A Smoke Free HOme

A Smoke-Free Home

What's the big deal about secondhand smoke? The lungs transfer oxygen from inhaled air to the bloodstream and exhale the waste product, carbon dioxide. The lungs of people who have asthma have difficulty supplying the blood with enough oxygen because some of the air is trapped in the outer areas of the lungs where the transfer takes place, thus not leaving room to allow the fresh air in.

When there is carbon monoxide (a by-product of cigarette smoking) in the air taken in, it competes with oxygen to reach the red blood cells. Because of its chemical nature, carbon monoxide attaches itself to red blood cells about a hundred times more easily than oxygen, preventing the available oxygen from getting into the blood. Our children have enough trouble oxygenating their blood without the added burden of secondhand smoke.

Another problem with secondhand smoke is that it acts as an irritant to the lungs. Makes sense when you consider that there are nearly 5,000 known chemicals in each cigarette. In this capacity, smoke can trigger asthma through the same mechanism by which fumes and other irritants trigger asthma attacks.

Secondhand smoke acts as an irritant to already inflamed, swollen, and twitchy lungs. As coughing episodes progress, small pieces of the airways become dislodged, exposing nerve endings just below the surface - kind of like having a skinned knee but inside the airways instead. Exposed nerve endings need to heal, but irritants (such as cigarette smoke) slow that process down while compromising the health of the child.

Now, which of you would take your child (or grandchild), who came to you crying because he'd fallen and skinned his knee, into the garage and begin pouring gasoline, motor oil, house paint, turpentine, lighter fluid, or any of these chemicals onto the injury? Why, it would be equal to child abuse to do such a thing!

But why is it child abuse to treat a skinned knee with harmful chemicals and okay to douse the airways - an organ vital to the life of the child - with thousands of irritating chemicals?

Smoking is a habit that can be overcome if a person wants to overcome it. It may be more difficult for some people than for others. But which is easier for you to live with: imposing a life of compromised breathing and repeated episodes of a life-threatening illness on your child or behaving as a grown-up and taking the short-term discomfort of smoking cessation upon your own shoulders?

Picture your three-year-old with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Pretty ridiculous, isn't it? It's just as ridiculous for you to expect her to live in a home where one or more adults pollute the air. Children are subject to the surroundings in which they are raised. They do not have the option of standing outside while you smoke. They do not have the option of avoiding the ashes and remnants of cigarettes scattered in trays about the house.

Nothing is more frustrating than to help a family obtain a peak flow meter or nebulizer compressor when the family cannot afford to do it on its own, only to find out that the parents can afford the cigarettes that keep their child fighting for his breath. Parents share their stories of not being able to work because their child is always sick and yet some of them covet their right to smoke more than their child's health.

Then there are doctors who say, "Don't tell parents not to smoke because they won't give it up. Tell them to smoke outside..." It is a start but I do not know many people who continue to smoke outside of the house and never, ever inside. If this is the best effort parents can muster for their child, then it is certainly better than nothing at all.

However, you should take steps to rid your house of any remnants of smoke odor. Strip the house of drapes, curtains, bedspreads, clothing in storage and drawers and have them cleaned or wash them completely. Then, using a cleaning solution that does not have strong vapors (no ammonia or chlorine and never mix the two together), wipe down the walls and surfaces of all the furniture. Have the carpets and upholstery cleaned. The same measures must be taken in the family car as well.

Don't buy an air filter with the idea it is going to make your cigarettes smokeless. Don't replace carpeting with hardwood floors with the idea that one expensive effort compensates for your expensive and unhealthy habit. Don't move to Arizona or change doctors if you are not willing to make some changes in your own life.

There is no controversy surrounding this subject. You have the most to gain by making a commitment to cleaning up the air that your child breathes.

Reprinted from A Parent's Guide to Asthma by Nancy Sander.

atural Approach to Allergies and Asthma Going Green and Toxic Awareness

Good Parenting

Green Living - Think Green - Go Green

		A Smoke-Free Home What's the big deal about secondhand smoke? The lungs transfer oxygen from inhaled air to the bloodstream and exhale the waste product, carbon dioxide. The lungs of people who have asthma have difficulty supplying the blood with enough oxygen because some of the air is trapped in the outer areas of the lungs where the transfer takes place, thus not leaving room to allow the fresh air in. When there is carbon monoxide (a by-product of cigarette smoking) in the air taken in, it competes with oxygen to reach the red blood cells. Because of its chemical nature, carbon monoxide attaches itself to red blood cells about a hundred times more easily than oxygen, preventing the available oxygen from getting into the blood. Our children have enough trouble oxygenating their blood without the added burden of secondhand smoke. Another problem with secondhand smoke is that it acts as an irritant to the lungs. Makes sense when you consider that there are nearly 5,000 known chemicals in each cigarette. In this capacity, smoke can trigger asthma through the same mechanism by which fumes and other irritants trigger asthma attacks. Secondhand smoke acts as an irritant to already inflamed, swollen, and twitchy lungs. As coughing episodes progress, small pieces of the airways become dislodged, exposing nerve endings just below the surface - kind of like having a skinned knee but inside the airways instead. Exposed nerve endings need to heal, but irritants (such as cigarette smoke) slow that process down while compromising the health of the child. Now, which of you would take your child (or grandchild), who came to you crying because he'd fallen and skinned his knee, into the garage and begin pouring gasoline, motor oil, house paint, turpentine, lighter fluid, or any of these chemicals onto the injury? Why, it would be equal to child abuse to do such a thing! But why is it child abuse to treat a skinned knee with harmful chemicals and okay to douse the airways - an organ vital to the life of the child - with thousands of irritating chemicals? Smoking is a habit that can be overcome if a person wants to overcome it. It may be more difficult for some people than for others. But which is easier for you to live with: imposing a life of compromised breathing and repeated episodes of a life-threatening illness on your child or behaving as a grown-up and taking the short-term discomfort of smoking cessation upon your own shoulders? Picture your three-year-old with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Pretty ridiculous, isn't it? It's just as ridiculous for you to expect her to live in a home where one or more adults pollute the air. Children are subject to the surroundings in which they are raised. They do not have the option of standing outside while you smoke. They do not have the option of avoiding the ashes and remnants of cigarettes scattered in trays about the house. Nothing is more frustrating than to help a family obtain a peak flow meter or nebulizer compressor when the family cannot afford to do it on its own, only to find out that the parents can afford the cigarettes that keep their child fighting for his breath. Parents share their stories of not being able to work because their child is always sick and yet some of them covet their right to smoke more than their child's health. Then there are doctors who say, "Don't tell parents not to smoke because they won't give it up. Tell them to smoke outside..." It is a start but I do not know many people who continue to smoke outside of the house and never, ever inside. If this is the best effort parents can muster for their child, then it is certainly better than nothing at all. However, you should take steps to rid your house of any remnants of smoke odor. Strip the house of drapes, curtains, bedspreads, clothing in storage and drawers and have them cleaned or wash them completely. Then, using a cleaning solution that does not have strong vapors (no ammonia or chlorine and never mix the two together), wipe down the walls and surfaces of all the furniture. Have the carpets and upholstery cleaned. The same measures must be taken in the family car as well. Don't buy an air filter with the idea it is going to make your cigarettes smokeless. Don't replace carpeting with hardwood floors with the idea that one expensive effort compensates for your expensive and unhealthy habit. Don't move to Arizona or change doctors if you are not willing to make some changes in your own life. There is no controversy surrounding this subject. You have the most to gain by making a commitment to cleaning up the air that your child breathes. Reprinted from A Parent's Guide to Asthma by Nancy Sander. atural Approach to Allergies and Asthma Going Green and Toxic Awareness Good Parenting Green Living - Think Green - Go Green