Cigarette Smoke Allergies and Croup

[K_Adolph]

I have a friend that has a grandson that comes and visits every so often.  Every time he leaves he goes home and comes down with the croup.  The Dr. can not come up with a solution.  The child is two years old.  I was wondering if the child was allergic to cigarette smoke (which he has not been diagnosed with)...could that trigger a form of croup.  We would really like to know so we can help out the little one.

Thanks for any info

[my3reasons]

Hello.  I don't know the answer, but he sure sounds like my little boy.  When my son would go to his grandparents house (nana was a smoker) he would come home and have the croup.  He would be croupy eventhough she never smoked around him.  I guess it was just in the house.  His nana quit smoking last year and now my son can go to the grandparents and has no problems with the croup.   Never did know for sure if the smoke was what caused him to get sick, but I always thought that was a possibility.  I have never been told he is allergic to the smoke, just think he might be.

[jifnif]

well it sounds likely.  I have asthma and if I am in a smoking facility or my parents house (they smoke like crazy) I wake up the next day congested in my chest!!!  best wishes to the lil one!!

[Payton'sMommy]

My daughter is 21months old.  We have a smoke free home and other than one place we go it's always smoke free.  That one place unfortunatly is grandpa and grandma's.  What do you do?  They do not smoke when she is there, but smoke alot otherwise and the house is full of smoke and of course they smell of smoke.  Grandma lights candles, I think she thinks it helps.  Anyway.  Since birth Payton has has several reactions to it.  Our Dr asked us if we smoked and we told him no.  He asked if she was exposed to it and then we discused it.  He had no ideas of what to do since we could not avoid going to her grandparents house we are a very close family.  Now Payton has a nebulicer and when she has reactions she is usually very sick for one whole day and drags into not feeling great for a few days.  The last time she was up all night and could not breathe very well at all, wheezy and coughing, eyes running, nose running.  The next day she wouldn't move off my or my husband's lap and the breathing broke my heart.  I finnaly told my mom what I thought was happening.  To my sadness she didn't agree.  She is in denial. The Dr said they can't diagnos anything this early.  I don't know what to do.  I refuse to have my baby sick.  I also refuse for her not to have her grandparents in her life.  But this is the only thing Cigarette Smoke that makes her ill.  I'm lost.

[myproblem]

I'm sure you are right. The candles are only making things worse. Try doing family get-togethers at your house, or somewhere else like a restaraunt or park. You may hurt your parent's feelings at first, but they'll get over it. They just need to see how sick she gets after being around them. Most smokers don't know how bad they smell. Everything they own smells. Spendnig hours in a smoker's house, is like spending the night in a fire damaged building. It could make anybody sick, but especially a child with tiny lungs.

[Payton'sMommy]

Well I think my parents finally got it.  We had to have them watch Payton one night and my mom opened the windows all day and aired out the house and it didn't smell like smoke at all when we got there.  Payton did not get sick for the first time and they have been very good about it since.  I guess telling them was hard but worth it.

[bekah5699]

I get really sick around cigarrette smoke myself. I can't be around it for long periods of time or if there are several ppl smoking specially if its in a closed in house or something. Several years ago my church group when to Silver Dollar City in Branson Misourri. I walk around with my friend and her mom all day and we rode rides together and stuff. Her mom smoke right and left after getting back to the hotel I hurt so bad I thought I was dying. My whole body just ached. That night the group went to play minture golf and I was so sick I couldn't hardly move my body. So I know for a fact that you can have an allergy to smoke. Even burning leaves smoke bothers me now. I don't know what to do to help it but I know the best thing is to stay away from smoke.

[boricua77]

My daugther is 6 and she still gets croup then it turns into asthma. And yes cigaretts trigger croup and dont be surprised if when he gets older hell be diagnosed wit reactive air way disease wich is a fancy name for asthma. Usually kids who have croup end up having asthma.

[Bubbles82+]

I believe smoke is an allergy too because my girlfriend cannot go anywhere there is smoke.Also if she can just smell it off someones cloths it bothers her too..If she goes somewhere there is smoke  then she is in bed for at least 24 hours with chronic head ache, dizziness, with some breathing broblems, and sinus problems....I have been searching online for anything that could help it but there is nothing if anyone knows of anything that could help prevent it please let me know...I know that staying away from it is one thing but where we are from smoking has not been banned from any place where we live so restaurants bars etc....

[Levi212]

One thing that can help out is if your grandparents gets some sort of air filter. If they can keep the smell under control and have this filter going, even if they stop smoking for a couple hours, the air should be clean when you get there and then your children won't have a problem with this anymore.

I found a lot of information about this kind of thing at www.airlifeone.com. It's not real expensive to put this whole house air filter in, and it really helps. They even have a video showing how the filter system takes care of a box of smoke within a few seconds. I hope that this helps you all out. My friend had a problem with breathing indoors because she had allergies, since she got these filters though (Polarized Media Filters), she hasn't had a problem breathing inside at all.

[KajunTaz]

I know when my wife and I go out dancing or go to my sister-in-laws it makes me ill.  Even though there may be filters or fans in the bar to help with the cigarette smoke, it does not help.  At my sister-in-laws the windows stay closed and she does not vent her house.  When we go to places that allow smoking, I take a benadryl.  The benadryl does not help 100% but at least I have some kind of allergy medication acting on my behalf.  When I am around smoke, my eyes do water and I get a scratchy throat.  I sometimes have a hard time breathing.  When I wake up the next day, I feel like an 18 wheeler just hit me.  My sinus' are all congested, I have a headache, I feel nauseated and my stomach feels like it is turning.  I just drag on all day.
Does anyone know if there is any medication that can help alleviate these symptoms?  I love to go out dancing but we don't go very often cause of the way I feel after.  Thankfully, we have laws here that prohibits smoking in restaurant and most public places.  It is also against the law to smoke in your vehicle if a child is present.

[Womensmokingcigarettes]

Women smokers
By now, we are all aware that smoking is bad for you. Yet more and more women are taking up the habit, in part due to the media image presented of gorgeous women smoking cigarettes and presenting a glamourous image. What kind of effects does this have on women's health, and what can we do about it?
Women and Smoking
In the early twentieth century, few women smoked cigarettes. Over the years, it became more acceptable for women to smoke and many developed the habit. Today, it is estimated that nearly 20% of women in the United States alone are smokers. While fewer women smoke than men, the gap has dwindled sharply, and women are just as much at risk for smoking related diseases.