How Smoking Affects Ear Infection
Most of People should know that smoking has many secondary effects, both for smokers and second-degree smokers. More common are heart attack and lung cancer. But, many people don't know that smoking also have side effects on your ears, and may lead to ear infection called Otitis Media.
This ear infection is in fact quite familiar to children. When a kid gets a a virus, there is an increase of the mucus on the nose that grows into home to bacteria. The bacteria can travel to the ear canal through the Eustachian tube in the nose. This bacteria might then very well turn into an infection which then lead to symptoms of earache,fever and fluid in the ear after a few days. Typically, children have this experience 3 times before their six. Nevertheless, if the kid is exposed to smoke, from his smoking parents, the average occurrence happens eight times.
Now, how can smoking cause the said infection?
As we know, smoke is an irritant to our nasal passage. Since our body is equipped with defence mechanisms, our nasal passage will thicken with mucus irritants are present. As said earlier, aumented mucus turns into a favorable home to bacteria that may travel and attack our ears. Hence the Otitis Media is triggered by the defensive action of our body against cigarette smoke.
Aside from thickening our mucus, cigarette smoke also reduces the immune system. Tons of researches have proven that exposure to smoke makes the body weaker to diseases. Also etablished is that this is true not only for active smokers, but also for second-degree smokers. Thus, even if kids, or adults for the matter, don't smoke but are exposed to second-hand smoke, their immune system are still lesseneddiminished, making it harder to protect from infections.
Now, it is not just the discomfort or pain that this infection gives that we must be careful of. Repeated Otitis Media could in fact turns into a gradual loss of hearing to the child. Even if this is rare, this is not something that you should risk.
Thus, for all smokers out there, it is important that if you cannot stop smoking (you can actually), at least try to avoid smoking if children are around. Ear infections may be less-not as bad than heart attack or emphysema, but seeing it is children that we are dealing with, even a little infection should be given much importance.
This ear infection is in fact quite familiar to children. When a kid gets a a virus, there is an increase of the mucus on the nose that grows into home to bacteria. The bacteria can travel to the ear canal through the Eustachian tube in the nose. This bacteria might then very well turn into an infection which then lead to symptoms of earache,fever and fluid in the ear after a few days. Typically, children have this experience 3 times before their six. Nevertheless, if the kid is exposed to smoke, from his smoking parents, the average occurrence happens eight times.
Now, how can smoking cause the said infection?
As we know, smoke is an irritant to our nasal passage. Since our body is equipped with defence mechanisms, our nasal passage will thicken with mucus irritants are present. As said earlier, aumented mucus turns into a favorable home to bacteria that may travel and attack our ears. Hence the Otitis Media is triggered by the defensive action of our body against cigarette smoke.
Aside from thickening our mucus, cigarette smoke also reduces the immune system. Tons of researches have proven that exposure to smoke makes the body weaker to diseases. Also etablished is that this is true not only for active smokers, but also for second-degree smokers. Thus, even if kids, or adults for the matter, don't smoke but are exposed to second-hand smoke, their immune system are still lesseneddiminished, making it harder to protect from infections.
Now, it is not just the discomfort or pain that this infection gives that we must be careful of. Repeated Otitis Media could in fact turns into a gradual loss of hearing to the child. Even if this is rare, this is not something that you should risk.
Thus, for all smokers out there, it is important that if you cannot stop smoking (you can actually), at least try to avoid smoking if children are around. Ear infections may be less-not as bad than heart attack or emphysema, but seeing it is children that we are dealing with, even a little infection should be given much importance.
