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I think part of my cold and coughing that I have now is from visiting certain European areas where there are just ...more smokers.
:(
Or just trends in certain Canadian municipalities to restrict smoking in public areas alot more for a number of years.
On a trip to London several years ago, I remember how shocked I was at the black stuff that came out when I blew my nose.
Hope the fresh air gets you cleared up soon.
Yeah...they do a lot of heating with coal and all of those diesel engines are not the more modern clean-burning type. I had the black snot, too...and was sick much of the time I was in the UK (4 months).Quote:
Originally Posted by malkin
I was really affected by the second hand smoke in Spain; much more than when I was in the UK, Italy, or Germany (although I had some trouble then). It was not good to be on a cycling tour in 95 degree heat, breathing in all that smoke. I had to use my inhaler on almost all of the days and I actually was wheezing at one point.
It went away as soon as I got home.
Cig smoke doesn't bother my lungs a lot (in the short term), thankfully, but if I spend more than three or four hours in NYC I get a sore throat and hoarseness. I haven't visited any other city that does that to me. But if you're in a more urban area than you're used to, it might be that.
Anyway, hope you feel better soon.
Yuck! Actually, I'm surprised I didn't have the black snot when I was on my medical mission trip. We were in Nairobi, Kenya (working in Kibera, the largest slum) and the air quality there is really not good. Cooking in the slums is done over charcoal fires, there is a lot of traffic, and most vehicles are diesel (and not the clean type). You could see and smell all that smoke and exhaust in the air. I think a lot of what we saw in the clinics and treated as "allergies" (red, itchy eyes; runny noses; scratchy throats) was partly irritation from the pollution. One member of our team was having some bad eye irritation from it; the rest of us were OK apart from the occasional tickly cough. It was probably a good thing I didn't go for any runs while I was there!Quote:
Originally Posted by zoom-zoom
I went to a Cherokee casino bar recently, where smoking is allowed (in Arkansas, smoking is not allowed in public places). I had exactly 2 martinis over about 4 hours, after a big dinner at the buffet. I got home, laid down on the bed, and the bed started spinning like I'd been drinking all night long. I believe it was the cigarette smoke, nicotine reaching toxic levels or something. Because of the excellent smoking laws in Arkansas, I NEVER breath smoke. My body just didn't know what to do with the overload, I think.
I almost had to burn my clothes. :P They definitely went straight from my body to the washer.
Karen
My asthma was raging when we were in Vegas last Dec.--and we didn't spend any time in the casinos, except going to and from our room. I love Vegas, but not the smoke.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuckervill
I am terribly allergic to cigarette smoke. I had to quit showing horses because of the exposure to the smoke locally (everyone smokes). It has gotten better with treatment, but I cannot go to restaurants that are not totally non-smoking and cannot visit bars locally. I have to either go to IL or MI to enjoy a cocktail or to get a meal sometimes. My town is very backwards and smoker friendly, which runs off many would-be tourists.
I actually find this abit frustrating. It makes me seriousy wonder how I would cope with air quality in certain areas of Asia if...I ever visit in future.
I didn't have this type of high sensitivity to 2nd hand smoke.
I read the following somewhere and think it is a perfect description: "Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool!".Quote:
Originally Posted by colorisnt
This is more true than false haha! Never thought of it that way, but it is the truth. There are only about 2 restaurants in town I can go to. Everything else is out to kill me.
Even in non-smoking rooms/areas of Vegas, the smoke seems to permeate from the ground up. It's terrible.Quote:
Originally Posted by zoom-zoom
I will say, our non-smoking room at NYNY was perfect. I think maybe that entire floor was NS, or maybe it was the entire tower. As soon as we got off the elevator the air was much nicer. There was something in-bloom that set off my allergies, too. I had no idea that there would be so many flowers in Vegas--I did like that part.Quote:
Originally Posted by colby
If I am around smokers or I am in a polluted city - I usually catch a cold and have great difficulty breathing. I'd say I don't have asthma or allergies, but I seriously cannot breath if I'm around a smoker - so that may not be an accurate statement.
So I avoid smokers, smoke, and polluted cities. Europe is terrible for smoking. Basically, I just make myself a pain in the *** when in europe and refuse to go to any restaurant with smokers and move if someone near me starts lighting up. It helps a little bit. But people aren't always so tolerant of it.
I know smokers get a lot more colds because the cigarette smoke kills the cilia on the mucous membranes - these cilia are usually what forces foreign particles, bacteria out of your nose, breathing passageways, etc - so without them, you get more bacteria or viruses that can stay down on your mucous membranes. I don't know if second hand smoke has that same effect.