respiratory

As rising air pollution fuels persistent coughs, they are increasingly misused for routine respiratory infections.

But it means many people with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illneses, asthma and severe mental illness will no longer qualify.

At Mount SAC, for instance, classrooms have high-tech mannequins that can be programmed to blink, shriek and simulate a variety of medical conditions, including heart attacks, bleeding, respiratory failure — even giving birth.

But when thousands of students arrive on campus they bring with them a cocktail of respiratory viruses.

Washing hands regularly and using and disposing tissues in bins can reduce the spread of this and other respiratory illnesses.