Burning incense and ghost money during Ghost Month, the seventh month of the lunar year, induces asthma cases among children, a pediatrician said yesterday.
Hsu Shih-ta (徐世達), director of Mackay Memorial Hospital’s Department of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology, said the number of asthma cases induced by allergy has increased by between 10 percent and 20 percent recently.
In Ghost Month, which this year falls entirely in the month of August, ceremonies in which ghost money is burnt are especially frequent, with smoke from the burning paper often clouding city streets.
Burning ghost money produces the carcinogenic chemical benzene and other chemicals that cause respiratory tract problems.
Traditional Chinese folk beliefs say that souls are released from hell during ghost month to mingle with the living.
Burning ghost money began as a ritual to appease these spirits so they would not create mischief or harm. Diehard believers burn money year-round, but the activity reaches a peak during ghost month, and especially on the 15th day of the month, known as “ghost festival.”
Hsu said that those who set up altars and burn incense in their homes produce air pollutants that can accumulate to dangerous levels.
“When the concentration of air pollutants rises, it induces allergic reactions among some children,” he said.
Hsu said allergic reactions could also be cumulative, noting that after years of living in an incense-burning environment, allergic reactions can become more apparent.
This, coupled with an average temperature difference of 7˚C between air-conditioned indoor areas and warm outdoor areas, has also contributed to the rise in the number of asthma cases, he said.
For this reason, Hsu said, a well-ventilated house will help children suffering from allergies. He advised opening windows for at least two hours daily, even during hot weather.
The Taipei City Government’s Department of Education recently announced that 20 percent of students at the city’s junior high schools suffer from asthma.
Statistics show that as many as 50 percent of students attending elementary schools in the greater Taipei and greater Taichung areas suffer from allergy problems as well.
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