Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse

July 6, 2015

Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse: What you may not know about relapse

Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse will give you the zeal to forge a head with the recovery process and not to lose focus when triggers strikes

The problems of drug addiction recovery are greatly hindered with most people’s inabilities to remain consistent to the treatment. When one is addicted to any drug, they become slaves to the drug they are addicted to. Until such people acknowledge that they have a problem that is beyond them and accept that they are weak and need help, any kind of treatment offered may not last as they are likely to keep relapsing from time to time. It is therefore necessary that addicts own to the recovery process by first understanding the signs and management skills of relapse. We may not know what you are going through with your addiction, but as professional we want to assure you that you are not alone in this struggle. In her over two decades of administering treatment to drug users, doctor Dalal Akoury has established that relapse is one of the biggest draw back in the successful treatment of any kind of addiction recovery. Therefore in our quest to understanding the signs and management skills of relapse doctor Akoury is going to share with us something about mental relapse, the techniques of dealing with mental urges and the physical relapse. This is one discussion that you don’t want to miss and I urge you to stay on the link to get very productive information about relapse as an impediment of drug addiction recovery.

Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse: Mental Relapse

The push and pool of mental relapse going on in your mind – the mind can sometimes be in a dilemma with section of the mind fighting to stop drug use while the other is comfortable with the continued abuse. This push and pool is a common occurrence in the mind of most drug users and unless you know the signs of mental relapse well, you may not be successful in your recovery program. Therefore let us start by identifying some of the signs of mental relapse which may include the following:

Engaging your mind in thinking about people, places, and things you used with
Glamorizing your past substance abuse
Telling lies and cheating all the time
Hanging out with old friends using drugs
Fantasizing about drug use
Thinking about relapsing
Planning your relapse around other people’s schedules

These are just a few of the indicators and when you notice any , then action needs to be taken immediately and remember that it will be difficult to make the right choices as the pull of addiction gets stronger says doctor Akoury.

Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse: Techniques for dealing with mental urges

The way the mind understand things can be one of your biggest problem in controlling your addiction problem. If you have been in the recovery program and you are almost succeeding a lot of temptations will be knocking hard and harder to take you back. This is the point when you must be on the lookout on the techniques for dealing with mental urges. With all the progress you have made, any urge to take just one drink may look harmless, but you must learn to say no. it will not be easy and lots of disappointments will be there but desire to remain focus even if you are alone where your support team is not watching.

Remember that a common mental urge is that you can get away with using that drug, because no one will know if you relapse. May be the surrounding is conducive because your spouse who has been helping you keep distance is away for the weekend, or you’re away on a trip. These moments can be very bad for you because that’s when your addiction will try to convince you that you don’t have a big problem, and that you’re really doing your recovery to please your spouse or your work. Remain focus that urge is fake. At this time remind yourself of the negative consequences you’ve already suffered, and the potential consequences that lie around the corner if you relapse again. If you could control your use, you would have done it by now.

Tell someone that you’re having urges to use – Call a friend, a support, or someone in recovery. Share with them what you’re going through. The magic of sharing is that the minute you start to talk about what you’re thinking and feeling, your urges begin to disappear. They don’t seem quite as big and you don’t feel as alone.

Distract yourself – When you think about drugs, try to occupy yourself with something to distract you from that feeling. You could call a friend, go to a meeting, get up and go for a walk. Do something productive; remember that if you just sit there with your urge and don’t do anything, you’re giving your mental relapse room to grow.

Wait for 30 minutes – Most urges usually last for less than 15 to 30 minutes. When you’re in an urge, it feels like an eternity. But if you can keep yourself busy and do other things you’re supposed to do, it’ll quickly be gone.

Do your recovery one day at a time – Don’t think about whether you can stay abstinent forever. That’s a paralyzing thought. It’s overwhelming even for people who’ve been in recovery for a long time. One day at a time, means you should match your goals to your emotional strength. When you feel strong and you’re motivated to not use, then tell yourself that you won’t use for the next week or the next month. But when you’re struggling and having lots of urges, and those times will happen often, tell yourself that you won’t use for today or for the next 30 minutes. Do your recovery in bite-sized chunks and don’t sabotage yourself by thinking too far ahead.

Make relaxation part of your recovery – Relaxation is an important part of relapse prevention, because when you’re tense you tend to do what’s familiar and wrong, instead of what’s new and right. When you’re tense you tend to repeat the same mistakes you made before. When you’re relaxed you are more open to change.

Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse: Physical Relapse

Once you start thinking about relapse, if you don’t use some of the techniques mentioned above, it doesn’t take long to go from there to physical relapse which will include driving to the liquor store or to your dealer for supply. If it were to get to this point, it will be very hard to stop the process of relapse. That’s not where you should focus your efforts in recovery. That’s achieving abstinence through brute force. But it is not recovery. If you recognize the early warning signs of relapse, and understand the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal, you’ll be able to catch yourself before it’s too late. Dear reader it is not to be done all by yourself, seek for help by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Akoury today.

Understanding the signs and management skills of relapse: What you may not know about relapse

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition

June 28, 2015

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition: Primary and secondary malnutrition

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition is realistically here with us, the sooner we approach it soberly the better for everyone.

Malnutrition is an avoidable problem but some of our habits make it very difficult to do so. It is interesting to note that no one would want to be put in the category of malnourished people yet our actions does not really conform with the things that will prevent us from being malnourished. From the previous article, we have just established that alcoholic beverages are only rich in water and ethanol with very negligible patches of come nutrients. I do not know what you do with your life but one thing I do know is that if you are misusing alcohol consistently, then you need to stay on the link and follow keenly on the contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition. Experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be sharing with us on some of the things we need to know to be safe from both the problems of alcohol addiction as well as being malnourished out of our thirst for alcohol.

In general doctor Akoury the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center states that from the observation made in various scientific studies, there are clear evidence that many alcoholics do not consume a balanced diet; moreover, as had been mentioned earlier, excessive alcohol consumption may interfere with these alcoholics’ ability to absorb and use the nutrients they do consume productively. Accordingly, many alcoholics suffer from various degrees of both primary and secondary malnutrition. Primary malnutrition occurs when alcohol replaces other nutrients in the diet, resulting in overall reduced nutrient intake. Secondary malnutrition occurs when the drinker consumes adequate nutrients but alcohol interferes with the absorption of those nutrients from the intestine so they are not available to the body.

The most severe malnutrition, which is accompanied by a significant reduction in muscle mass, generally is found in those alcoholics who are hospitalized for medical complications of alcoholism (e.g., alcohol–related liver disease or other organ damage). If these patients continue to drink, they will lose additional weight; conversely, if they abstain from drinking, they will gain weight. This pattern applies to patients with and without liver disease.

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition: Alcohol’s effects on digestion and absorption of essential nutrients

Alcohol consumption, particularly at heavy drinking levels, not only influences the drinker’s diet but also affects the metabolism of those nutrients that are consumed. Thus, even if the drinker ingests sufficient proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, deficiencies may develop if those nutrients are not adequately absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the blood, are not broken down properly or are not used effectively by the body’s cells. Two classes of nutrients for which such problems occur are proteins and vitamins.

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition: Amino acids and proteins

Proteins are essential components of all cells. They help maintain the cell’s structure, transport certain substances in and out of cells, and act as enzymes that mediate almost all biochemical reactions occurring in the cells. Proteins are composed of approximately 20 different building blocks called amino acids. Many of these amino acids can be produced by the body itself from various precursors or are recycled when proteins that are damaged or are no longer needed are broken down or degraded. Other amino acids however, must be acquired through diet. Alcohol can interfere with the uptake of these essential amino acids.

Patients with chronic liver failure also exhibit a number of defects in protein metabolism. These include decreased production of proteins in the liver that are secreted into the blood decreased urea synthesis, and decreased metabolism of a group of amino acids called aromatic amino acids. These defects have important clinical consequences:

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition: Vitamins

Vitamins are molecules that are present in small amounts in various foods and are essential for normal metabolism; insufficient vitamin levels in the body can lead to serious diseases. Alcoholics, even without liver disease, tend to have clinical or laboratory signs of deficiencies in certain vitamins, particularly vitamins B₁ (thiamine), B₂ (riboflavin), B₆ (pyridoxine), and C (ascorbic acid), as well as folic acid. The severity of these deficiencies correlates with the amount of alcohol consumed and with the corresponding decrease in vitamin intake.

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition: A person’s nutrition affects liver function

Malnutrition, regardless of its causes, can lead to liver damage and impaired liver function. For example, children in underdeveloped countries whose diets do not contain enough protein can develop a disease called kwashiorkor. One symptom of this disorder is the accumulation of fat in the liver, a condition known as fatty liver. Studies performed during and after World War II indicated that severe malnutrition also could lead to liver injury in adults. However, in these cases other factors, including exposure to certain toxins or parasites that are prevalent in war–ravaged or underdeveloped countries, may have exacerbated the relationship between liver injury and poor nutrition.

Because malnutrition also is common in alcoholics, clinicians initially thought that malnutrition, rather than alcohol itself, was responsible for alcohol–induced liver injury. Over the past 40 years, however, a more balanced view has evolved. Studies in humans, primates, and rodents have established that alcohol can cause liver damage even in well–nourished people.

It is becoming clear that nutritional effects and the toxic effects of alcohol often are intertwined at the biochemical level. For example, alcohol induces the MEOS to break down alcohol. Similarly, alcohol promotes the breakdown of nutrients such as vitamin A, of which alcoholics may already consume too little with their diet. All these addiction related complications can be corrected with the right professional’s involvement. You may want to consult with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury. Talking to doctor Akoury should be your starting point and you can do this by scheduling for an appointment with her to day for the commencement of your much desired breakthrough and comfort in life.

The contributions of alcohol addiction to malnutrition: Primary and secondary malnutrition

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health

June 28, 2015

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: The best you can do is to quit smoking

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health can be very devastating and immediate solution needs to be found

If you love your life, then you would want to do all it takes to protect it and be happy. I believe it is in every ones interest to be healthy and comfortable in life. You may be poor economically but if there is no sickness in your body, then you are far much better that a billionaire in hospital struggling for his life because of sickness. It is regrettable that some of the health conditions we are struggling with are avoidable but we just chose to invite them into our body. Take for instance cigarette smoking is there anybody who is unaware of the dangers of cigarette smoking? Globally this is one drug that is being advertised publicly with incriminating materials detailing the consequences of its usage. In every pack of the drug there is a powerful communication of its dangers to the user’s health, so no one can actually claim ignorance. We cannot continue like this where knowingly we endangers our lives and that of the people around us through secondhand smoke says doctor Dalal Akoury a veteran expert in addiction, MD and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. The effects of cigarette smoking on your health are serious and very devastating. Realistically it can harm nearly every organ of the body. Available statistics indicate that currently cigarette smoking is causing more deaths with at least one in every five deaths in the United States is associated with cigarette smoking each year. To bring clarity about this vice, doctor Akoury is going to respond to some of the questions that concern many of us and you don’t want to miss that.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Is smoking a risk factor for autoimmune diseases?

The immune system is the body’s way of protecting itself from infection and disease. Smoking compromises the immune system, making smokers more likely to have respiratory infections. Smoking also causes several autoimmune diseases, including Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also play a role in periodic flare-ups of signs and symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Smoking doubles your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Smoking has recently been linked to type 2 diabetes also known as adult-onset diabetes. Smokers are 30% to 40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. Additionally, the more cigarettes an individual smokes, the higher the risk for diabetes.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: How does smoking affect my bones?

Recent studies show a direct relationship between tobacco use and decreased bone density. Smoking is one of many factors including weight, alcohol consumption, and activity level that increase your risk for osteoporosis, a condition in which bones weaken and become more likely to fracture.

Significant bone loss has been found in older women and men who smoke. Quitting smoking appears to reduce the risk for low bone mass and fractures. However, it may take several years to lower a former smoker’s risk.

In addition, smoking from an early age puts women at even higher risk for osteoporosis. Smoking lowers the level of the hormone estrogen in your body, which can cause you to go through menopause earlier, boosting your risk for osteoporosis.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: How does smoking affect my heart and blood vessels?

The chemicals in tobacco smoke harm your blood cells and damage the function of your heart. This damage increases your risk for:

Atherosclerosis, a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up in your arteries
Aneurysms, which are bulging blood vessels that can burst and cause death
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes:

Coronary heart disease (CHD), narrow or blocked arteries around the heart
Heart attack and damage to your arteries
Heart-related chest pain
High blood pressure

Coronary Heart disease, where platelets components in the blood stick together along with proteins to form clots which can then get stuck in the plaque in the walls of arteries and cause heart attacks
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, and limbs
Stroke, which is sudden death of brain cells caused by blood clots or bleeding

Breathing tobacco smoke can even change your blood chemistry and damage your blood vessels. As you inhale smoke, cells that line your body’s blood vessels react to its chemicals. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up and your blood vessels thicken and narrow.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: How does smoking affect my lungs and breathing?

Every cigarette you smoke damages your breathing and scars your lungs. Smoking causes:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that gets worse over time and causes wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms
Emphysema, a condition in which the walls between the air sacs in your lungs lose their ability to stretch and shrink back. Your lung tissue is destroyed, making it difficult or impossible to breathe.
Chronic bronchitis, which causes swelling of the lining of your bronchial tubes. When this happens, less air flows to and from your lungs.
Pneumonia
Asthma
Tuberculosis

People with asthma can suffer severe attacks when around cigarette smoke.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Do cigarettes cause cancer?

Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. About 70 of them are known to cause cancer. Smoking cigarettes is the number-one risk factor for lung cancer. But, smoking can affect your entire body, and is known to cause cancer in the lungs, rectum, trachea, liver, stomach, lip, bronchus, colon, kidney, esophagus, bladder, uterine cervix, oral cavity, pancreas, nasal cavity, nasopharynx and larynx. Besides all thee smocking is also known to be a major cause of leukemia.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Do menthol cigarettes cause cancer?

All cigarettes are harmful, including menthol cigarettes. Many smokers think menthol cigarettes are less harmful, but there is no evidence that menthol cigarettes are safer than other cigarettes. Like other cigarettes, menthol cigarettes harm nearly every organ in the body and cause many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. Menthol cigarettes, like other cigarettes, also negatively impact male and female fertility and are harmful to pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Some research shows that menthol cigarettes may be more addictive than non-menthol cigarettes. More research is needed to understand how addiction differs between menthol and non-menthol cigarette use.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Can smoking cigars and pipes cause cancer?

Cigar and pipe smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and non-smokers. Cigar and pipe smoking causes several cancers including bladder, esophageal, laryngeal or voice box, mouth, tongue, lip throat and lung cancers. Therefore individuals who smoke cigars daily are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and lung disease like emphysema. From the renounces given in the discussion, you realize that there is nothing about smoking. All it does is to cause more harm than good. You could change this by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for the commencement of your healing process today.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: The best you can do is to quit smoking

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health

June 26, 2015

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why is nicotine addictive?

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health knows no boundaries, you can become a slave of your own smoking habits

Taking stock of your life are you able to see the accumulation of nicotine in your system? I know that we often take inventory in other sectors of life but not in our own health yet this is one area that we should always prioritize on. If we could be doing that, we will be able to detect certain harmful things in our health before they germinate beyond control. Why is it necessary to take health inventory? Look around you and you will see that there are a lot of toxic elements around, the environment is chocking with pollution and nicotine forms the better part of it. This can explain why the dangers of nicotine addiction to your health are becoming evident every day. We will be speaking to doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center to give us more insight about this problem even as we look at the general effects of substance abuse to human health. Doctor Akoury says that nicotine is an addictive element that majorly comes from the use of tobacco products, therefore when one uses any of the tobacco products; nicotine is quickly absorbed into their bloodstream and then circulated into the various body systems and organs. It is important to note that this element moves swiftly and in just 10 seconds of entering your body, the nicotine element will be knocking at the door of your brain which is often its ultimate destination. When nicotine settles in the brain, it will cause the brain to release adrenaline, creating a buzz of pleasure and energy.

The buzz fades quickly though, and leaves you feeling tired, a little down, and yarning for the buzz again and again. It is this feeling of wanting more of the nicotine that makes you light up the next cigarette and the circle continues so long as the need is still there. And just to put more emphasis on that is that since your body is able to build up a high tolerance to nicotine, you’ll be forced to smoke more and more cigarettes in order to get the nicotine’s pleasurable effects primarily to prevent the occurrence of any withdrawal symptoms.

The danger of this up and down cycle will be repeated over and over, thereby leading to an addiction. Remember that when addiction settles in, it will keep the individual users or smokers to keep the habit of smoking even when they want to quit and that is why breaking addiction is hard for some people than others. Many people need more than one try in order to quit. Research suggests that children and teens may be especially sensitive to nicotine, making it easier for them to become addicted. Doctor Akoury explains that tobacco use can be very dangerous to everyone and preventing is usage would be highly recommended. She adds that the age of introduction to tobacco use is very significant in determining how one will behave in the near future. Experts have actually established that when one is introduced to smoking at a younger age, such individuals are at a higher risk of becoming addicted to nicotine. It is no wonder the available statistics from various researches done indicate that up to three out of four high school smokers will become adult smokers.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why are cigarettes addictive?

I was once asked this question in a forum where students were being educated on the effects of drug abuse. I will repeat what I told the young people then to help you understand why cigarette is addictive. The truth is cigarette is made to be much more addictive for commercial gain at the expense of your health. Without thinking twice I can confirm to you that cigarette producers, manufactures or makers are not ignorant of the fact that nicotine addiction helps sell their products. The addictiveness of this element is used as a retention tool, to keep clients hooked and keep using their product. It is no wonder cigarettes today deliver more nicotine much faster than ever before. So when asked about this question, you must be informed that tobacco companies are very much aware of what they are doing and that they are using additives and chemicals to make cigarette even more addictive so that you remain a loyal and frequent client not because you like but because you have been made to.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why are smokeless tobacco products addictive?

Remember what I said before that tobacco products are the major sources of nicotine. Therefore where the mode of usage doesn’t matter, whether it is smoked or chewed the end result is that nicotine is being taken in. it therefore means that all the nicotine found in all tobacco products are highly addictive drugs that acts in the brain and throughout the body. Dip and chew contain more nicotine than cigarettes. Holding an average-sized dip in your mouth for 30 minutes can give you as much nicotine as smoking three sticks of cigarettes. And again using two cans of snuff a week gives you as much nicotine as someone who smokes one and a half packs of cigarettes a day.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: What happens when I quit smoking?

Like other substances, tobacco and nicotine are equally very addictive just in the same way as alcohol, cocaine, and heroin. The common denominator about all drugs is that, when you stop smoking or cutback your tobacco use, you will experience withdrawal problems and when going through this process of withdrawal, you are likely to experience some of the following:

Anxiety
Irritability
Headache
Hunger
Cravings for cigarettes and other sources of nicotine

Finally nicotine withdrawal is short-lived and symptoms pass in time, usually less than a week. However withdrawal is the most uncomfortable part of quitting, but the real challenge will be beating the long-term cravings and staying away from tobacco hence forth. In your struggle with this problem of drug addiction, it is important that you get professional help to go about the whole process. This way you will be guided step by step and chances of making mistakes will be avoided. That is why doctor Akoury founded this medical center to help people live you regain their lives back. You can therefore schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for more professional input.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why is nicotine addictive?

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy

June 26, 2015

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: What is secondhand smoke?

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy is as bad as smoking the cigarette for your health in pregnancy or even after

Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke exhaled by smokers getting into the nostril of a non-smoker or third party. Non-smokers can be exposed to secondhand smoke in several ways and places including in homes, cars, at workplaces and public places such as bars, restaurants, and recreational settings. In the United States for example, the source of most secondhand smoke is cigarettes, followed by pipes, cigars, and other tobacco products. It is important to know that secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of the chemicals are toxic and about 70 are known to cause cancer. And because nicotine in all these can be very devastating owing to the complications that come with it, it is only fear that we discuss the effects of secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy as one of the severe consequences that come with such addictions.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Can secondhand smoke make me sick?

Doctor Akoury an expert in addiction and weight lose says that when it comes to nicotine, there is no threshold of safety. So long as one is receiving nicotine in his system mode of receipt notwithstanding any exposure to nicotine, whether through secondhand smoke or direct cigarette smoking nicotine is not friendly. So when you are around a person who is smoking, you inhale the same dangerous chemicals as the smoker. Breathing even a little secondhand smoke can be dangerous because it is all about nicotine and not how it got to your system. The dangers of inhaling secondhand smoke can cause serious health complications including lung cancer in nonsmoking adults. In the United States for example it is estimated that up to 3,000 adults die each year due to lung cancer from secondhand smoke exposure. And according to the U.S. Surgeon General, living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20% to 30%.

Besides cancer, exposure to secondhand smoke can also cause coronary heart disease and have negative effects on your blood and blood vessels thereby increasing your risk of getting a heart attack. Heart diseases caused by secondhand smoke kill approximately 46,000 nonsmokers every year. People who already have heart disease are at an especially high risk of suffering negative effects from inhaling secondhand smoke and should avoid even brief exposure to it.

Because studies show that laws banning smoking in public places help improve worker and customer health, many states and communities have laws making workplaces, public places, restaurants, and bars smoke-free. But millions of children and adults still breathe secondhand smoke in their homes, cars, workplaces, and in public places.

How does secondhand smoke affect pregnant women, babies, and children?

Pregnant women who inhale secondhand smoke are more likely to have lower birth weight babies than women who do not inhale secondhand smoke. Once born, babies who are around cigarette smoke are more likely to get ear infections, develop bronchitis and pneumonia and die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Therefore secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems in children, including:

Frequent lower respiratory illness
Wheezing and coughing
More frequent and severe asthma attacks
Ear infections

It is therefore advisable that, women who are pregnant should avoid surroundings where heavy concentrations of secondhand smoke linger.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Is smoking while pregnant harmful?

For luck of better words I will say that it is never safe to stay around smokers when pregnant let alone smoking. This is very dangerous because smoking while pregnant: affects the placenta which is the source of your baby’s food and oxygen, lowers the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby and also increases the following:

Your baby’s heart rate
The risk that your baby will be born prematurely
The risk that your baby will be born with low birth weight
Your baby’s risk of developing respiratory problems
The chances of stillbirth
The risk for certain birth defects like a cleft lip or cleft palate
The risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Besides that, children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at greater risk of: behavioral problems, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disorders and becoming smokers themselves in the future. Therefore I recommend strongly that all pregnant women who are smoking should quit right way if not permanently then at least during their pregnancy.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Is it too late to quit?

If you are pregnant, it is never too late to quit smoking. There are benefits to quitting smoking at any stage of your pregnancy. Quitting as soon as possible will help protect you and your baby from some health problems, such as low birth weight.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Shouldn’t it be easy for me to quit smoking while pregnant?

No. Quitting smoking is hard for most women. Women who were smoking when they got pregnant often have to make more than one attempt to quit for good.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Is it harmful to smoke again after my baby is born?

You might think it is safe to start smoking again after your baby is born, but your baby is not out of harm’s way. Remember that secondhand smoke is equally dangerous not just for your baby but to people around you. The best thing to do is to quit permanently because babies who are around cigarette smoke: have weaker lungs than other babies, are more likely to have health problems such as infections and more frequent asthma attacks and are at increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Therefore you need to protect your baby doing the following:

Do not allow anyone to smoke near your child.
Do not smoke or let others smoke in your home or car.
Use childcare providers who do not smoke.
Do not eat in restaurants that allow smoking.
Do not take your child to other indoor public places that allow smoking.
Teach children to stay away from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: I smoke can I breastfeed my baby?

Of course you can and you should breastfeed your baby because breast milk is very good for your baby. However, smoking may make it difficult to breastfeed because it changes your breast milk, disrupt your baby’s sleeping patterns and may even cause you to have problems releasing the breast milk. In conclusion life is lived once and doing the right things will help you have comfort in that life. Therefore for your health and your baby’s, you should quit smoking. Doing this will not be easy, and therefore, you need to consult with doctor Dalal Akoury to help you go about it professionally and in the most healthy way.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: What is secondhand smoke?

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