It's common knowledge that inhaling secondhand tobacco smoke can have a negative impact on people's health. With this in mind, researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Children's Hospital recently conducted a study to determine how secondhand smoke affects children who suffer from asthma.
According to redOrbit.com, the researchers measured the levels of cotinine — which the body produces when it breaks down nicotine — in upwards of 600 children and found that those with high levels of the substance were more likely to be readmitted to the emergency room for asthma-related reasons within a year after their most recent visits.
"The ability to measure […] cotinine levels presents the possibility of an objective measure that can be obtained when a child is seen in the emergency department or in the hospital," said Dr. Robert Kahn, senior study author, as noted by the news outlet. "Such a measure for exposure to tobacco smoke could be used to target specific interventions at caregivers of those children before discharge […] Several interventions, including parental counseling and contact with the primary care physician, could be adopted in clinical practice."
If your child has asthma, it's imperative to keep him or her away from secondhand smoke as much as you can. In addition to avoiding triggers such as tobacco smoke, there are other things that asthma sufferers can do to improve their quality of life, such as investing in some of the asthma and allergy products on the Allergy Be Gone website. Take a look around to learn more about our bedding for allergies and more.
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