KUCHING: Air Pollutant Index (API) readings alone may not reflect how severely haze affects individual children, particularly those with existing health conditions.
Taylor’s University School of Medicine senior lecturer in public health Dr Sapna Shridhar Patil said children could respond differently to haze depending on their age, health, physical activity and environment.
She said families and schools should recognise individual vulnerabilities and early symptoms rather than waiting for air quality to deteriorate further before taking precautions.
“Protecting them therefore requires more than watching the numbers. Families and schools must also recognise individual vulnerabilities, respond to early symptoms and prepare before conditions become severe,” she said.
Patil said haze exposure could cause coughing, nasal congestion, headaches, fatigue and breathing difficulties, with even relatively mild symptoms potentially affecting concentration, classroom participation and attendance.
Children are particularly vulnerable as their lungs and immune systems are still developing, while they also inhale more air relative to their body weight.
Physical exertion could further increase their exposure to PM2.5, fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the lungs.
Patil said children with asthma, allergies, eczema, chronic respiratory conditions or heart conditions faced greater risks and could experience worsening symptoms even when other children appeared unaffected.
She added that haze could also affect children’s emotional wellbeing when they were unable to participate in sports and social activities or had to spend prolonged periods indoors.
Parents were advised to monitor official API readings and reduce non-essential outdoor activities when air quality reaches an unhealthy level or continues to worsen.
“Children should never be encouraged to ‘push through’ coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or breathing difficulties to complete an outdoor activity,” she said.
At home, families should keep windows and doors closed where appropriate, while air purifiers equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters could help improve indoor air quality.
Smoking, burning incense and other activities that generate fine particles indoors should also be avoided.
Patil said well-fitted N95 or KN95 masks could provide better protection against fine particles than cloth or surgical masks when children needed to be outdoors.
Schools, meanwhile, should have clear haze-response plans covering API monitoring, communication with families and adjustments to activities in line with Malaysia’s National Haze Action Plan.
Outdoor activities such as physical education, sports, field trips and assemblies should be moved indoors or postponed when necessary.
Schools should also identify pupils with chronic health conditions and ensure they have access to prescribed medication and appropriate support.
Patil said medical advice should be sought when symptoms persisted, worsened or interfered with normal activities.
Urgent medical attention was needed if a child experienced severe breathing difficulty, significant chest pain, marked wheezing, bluish discolouration around the lips, fingernails or face, unusual drowsiness, confusion or rapidly worsening symptoms.
“Preparedness cannot be an afterthought once a child begins struggling to breathe.
“By acting early and responding to individual needs, families, schools and healthcare providers can reduce the effects of haze on children’s health, learning and wellbeing,” she added.
