US millionaire Bryan Johnson is known for his dedication to his health and wellness. He follows a strict regimen of exercise, diet, and sleep, and has been known to spend over $2 million per year on his health and wellness initiatives. In a new tweet, he spoke about how during the third day of his recent India trip, ‘the air pollution made his skin break out in rash and his eyes and throat burn’. So much so that he had to ‘end Nikhil Kamath’s podcast early’. Also read | Skincare amid air pollution: 8 essential tips to fight ‘very poor’ AQI’s assault on your skin
Turns out Bryan is right as pollution can penetrate deep into the skin, causing inflammation and irritation, leading to breakouts and rashes, as pointed out by Dr Gunjan Verma, consultant – dermatology, Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi, in a 2024 interview with HT lifestyle. But before we get into the effects air pollution can have on people’s skin health, let’s find out what Bryan actually said.
‘Air pollution had made my skin break out in rash’
Speaking about his experience during the recording of ‘WTF is’, the Zerodha co-founder’s podcast, Bryan said, “When in India, I did end this podcast early due to the bad air quality. Nikhil Kamath was a gracious host and we were having a great time. The problem was that the room we were in circulated outside air which made the air purifier I’d brought with me ineffective. Inside, the AQI was 130 and PM2.5 was 75 µg/m³, which is equal to smoking 3.4 cigarettes for 24 hours of exposure.”
He added, “This was my third day in India and the air pollution had made my skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn. Air pollution has been so normalised in India that no one even notices anymore despite the science of its negative effects being well known. People would be outside running. Babies and small children exposed from birth. No one wore a mask which can significantly decrease exposure. It was so confusing. The evidence shows that India would improve the health of its population more by cleaning up air quality than by curing all cancers. I am unsure why India’s leaders do not make air quality a national emergency…”
Air pollution’s effect on skin
Dr Gunjan Verma said pollution can trigger conditions such as acne, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis. She added that issues like lentigo, melasma, and photoaging also tend to increase.
According to her, “The pollutants can enter the skin through direct accumulation on the surface, absorption via hair follicles, inhalation, ingestion, and circulation of pollutants in plasma, which then diffuse into deeper dermal tissues. These pollutants penetrate the skin via nanoparticles and generate quinones, which are redox-cycling chemicals that produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Air pollution can also cause oxidative stress.”
In a 2024 interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Puneet Khanna, HOD and consultant – pulmonology, Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka, New Delhi, spoke about air pollution’s effect on health. He highlighted what was the one complaint that most patients come to him for, saying, “Mostly patients come to us with complaints of watering from nose, burning or itching in the eyes, itching in the ear and throat, and chest tightness or wheezing, and sometimes persistent dry cough. And most of these patients, once triggered with the symptoms, persist with the condition for the next two to three weeks.”
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.