Allergies & Smoking: Causes & Links

[rockind78]

I have a friend who has developed some really horrendous allergies lately, and it is my suspicion that it is because she is a heavy smoker (there is a correlation between when she started and the allergies). I can't find anything specific in my immuno textbook though. Can anyone refer me to any good articles or links? Thanks!

 

[Monique]

what do you mean with allergies??

 

[rockind78]

Are you asking what an allergic reaction is or what specifically alllergic reactions she is having?

 

[Monique]

Allergic reactions are often mislabeled, so I am wondering what you mean with allergies that she is getting :)

 

[rockind78]

facial swelling, rashes, swelling that affects breathing, abnormal sensitivity to sking irritation; etc. Benadryl slows/ stops all this temporarily.

 

[adrenaline]

It's not clear if your friend has had some sensitivities develop,non- allergic rhinitis or true allergies but if you want to look at how allergies can be related to smoking you can look at the pediatric population and the correlation with intrinsic asthma (felt to be allergic) and exposure to smoke.

Passive smoke exposure from parents who smoke is associated with respiratory symptoms in infants and toddlers who present to the emergency department with wheezing. The risk of developing asthma is 2.5 times greater in young children with mothers who smoke 10 or more cigarettes/day indoors compared with mothers who don't smoke or who smoke less than 10 cigarettes/day. The recent increases in the prevalence and severity of childhood asthma may be attributable in part to the increase in the prevalence of smoking among mothers.
In a study of children of all ages, those living in a smoking household were found to be 63% more likely to have asthma than those residing in a nonsmoking household. In a survey of more than 7,000 children and adolescents under 18 years of age, those whose mothers smoked were more likely to experience wheezing respiratory illness than children with nonsmoking mothers. The investigators estimate that maternal smoking is responsible for 380,000 cases of childhood asthma.

Even when they are removed from what is an obvious extrinsic source of their asthma, these kids continue to have asthma their whole life, although how the exposure to second hand smoke affects their immunology, I don't know. A pediatric allergist might know.