated 
• Make sure kids cool off at regular intervals
• Keep kids away from toxic exposures 
• Protect against insect bites 
• Take action to protect your local environment 
• Vote for climate measures that will make your local outdoor environment safer 
• Plant native trees to decrease temperature and help lower air pollution
• Advocate for green space to keep neighborhoods cooler during intense heat waves and decrease local air pollution
• Ask your school to shift to electric school buses
• Climate proof your home

Please share this blog widely. We all need to be aware of the climate crisis threat to a child’s health and take protective action.

Photos from Pixabay and Free Images