Kathmandu air pollution: a safer routine for older adults

Why air quality deserves a place in the care plan

Air pollution is a major health concern in Kathmandu Valley. Older adults and people living with chronic heart or lung conditions can be more vulnerable to polluted air. A good home routine does not require staying indoors all the time; it means using local air-quality information to choose safer times and places for activity.

Check conditions before outdoor plans

Look at a reliable local air-quality reading before a walk, temple visit, appointment, or errand. When pollution is high, shorten outdoor time, avoid strenuous activity near heavy traffic, and move exercise indoors. On better-air days, gentle outdoor movement and social contact can remain part of the week.

Create one cleaner room

Choose the bedroom or main sitting room as a lower-pollution space. Keep doors and windows closed during visibly smoky or very poor-air periods, then ventilate when outdoor conditions improve. Avoid cigarette smoke, incense, open burning, and smoky cooking indoors. If the family uses an air cleaner, select one appropriate for the room and maintain its filter.

Keep prescribed treatment organised

Make inhalers, oxygen instructions, and regular medicines easy to find, but use them only as prescribed. A caregiver can help maintain a medication list, observe inhaler technique previously taught by a clinician, and ensure repeat prescriptions are requested before they run out.

Watch for a change from normal

Contact a clinician when cough, wheeze, breathlessness, chest discomfort, fatigue, or confusion is new or clearly worse than usual. Sudden severe breathlessness, chest pain, bluish lips, fainting, or inability to speak comfortably requires urgent medical care.

Protect connection as well as lungs

Poor-air days can become lonely days. Plan indoor activities that feel normal and meaningful: tea with a neighbour, prayer, music, phone calls, stretching, sorting photographs, or preparing vegetables together. Good care protects quality of life, not only exposure levels.