Many people live by healthy habits and lifestyle, such as the habit of brushing teeth twice a day and cleaning ears with cotton buds. Meanwhile, some of them are unaware of nasal health and even neglect it. In fact, the area of the nose should get a special treatment.
The nose is an important part of human life for its non-stop respiratory function. If it is not treated properly, the normal function of the nose can be disrupted. As a matter of fact, the nose may suffer from various diseases, including polyp, rhinosinusitis, rhinitis, and even nasal cancer,
“The risk of nose function disorders certainly threatens human health. One of the workers who are very prone to various nasal diseases is batik artisans,” said Cornelia Ancilla, a student of Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM, on the campus, Monday (5/21).
Cornelia explained many research articles said that the wax from the process of making batik produces smoke containing acrolein and other matters, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride, formaldehyde, nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide, and pollutant gases. Even worse, the smoke also contains other chemicals, including sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, naphthol, caustic soda, and also paraffin wax.
“These matters will actually cause damage to the nose health of batik artisans, as well as people who live in the areas of batik production, for instance, Bergan Batik Village.”
Considering the danger of smoke exposure from batik on nasal health, Cornelia along with four other UGM students, Bernadeta Yosefani, Bintang Wijaya, Menuk Rizka Alauddina, and Urfa Tabtila, established the Nasal Health Awareness Program. Mainly aimed for the residents of Bergan Village, Wijirejo, Bantul, the program was a part of Student Creativity Program organized by Community Service of The Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education.
With this program, it is expected that Bergan Village can become a pioneer of the Movement of Nasal Health Awareness. As part of the program, the Student Creativity Program under the guidance of dr. Luh Putu Lusy Indrawati, Sp.THT. M.Kes, and dr. Agus Surono, Ph.D., M.Sc., Sp.THT., successfully organized a nose cleaning practice on Monday, 13 May 2018, at the house of Bergan Village Head.
Cornelia further explained that the movement of Nasal Health Awareness was carried out in collaboration with Development of Family Welfare and joined by 25 residents. The practice began with a presentation by dr. Veby Novri Yendri on the importance of maintaining nasal health.
“In this session, the participants were highly enthusiastic and eager to ask some information related to nasal health,” said Cornelia.
After that, the practice continued with a nose cleaning demonstration performed by Cornelia Ancilia as the team leader and Menuk Rizka Alauddina. In this session, people performed the nose cleaning procedure assisted by the UGM team with the guidance of dr. Veby.
“By using the nose cleaning tool designed by our own team member, most of the participants were interested to try because they considered the procedure as something new and unique that was beneficial for them.”
Menuk Rizka Alauddina, one of the UGM team members, hoped that the program can get support from the wider community. With more support, more people will realize the importance of nasal health.
In addition to the nose cleaning practice, the UGM students also organized another program, which is the cultivation of herbal plants for health, especially nasal health. Considering the potential of Bergan Village, they planted red ginger for the program.
“We hope that the movement of nasal health awareness can be implemented and disseminated to various regions of Indonesia so that it can improve the community’s nasal health and reduce the prevalence of respiratory system diseases,” said Menuk.