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I live in India and have been commuting to office daily on cycle for nine months now. I have developed a permanent sore throat and my skin has also deteriorated because of pollution.

I bought a neo mask (anti pollution), but I find it hard to breathe with it on while going uphill. Please suggest how to prevent pollution from taking a toll on one's body.

Aaron
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Shifu
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  • See related question about anti-pollution masks: http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/10245/are-anti-pollution-masks-effective – Benzo Apr 08 '14 at 12:57
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    Additionally, check out another question about respirators for pollution: http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/9267/what-should-i-consider-when-buying-a-respirator – Benzo Apr 08 '14 at 12:57
  • possible duplicate of Is pollution a problem in urban cycling? – Batman Apr 08 '14 at 13:07
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    I'm not sure that this is a duplicate. For one thing, this question is stating that (at least for this user) pollution is undoubtedly a problem. The question @Batman cites is dominated by answers comparing exposure in cars to that while biking, which isn't particularly helpful here. – superdesk Apr 08 '14 at 19:00
  • This seems to help me: I blow my nose. It's not a total fix but it's cheap, easy and seems to help. – Jim Fred Apr 09 '14 at 02:44
  • I'm not sure what it adds to the various other pollution discussions. In any case, if you restrict air flow (such as a mask or filter), of course you're going to have trouble when you need to exert yourself (such as when going uphill) - all you can do is (a) get a less restrictive air flow mask or filter (b) exert yourself less - go slower/use a lower gear. – Batman Apr 09 '14 at 02:59
  • @all thanks for the suggestions and links – Shifu Apr 09 '14 at 05:08
  • If the hills are a small proportion of your ride, you might find it easiest to ride most of the way with the mask and take it off for the hills -- it's not like a mask is 100% effective anyway even perfectly fitted – Chris H May 22 '14 at 11:12

2 Answers2

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There is really nothing you can do. Anti-pollution masks are mostly placebo, and beside making breathing harder, they have close to zero efficiency in terms of air filtering.

Military gas mask would do the job, but for obvious reasons it is not appropriate for biking.

  • Masks can filter large particles (think of the PM, particulate matter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particulates, index) to a certain extent but the smaller particles can't be effectively filtered. – sessyargc.jp May 22 '14 at 22:13
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There is some peer-reviewed evidence which shows that wearing a (proper) filtering facemask does have noticeable effects on one's vital signs compared to when not wearing a facemask. Whether this is enough to make a long-term difference in effects of city pollution on one's health, I can't say. Nevertheless, there are some cycling-specific masks which do carry industry certifications for filtering particulates yet needn't inhibit your breathing (cf. e.g. Respro or totobobo), so, if you're really concerned about it, I'd err on the side of caution (or rather paranoia?) and buy a decent mask and wear it.

errantlinguist
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