If you’re a smoker, what should you do when you have children in your house?
Smoking in the house is not advisable and it is said to be dangerous and unhealthy. Smoking in the house affects not only you but also the people around you .It affects the quality of air one breathes in making it the house an uncomfortable place to be in. If you are a second smoker ,then smoking in the house will expose your children to second hand smoke which is very dangerous.
Second hand smoke is simply the smoke which is exhaled by the smoker during smoking or the smoke produced as a result of the burning of the cigarette at its end. The smoke exhaled by smokers is also referred to as mainstream smoke while the smoke from the end of the cigarette pipe or cigar is called the side stream smoke.
You may think that second hand smoke is harmless, but it is far more dangerous than the smoke inhaled by the smoker .The main reason for this is that, the smoke burning at the end of the cigarette doesn’t pass through any filter before being inhaled which is not the case for smoke inhaled directly from the cigarette by the smoker.
Second hand smoke has many dangerous effects to our health and some of the include : lung cancer, pneumonia, bronchitis, sore throat among other serious effects. Therefore, exposing your child to such toxins is very dangerous to his or her health. Instead there are some measures you can take so as to ensure that your child is not exposed to secondhand smoke. These include :
- Quit smoking :
This can turn out to be the best move in preventing your kids from second hand smoke exposure. However, this may not turn out to be as easy as it sounds because cigarettes actually cause an addiction, but rehabilitation and counselling can greatly help. Quiting smoking will therefore protect the children from the effects of cigarette smoke. - Smoke outside the house :
If you have to smoke, do it outside the house. Smoking while in the house will definitely pollute the air inside the house and therefore your children will be exposed to the second hand smoke .Therefore, you should take your smoking breaks outside ,away from your children .Getting rid of indoor smoke can be harder and therefore the smoke may linger in the air for some time .Smoke also sticks on clothes and therefore your should change your clothes and wash your hands before holding or hugging your child. - Use air purifiers in your house :
Some air purifiers have mechanisms which enable them to get rid of smoke particles from the air. They are said to have special types of air filters, that is, activated carbon filters which absorb smoke particles from the air. They have small absorbent pores which trap the smoke particles from cigarettes, cigars and even the pipe .Therefore, purchasing an best air purifier for smoke and put it in your home can be a good option to prevent the exposure of your children to second smoke. One type of air purifier which possesses the activated carbon filter is the Rabbit Air MinusA2. - Vacuuming your house regularly with a vacuum cleaner fitted with a HEPA filter.
A vacuum cleaner will suck up particles of ash or cigarette which may be present in surfaces like the carpets .Moreover, you should wipe all surfaces using a damp clothe and also wash your baby’s toys. This is because sometimes children tend to put their toys in their mouths when playing with them, but the toys might be contaminated with cigarette ash.
It is not possible to fully protect your child from second hand smoke and therefore you should not smoke inside your house or quit smoking for that matter. The respiratory tract system of children is normally under development and therefore subjecting it to pollutants at an early age will give children health complications during their growth.
If your child happens to be asthmatic and he or she is exposed to second hand smoke ,then he or she will experience asthmatic symptoms . Some of the symptoms being wheezing, coughing ,chest tightness and shortness of breath. Asthma in children is very fatal and hence can lead to the death of your child. You should therefore take necessary precautions.