Breathe Happy

In the past few years, many discoveries have been made about the type of damage that smoking during a pregnancy can cause. A particular study, recently published on the JAMA Otolaryngology, describes one of such latest findings.

Often, teenagers will encounter trouble hearing, and this had been attributed for a long time to the use of headphones, the proclivity to attend loud concerts and other similar causes. However, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that took into account youths between the ages of 12 and 15 in 2005 and 2006, confirmed that about 16% of the parents admitted to prenatal smoke exposure, and subsequently, the children in this subgroup were three times as likely to experience hearing loss as the children whose mothers had not smoked during the pregnancy.

Smoking as an epidemic

The widespread use of tobacco means that pregnant women are more and more commonly smoking during the early stages, even if they do quit down the line. However, it has been discovered that those that smoked even just for the first trimester, many times before they even found out they were pregnant, also had repercussions on the health of their children.

The only viable solution is quitting smoking preemptively, as due to the nature of pregnancy and the cycles and lifestyle of a particular woman, several weeks could pass before a pregnancy is detected. This could lead to the mother inadvertently smoking or engaging in other damaging acts even if she willingly quits them down the line.

Among the consequences of loss of hearing in adolescents, the natural issue of a potential disability is not top of the list. Studies report that loss of hearing can result in a diminished IQ, it could also have social and academic effects, and could even result in the child dropping out of school or engaging in damaging behavior.

Image: Freedigitalphotos.net

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Smoking kills upwards of 80,000 people every year in the UK and is the biggest cause of premature death and preventable disease. Quitting is undoubtedly the best health decision you will ever make. So, get started now! Find the right strategy that works for you and go for it.

In order to quit for good you first need to understand what it is that makes you reach for the fags in the first place. Research has shown that smokers broadly fall into different personality categories and different advice to quit applies to each of them.

1. You can live without cigarettes until some issue at work or a row with your boyfriend sends you running to the tobacconist.

In your case, smoking is a tension easer. For you, exercise is a good way of dealing with stress and also helps to banish cravings. Nicotine gives you a quick fix adrenaline shot which speeds up your metabolism. Exercise does the same but clearly in a more positive way.

2. Your first act of the day is to light up. You then smoke throughout the day and get the jitters if you miss one.

Your addiction to nicotine is very strong. Your priority is therefore to break your addiction. Try nicotine patches, sprays, gums or electronic cigarettes. The latter give you a convincing cigarette substitute but without the harmful toxic chemicals. Your doctor can also prescribe a drug called Zyban which eases withdrawal symptoms. Although this does double quitting success rates, it can also cause insomnia and headaches.

3. You're fine when you're on your own but the minute you join your chums and someone lights up, you have to join in.

For you, smoking is a social habit. You need to make quitting a social activity too, and for this you'll need to find yourself a quit buddy. Medical evidence has shown that your chances of stopping are considerably increased if you give up at the same time as a friend or relative. Quitting groups can also be a great source of support and your doctor will be able to put you in touch with one locally.

4. Smoking is part of your daily routine and has been forever! You reach for a cigarette to go with your morning coffee or after dinner when you settle down in front of the TV at the end of the day.

You need to retrain your brain. Break the associations you have with cigarettes and replace them with healthier habits. You may find hypnotherapy extremely effective. Acupuncture therapy has also been found to be useful in cases like yours.

5. Although you've tried to give up many, many times before nothing has worked for the long term.

Don't be discouraged and tell yourself that you just can't do it – you can! You just need willpower! Two thirds of ex-smokers successfully quit without using any form of medical intervention or assistance. The two main causes of lack of willpower are; low glucose levels and being overtired. Make sure you never go for more than a couple of hours without some form of healthy snack (fruit or nuts for example) and try to get a good eight hours unbroken sleep each night.

If you need a few more reasons than the usual ones for giving up smoking, think about these:

1. Ex-smokers have better reasoning skills and memory than smokers.
2. Smoking prematurely ages your skin by up to 20 years. You'll also go grey earlier!
3. Female smokers have a greatly reduced chance of becoming pregnant.
4. Smoking causes gum disease, bad breath and stained teeth.
5. Macular degeneration (the main cause of blindness in the UK) is doubled if you smoke.
6. 98% of children canvassed wish that a smoking parent would give up.

Before you start on your quitting campaign, make sure you have a plan. Identify your biggest smoking triggers and your feelings when you have a cigarette. Write down new healthy habits you can adopt instead of reaching for a cigarette. Make sure you have everything you need for your campaign: nicotine patches, gum etc and get rid of ciggies, ashtrays, matches and lighters. Remember to tell friends and family that you're giving up. Work out approximately how much money you'll save by not buying cigarettes and write the figure down. Think about something you'd really like but can't afford – a facial or manicure perhaps – and write that down too. Keep the piece of paper somewhere you can see it.

On day one of your quitting campaign, make sure you keep busy and have a friend on speed dial just in case you need encouragement. One week in and you should find that your cravings begin to weaken although you're still vulnerable to temptation. Stay strong, you can do this! One month in and it's time to reward yourself with a treat and share your achievement with your friends and supporters. Praise works wonders!

Spend the money you've saved on fags on the reward you noted down when you started or save it until the end of month two as further motivation.

Common everyday activities for the patient with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) is not easy. Eating and dressing and breathing problems can drain you of energy and can also be stressful.

For those people who have smoked multiple packs of cigarettes each day for years thewheezing, shortness of breath, allergic reaction to perfumes and aerosol sprays are probably daily occurences already. The doctor's confirmation probably isn't any surprise.

Even the most mondain daily activities become horrible when you can't breath and have to rest. It all just becomes too much. And by the time COPD has been diagnosed some patients are dealing with only have their lung capacity.

But there are things that people with COPD can do to make their days more productive and enjoyable.

The very first thing is to quit smoking. After smoking for so long quitting won't be easybut breathing will improve alittle but if they continue to smoke the patient will double the amount of lung loss.

Not being around toxic industrial chemicals, cigarette smoke and perfumes will help to not irritate their breathing. Things such as mold, dust, fumes, smoggy days, and second hand smoke. Cover the mouth on cold days because cold air can trigger problemsbreathing.

Exercise is a very good way to strengthen chest muscles and improve breathing. Justwalking for 30 minutes three times a week will help. And they aren't running a race it is for endurance and building lung capacity.

Half of COPD patients are over weight. Eating large meals may push upon the diaphram. Eating several small meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. Be sure to drink plenty of water and avoid gassy foods such as cabbage, soda and brussel sprouts. Being ten pounds over their ideal body weight is best.

Avoiding catching colds and be sure to take flu and pneumonia vaccinations because COPD patients are at greater risk for contracting these diseases.

Getting their rest is important too. Sleeping during the day isn't good, the better quality of sleep is at night. Avoid caffiene after 5p.m. and eat a small protein snack before bed.

Engage in heavy exercise early in the day and rest after ward. If you exercise in the morning a short nap afterward is okay. Standing requires more energy so sit when drying your hair or applying mae up. Conserve your energy. Digesting food takes energy so rest after eating.

Taking up yoga or meditation is smart because it teachs you to control your breathing. Use imagery to help to relax and practice breathing techniques that are approved by your doctor. Become a member of a COPD support group so they have some one to talk to or place to go when under stress.