How Smoking Can (Badly) Effect Your Ears

Most of People should know that smoking has numerous health risk effects, both for smokers and second-degree smokers. More familiar are heart failure, lung cancer and emphysema. But, most people ignore that smoking also badly affects our ears, and might provoke ear infection named Otitis Media.



This ear infection is in fact quite common to children. If kids have a a cold, there is an augmentation of the mucus on the nose that becomes home to bacteria. The bacteria can cross the ear canal through the Eustachian tube in the nose. This bacteria might then very well become an infection which bring symptoms of fluid on the ear,fever and earache after a few days. Often, children experience this three times before they turn six. Yet, if the kid is exposed to smoke, from his smoking parents, the average occurrence happens 8 times.



Now, how can smoking cause the said ear infection?



As we know, smoke is irritant to our nasal passage. Since our body is weaponed with defence mechanisms, our nasal passage will thicken with mucus irritants are present. As mentioned earlier, increased mucus turns into a friendly home to bacteria that could travel and affect our ears. Thus the Otitis Media is triggered by the protective action of our body facing smoking.



Aside from thickening our mucus, smoking also lowers the immune system. Tons of researches have affirmed that inhalating smoke makes the body less resistant to diseases. Also affirmed is that this is true not only for actual smokers, but for second-degree smokers. Hence, even if kids, or and aduls, don't smoke but are exposed to second-hand smoke, their immune system are still lowered, making it more difficult to deal with infections.



Now, it is not only the discomfort and pain that this ear infection gives that we must be wary of. Repeated Otitis Media could in fact cause gradual loss of hearing for children. Even if this is rare, this is not something that we 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 near. Ear infections may be less-not as evil than emphysema or heart failure, but seeing it is kids that we are dealing with, even the smallest infection should be given much interest.



Learn great tips and get help to stop smoking at NautralStopSmoking.net. You will also find out what natural stop smoking aids are recommended to help you break the habit.

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