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?

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health

June 10, 2015

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Smoking your sex life out

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health are no more secretes because the suffering is being made public everyday.

If there is anything you must run away from in the world of drugs, it must be tobacco smoking. Tobacco is rich in nicotine which is very destructive to body organs and general health of humans. People who are deeply rooted into addiction are suffering all round and very little if not none at all can be admired in their habits. We appreciate that drug addiction is such a very wide topic with several substance of abuse but for the purpose of this article, we are going to be concentrating on the effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health. In other words we want to understand how cigarette smoking can impact on your sex life. This is a very interesting discussion and we are going to be talking to the experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD and also the founder of the facility. Doctor Akoury has been in the medical practice well for over two decades dedicating her entire life of practice in helping both the young and old addicts across the globe recover from their various addictions. Therefore if you have been struggling with any form of addiction or if you know of anyone who is suffering from the same then you can schedule for an appointment with this great professional for the much needed professional help.

Now to the topic of discussion “the effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health” sex is very interesting and very important in human life. You must be aware that up to 99.99% of all birth is as a result of sex, in other words you and I were born or bought on this planet through sex. If this is that important like that, then we need to defend it by all means. It is quit unfortunate that we have chosen to indulge in certain life style which is very unproductive for our sexual life. In line with our discussion, cigarette smoking is one very important habit that is threatening to destroy our sexual life. This is because for us to have a meaningful sexual life there must be adequate and consistent flow of blood or blood circulation in the body for proper and sustainability of an erection during the process of sexual intercourse. The enemy number one of proper blood circulation is cigarette smoking since it exerts serious negative impact on the flow of blood by constricting blood vessels.

It is no wonder experts have from various research have established that smoking has serious negative impact on the arousal phase, erection and even lubrication. Therefore with these findings, we can categorically state that cigarette smoking is very harmful for sexual health by all standards. And besides that doctor Akoury says that the numerous substances contained within smoke alone may also exert a more immediate effects, leading to a significant reduction in erectile capacity after just a puff of one cigarette. Besides these other effects on sexual life that comes as a result of cigarette smoking may also negatively affect fertility, promote certain sexual diseases and lead to an early menopause. These dangers put together can only mean that cigarette addiction must be fought hard professionally and doctor Akoury will be very helpful if only you could call her today for an appointment.

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Effects of smoking on sexual health

The connection between long-term smoking and arousal disorders (erectile dysfunction or lubrication problems) is well known and has been demonstrated. Although it is true that sexual health problems may be caused by many things, it is important to observe smoking as a risk factor in itself, especially when an arousal problem suddenly develops. Smoking effectively poses certain well-known risk to cardiovascular health and given that circulation problems are the main physical cause of erectile dysfunction, it then becomes very clear that nicotine and tobacco will have a very negative impact on the sexual health of a smoker thanks to their detrimental effects on blood supply.

The correlation between erectile problems and cardiovascular illnesses, as well as the constriction of the penal arteries, underpins the concept of the “sentinel symptom”, given that erectile dysfunction can be an early warning sign of broader cardiovascular illnesses. Erectile dysfunction can therefore appear several years before the first cardiac symptoms. The harmful effect that smoking exerts on the whole network of veins seems to depend on the dosage and on how long the person has smoked.

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Physiology

It is important to appreciate the fact that the penis is not formed of bones and so the blood vessels in the penis are the ones that facilitate or cause an erection as a result to a build-up of blood in the spongy tissues of the reproductive organ. Should anything obstruct the arteries then the blood supply no longer reaches an optimal level and this will definitely cause problems. The constant flow of blood is so crucial that even a reduction of say 25% in blood supply is enough to affect the quality of an erection, whereas the supply in the coronary arteries must generally fall below 50% for physical symptoms of heart disease such as angina to become present.

That is why the specialized literature now recognizes that erectile dysfunction in men of all ages can be a useful warning sign of latent cardiovascular problems. Furthermore, the most commonly used medication for treating erectile dysfunction (e.g. Viagra®, Cialis®, Levitra®) act by increasing the blood supply, which emphasizes the importance of good circulation as a major contributor to adequate sexual arousal. Circulation problems in women can also lead to an insufficient level of arousal, for example, vaginal dryness.

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Smoking just one cigarette can affect erection

Among the innumerable active ingredients in tobacco, nicotine, carbon monoxide and certain free radicals are responsible for the constriction of blood vessels with a more immediate effect this has been well demonstrated by several studies in the recent past. An occasional cigarette can therefore lead to a significant decrease in erectile performance, for instance an increase of over 20% compared to a non-smoker!

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Tobacco is a risk factor

The high instance of smokers among sufferers of erectile dysfunction, significantly higher than in the general population (40% compared to 28%), clearly points to a straightforward correlation between tobacco and erection problems. Epidemiological studies suggest that smokers may be twice as likely to develop erection problems as non-smokers. The risk is obviously higher if we take into account the risks posed by other smoking-related conditions such as diabetes.

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Tobacco is harmful for sexual health

As it has been established in many studies, tobacco leads to an impaired arousal phase among men and women. However, the negative effects of tobacco are not limited to arousal and erection problems. Smoking can also affect fertility, effectively decreasing it among both male and female smokers and it can also cause problems during pregnancy. The anti-estrogen effect of smoking tends to bring the menopause several years e.g. 10 years upfront.

Finally considering that cigarette smoking is also very addictive, it will be very important that the effects of cigarette smoking on sexual health are not only addressed at that level but also as an addiction problem. We are privilege that doctor Dalal Akoury who is a professional in both conditions and have had a very good track record in her treatment undertakings for the past decades of professional practice. For those wishing to stop smoking and regain a functional and fulfilling sex life calling doctor Akoury will be the starting point.

It should also be noted that although sexual health problems do not generally affect life expectancy, they are more common than people think and considerably affect the overall health of an individual. Therefore individuals suffering from such should consider reaching out for doctor Akoury who will up on receipt of their appointment call, will carry out an evaluation on their individual situations and condition. Thereafter she will recommend the most appropriate recovery process.

Effects of cigarette addiction on sexual health: Smoking your sex life out

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity

May 28, 2015

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity: Worse than Smoking, Drinking or Poverty

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity are not conditions that you can just wish away. The chronic nature of such conditions are life threatening as well.

There is no doubt that obesity is widely recognized as a health risk. This is because of the negative effects of obesity and many other known health risks some of which we have dealt with in-depth in this site from our previous articles. Nonetheless some of those risks may include the following: smoking, heavy drinking, and poverty, have been well documented. But until now, no one has compared them. Experts are now asking is one problem worse than another? Or are they all equally risky? We want to unlock these concerns by looking at what is considered health risk of obesity and to take us through the topic of discussion is doctor Dalal Akoury MD and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. The formation of this facility was guided with the need to have people live healthy lives that are free from all form of drug addiction and life free from weight gain and all conditions associate with being obese. Therefore as we progress into the discussion, if you or anyone you know is struggling with any kind of addiction or weight gain they you may want to schedule for an appointment with the experts for the commencement of treatment. To offer you the best we consistently carry out research to establish certain facts that will be applicable in administering treatment to all our clients. Therefor in one of our studies (Experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) while examining the comparative effects of obesity, smoking, heavy drinking, and poverty on chronic health conditions and health expenditures. It was established that obesity is the most serious problem compared to the other addictive conditions. Obesity is linked to a big increase in chronic health conditions and significantly higher health expenditures. And it affects more people than smoking, heavy drinking and poverty combined. And that now begs the question is there anything being done by the relevant authorities? Doctor Akoury notes that even though obesity is recognized as one of the major health risk globally, there have been relatively few public policies designed which are tailored towards reducing it. Further to that most Americans have not given obesity the same attention as they have with other risks like smoking and alcohol abuse. Even though little is being done about it, there is clear evidence that this is one of the top health problems which is currently on the rise in all segment of the world’s population. It therefore means that more effective clinical and public health approaches are needed very urgently notes doctor Akoury.

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity: Obesity is Linked to Higher Rates of Chronic Conditions than are Smoking, Drinking, or Poverty

While examining the data from Healthcare for Communities, a national household telephone survey fielded in 1998. Approximately 10,000 respondents participated in the survey, which was designed to be nationally representative. Among other questions, the survey asked respondents to self-report on 17 chronic health conditions (including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, heart disease, and cancer), height, weight, poverty, smoking status, problem drinking, health-related quality of life, and a variety of demographic factors. The study then revealed that obesity is linked to very high rates of chronic illnesses much higher than living in poverty, and much higher than smoking or drinking. The findings compare the increase in chronic conditions related to obesity. When compared with normal-weight individuals of the same age and sex having similar social demographics, obese people suffer from an increase in chronic conditions of approximately 67 percent. In contrast, the increase for normal-weight daily smokers is only 25 percent; and for normal-weight heavy drinkers, only 12 percent. A comparable factor is aging. In terms of chronic conditions, being obese is like aging from 30 to 50. Poverty is also a significant health threat: The increase in chronic conditions for people living in poverty is approximately 58 percent.

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity: Obese Individuals spend more on health care

Yet in another study it shows health care expenditures for obese individuals, current smokers, past smokers, heavy drinkers, and people who have aged from 30 to 50, as compared with a baseline of normal-weight individuals of the same age and sex with similar social demographics. It was established that obese individuals spend more on both services and medication than daily smokers and heavy drinkers. For example, obese individuals spend approximately 36 percent more than the general baseline population on health services, compared with a 21 percent increase for daily smokers and a 14 percent increase for heavy drinkers. Obese individuals spend 77 percent more on medications. Only aging has a greater effect and only on expenditures for medications.

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity: Obesity Has Become an Epidemic

Not only does obesity have more negative health consequences than smoking, drinking, or poverty, it also affects more people. Approximately 23 percent of Americans are obese. An additional 36 percent are overweight. By contrast, only 6 percent are heavy drinkers, 19 percent are daily smokers, and 14 percent live in poverty. Obesity rates are increasing dramatically. These rates used to be fairly stable: Between 1960 and 1980, there was only a minor increase in the number of Americans who were overweight or obese. Since 1980, however, not only has the percentage increased, but much of the increase is concentrated in the “obese” category, which grew by 60 percent between 1991 and 2000. Because this increase is relatively recent, its full impact is not known. Some chronic conditions take years to develop. Current research may, if anything, understate the public health consequences of obesity. The past 20 years have witnessed a significant lifestyle change: Americans are exercising less while maintaining at least the same caloric intake. Desk jobs, an increase in the number of hours devoted to television watching, and car-friendly (and pedestrian- and bike-hostile) urban environments are some of the environmental changes that have combined to discourage physical activity. These changes affect other industrialized countries, too. For example, over the past 20 years, Great Britain and Germany have experienced obesity growth rates similar to those in the United States. But because they started from lower levels, obesity in those countries has not yet become an epidemic-level threat to public health.

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity: Solutions

The dangers of both smoking and heavy drinking have been on the national health agenda for years. A variety of measures, such as increased education, access control (including smoking bans in many buildings nationwide), taxation, better enforcement of laws relating to minors, curbs on advertising, and increased clinical attention, have resulted in decreased rates for both smoking and drinking. Doctor Akoury suggests that weight reduction or management should be an urgent public health priority. The prevalence of obesity, and its strong association with chronic conditions, indicates that weight reduction would mitigate the effects of obesity on the occurrence of specific diseases and would significantly improve quality of life. The public awareness must also be increased so that more people are able to consult with the experts from time to time says doctor Akoury.

What is considered Health Risks of Obesity: Worse than Smoking, Drinking or Poverty

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight

April 22, 2015

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight: How to kick the habit without packing on the pounds

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight include seeking for help, advice and support from the family

You have been in a weight loss class and your instructor noticed that you are smoking. He tells you that smoking is not only harmful to your health but will also rearrange your facial appearance. And because you want to look good you desire to quit is primarily to look good both on the body and on appearance. But wait a minute you missed appoint and you have just remembered, that he also said that while quitting you will gain a little more as a result of losing. This point sends you thinking of the great contradiction. You registered to lose and not to gain, the instructor tells you to quit smoking which is going to work against your desire to lose weight. You are in a dilemma and I totally agree with you. This dilemma is what I want to address in this article. Our focus is going to be on quitting smoking without fear of gaining weight.

We spoke to doctor Dalal Akoury who is a medical doctor specializing on addiction, obesity and weight gain and also the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center to help us in unlocking certain all your concerns. Doctor Akoury has been in the medical practice for more than two decades and has help many people deal with their addiction alongside weight gain and yours will not be a problem if only you can schedule for an appointment with her today. Doctor Akoury says that if you are a smoker, the best thing you can do for your health which is the most valuable asset you have is to eliminate and completely kick out the smoking habit from your life.

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight: Smoking and weight gain

Even though cigarette smoking is addictive and difficult to quit, it is not impossible either. The challenges will always be there including the dilemma we are focusing on. Eliminating cigarette smoking often goes hand in hand with weight gain. Is it possible to be both slimmer and smoke-free so long as there is a resolve commitment to do so in the right way with the guidance of professionals? While appreciating the likelihood of gaining some weight when you stop smoking, the gain will not be that threatening as you may passive. Yes it is true that cigarette activates your metabolism and that you will burn about 250 calories because of smoking and quitting will mean that your metabolism rate will slow down leaving you with a pack of 250 calories to deal with resulting in weight gain for many people. Doctor Akoury says that under normal circumstances majority will gain some two pounds on quitting the first time in a few weeks. This is likely to cause a concern to people that what would be the impact in a few month is in just two weeks you add two!

The feeling is mutual in this case however this should not motivate you to go back to smoking to have you metabolism reactivated. Doctor Akoury advices that you need to hung on because the increase will not escalate to unhealthy weight. Your focus should be on the end result not the temporal obstacles. In this case you could compare the benefits of quitting with not quitting and the negligible weight gain and you will be able to see that the gain is a lesser sin. The benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle both inside and out to those few extra pounds means nothing. Take for instance the possibilities of your vital organs like the lungs, heart, and the arteries start repairing themselves almost immediately after the last puff. And not only that, your skin clears up and starts to look smoother, your fingernails stop looking yellow, your breath improves, and your teeth can be bright again. All these less-obvious benefits of smoking will have you looking great, even if you put on a few. If this has convinced you to take the worthy challenge then you can schedule for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center for professional assistance. But in the meantime, let us consider the best approach to go about it the whole exercise.

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight: The Right Approach

People will often take the quitting challenge differently with some people just opting to stop by making up their mind and literally disposing off the cigarette. This is fine however experts recommend a systematic approach to be the most effective. Therefore it is important than up on the resolve to quit, you need to set a quite date and prepare for it by setting aside some extra time to start a regular physical activity, like walking. And do your best to bypass the buffets and start eating healthier.

During this time ensure that you make improvement on your diet, make it healthy and this will help in the minimizing weight gain.

Next, start to pinpoint what situations which may trigger the urge to smoke and get ready to deal with them.

The urge for a cigarette tends to be the most pronounced the first few days after quitting for most people. After the fifth day, the number of urges starts to decrease.

While it varies from person to person, the urges will typically continue although less frequently for several weeks or even months. But they are still as annoying as when you first quit, so be prepared to tackle them head-on. With this mechanism in place, you are now ready to quit.

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight: Quitting Time

When it comes time to quit, the following are tips to help you minimize cigarette cravings and weight gain:

Drink more water at least 8-ounce glasses of water a day. This will keep you hydrated, help you feel full, and give you something to do with your hands.
Make smart choices when snacking. Quitting smoking will increase your snacking appetite. While you should avoid substituting food for cigarettes, you should plan healthy snacks, like cut-up veggies, fruit, or almonds or pistachios (in limited amounts.) Try to avoid sugar and unhealthy starches. If you feel you must have sweets, go for sugarless and fat-free ones. But keep in mind that fat-free snacks often have just as many calories due to the added sugar.
When a craving for a cigarette strikes, be prepared. If you want certain snacks around, make sure they’re handy and healthy. Have water around. Take a walk, have a soda. Think these things through so when an urge hits, you are prepared. It’s all about careful planning.
Keep up the physical activity and the healthy eating. This will help you quit smoking as well as trim your waistline, explains Purcell.
Be ready for challenges. You have to have the right mindset and be prepared for challenging times. If you can get through the first two weeks, chances are you’ll make it.
Most importantly, even if the needle on the scale starts to creep upward, don’t reach for that cigarette! Just stick it out and let your metabolism even off. It’s only temporary, and you can address the weight later after you’ve quit.

Quitting Smoking without fear of Gaining Weight: How to kick the habit without packing on the pounds

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients

March 31, 2015

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients: Walk the Talk?

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients. This is the biggest question everyone is asking especially when it comes to addiction and weight management

In my several decades of offering medical services to people across the globe, I have been disturbed immensely with what we do in relation to what we say in the line of duty. Medics all over the world are not just employees of the institutions they are working for but their profession is a calling. In other wards professionalism and integrity are supposed to be part of life in this profession. On various occasions I have come across people wasting their lives in drugs and other unhealthy activities. Up to that point let me call them people but being more specific. I often walk on my way to and from work and one of the spot along the way to my work station is a small section set aside for smokers. It is often referred to us smokers zone or corner. Every time I pass through that place it will be very unusual to find it empty. It is always full with people smoking and the smoke billow from that zone is so huge that you will wonder if the small booth is on fire. Before I continue with the story allow ne to ask “are medical professionals setting a good example to their patients?” now back to the story over the years I see several medical doctors, nurses and hospital support staff and administrators enjoying (or do I say smoking their lives out) their cigarette in unison.

The amazing point is that this is a public smoking place and because of its promiscuity to the health facility more than half of people I often see there are either doctors or nurses and other hospital stuff. In my observation, it occurred to me that in broad day light we preach water and we are comfortably taking wine. Let me pose another question “for how long are we going to be encouraging patient and other people to make healthy lifestyle choices as part of our responsibilities when we are doing exactly the opposite? Yes we are humans but what morals do we have to give this advice if we are equally subject to the temptations of drug use, smoking, alcohol abuse and overeating? My fellow colleagues don’t miss understand me. This article is not targeting the professionals or being judgmental or a sermon to the few who engages in such habits. Certainly not, we are all grown-ups and are equally enjoying the freedom to making choices as we may wish. But allow me to pose and say that there are certain special cases in which we do need to view our actions through the eyes of our patients. Help me in considering these pertinent questions with a view of understanding the magnitude of the matter:

Can overweight nurses’ advice patients about weight loss?
How is stress affecting nurses and their patients?
Will patients listen to advice on smoking cessation when you smell like an ashtray?

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients: Can overweight nurses’ advice patients about weight loss?

This is very interesting and I can imagine of what is going on in your mind. However a number of studies have been done in the past which examine the health habits of nurses all round whether good or bad and the impact of the outcome to the patients they attend to. Like for instance the prevalence of obesity across the globe is steadily increasing even as we speak right now it is becoming to an epidemic level. And the consequences of the same are risks of development of several chronic health complications. With these concerns about whether overweight nurses can advise patients about weight loss I suggest that patient’s education about the risks of obesity and the importance of proper weight management and exercise must remain continuous responsibilities of the nurses irrespective of their condition and sizes.

In fact, studies have generally shown that although the vast majority of nurses concede that obesity is a diagnosis which requires intervention, majority of the nurses do not pursue this issue with obese patients. The reason for this isn’t exactly clear. But it is perceived that the reasons could include:

That the nurses are uncomfortable discussing this with their patients
Overweight nurses may be feeling that they lack the credibility to have that conversation due to their own appearance.
Another possibility is that the nurses themselves need more education and validation of the health risks that obesity can cause.

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients: How is stress affecting nurses and their patients?

Another condition of concern in the nursing population includes the physical and emotional complications from stress. Many nurses work in stressful environments, taking care of everyone else before taking care of themselves. We know that the physical effects of stress can include insomnia, gastric ulcers, heart disease, headaches, fertility problems, and eating disorders. Other negative effects include disruption of family life, anxiety, and a reduction in the quality of life.

We know that it is important to advise our patients that they should listen to their own bodies with regards to stress management and relaxation therapies, yet we typically do not take our own advice in this area. We teach the concepts of holistic care to students, yet we do not always lead by example when it comes to our own health. Perhaps we need to be better role models for our patients, students and new nurses with regards to how we acknowledge and manage stress in our lives.

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients: Will patients listen to advice on smoking cessation when you smell like an ashtray?

Smoking I actually addictive and nurses being human can also be addicted just like anybody else. We also know that stress may be a factor in the prevalence of smoking. However it is unethical and unhealthy to take care of patient under the influence of a drug. It is absolutely wrong for nurse’s to resume duty after a smoking break the stench of cigarettes. Surely it isn’t a good idea, no matter what the patient’s diagnosis. Nurses are on the front lines of patient care. They spend more time with patients than any other category of health care provider. But even in all these nurses must know that they are not immune to diseases caused by their own unhealthy habits like smoking. If the patients they are caring for are down with cigarette smoking then they too can be down and it will be prudent that they too lead by example. Finally doctor Akoury reaffirms that one of the basic doctrines of an effective nurse-patient relationship is TRUST. These are all part of nurses responsibility and so nurses must take the challenge of leading from the front by setting a good example for patients.

Are Medical professionals setting a Good Example to Patients: Walk the Talk?

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