Allergic to Cigarette Smoke?

When you catch a whiff of tobacco smoke, do you cringe in anticipation? Perhaps the first thing to cross your mind is the unpleasant memory of your last clash with secondhand smoke and the runny nose, sneezing, and congestion that followed. For some, the reaction to cigarette smoke closely resembles an allergic reaction, which leads them to believe that they have "smoke allergies".

Did you know that some of the popular myths concerning "smoke allergies" might actually be getting in the way of properly treating your condition? This article will help you tell if determine whether you are affected by "smoke allergies" and what you can do to better protect yourself from the illnesses associated with smoke exposure.

#1 Myth: "Allergic to Smoke”

No one really is allergic to smoke. Many people insist that they are allergic to smoke created by cigarettes or cigars, but the truth is that they have having an allergy-like reaction due to other health complications. Understanding exactly why you feel like you are having allergy attack when around a smoker is the key to understanding how to prevent symptoms in the future.

Smoke technically is not an allergen, but an irritant. This explains most people feel no relief when they take antihistamine allergy after exposure to smoke. The key to avoiding the problems caused by cigarette smoke is determining what type of sensitivity you have and how best to treat it.

So, Who is Prone to “Smoke Allergies”?

Children and Infants
Elderly Persons
People with allergy history (anyone with allergies, asthma, eczema, etc)
People exposed to heavy smoke for long periods of time

Sometimes people who are sensitive to tobacco smoke will also experience allergy-like symptoms when they encounter strong odors, perfumes, weather changes or temperature changes.

Symptoms of Cigarette Sensitivity

For some people, exposure to tobacco smoke can cause a list of symptoms:

Sneezing

Coughing

Watery, burning eyes

Runny nose

Post nasal drip

Congestion

Shortness of breath

Headache

For many people, these symptoms appear shortly after exposure to cigarette smoke and last for hours afterward. In addition to these symptoms, individuals exposed to smoke on a daily basis are more likely to experience constant respiratory infections like sinusitis and bronchitis as well as the development of wheezing and asthma.

Tobacco Smoke Exposure

A burning cigarette is capable of releasing over 4,000 different chemicals into the air (and 80 of these are known or suspected carcinogens). For some, avoiding situations with smoke is almost impossible. Often a family member will smoke indoors, or a public place like a bar or restaurant will allow smoking. Depending on the severity of your reaction, sometimes the residual smoke scent on another person's clothing or in a room where someone had smoked in the past can cause irritation. So, even though avoidance of tobacco smoke is the best method to prevent "smoke allergies", it may not be a practical solution.

Two Main Types of Smoke Sensitivity

In order to truly treat the reaction to smoke, you have to identify what sort of sensitivity you are experiencing. There are two forms of smoke sensitivity:

Smoke Aggravating Underlying Allergies: your body is weakened by smoke and begins reacting to all the tiny bits of pollen, dust and dander that usually would not have been a problem.
Vasomotor Rhinitis: this is a condition that has all the same symptoms as allergic rhinitis (or nasal allergies), but cannot be treated by antihistamine allergy medicine.

Smoke-Aggravated Allergies:

Allergens are small particles that are made up of proteins that the body has mistaken for a dangerous intruder like a virus or other germ. Smoke contains tiny tar ash particles (that form a white cloud as the tobacco burns), but these are not the same as a true allergen because they are not protein based.

Smoke particles are classified as an irritant, which can cause you quite a bit of discomfort, worsen illnesses like asthma and allergies, and cause other serious health problems. So, no one can truly be allergic to smoke, but they may actually be suffering from a complication of their existing allergies or another illness.

If you have allergies or allergic asthma, smoke can trigger an allergic reaction because it is putting an extra strain on your body and immune system. The speck of cat dander drifting through the air might not have usually set off a violent reaction, but with the addition of tobacco smoke, your body can no longer handle the allergens. Asthma becomes dangerous when mixed with exposure to tobacco smoke-even deadly for some.

You are likely to experience complications to existing allergies if:

You know that you are allergic to other things like pollen, pets, mold or dust mites.
You have eczema or food allergies.

Treatment

Avoid as many situations as you can where you are exposed to smoke.
See an allergist to optimize your existing allergy treatment, or see if you have developed new allergies.
Run an air purifier to reduce the number of allergens in the air. Even a smaller, portable air filter like IQ Air's HealthPro is effective at removing allergens in guest rooms of smoking family members.

Vasomotor Rhinitis:

This is a form of inflammation and irritation of the nasal area as well as the throat and eyes. Seasonal or indoor allergies are called "allergic rhinitis". Vasomotor rhinitis is different from the allergic type because it is not caused by allergens and is sometimes called "non-allergic rhinitis". It causes many of the same symptoms that an allergic reaction would, but is caused by highly sensitive or excessive amounts of blood vessels in the delicate tissue of the sinus area. The symptoms you experience are trigger by your nervous system rather than allergens.

This means that while another person may be able to tolerate a certain amounts of cigarette smoke, a person with vasomotor rhinitis will experience significant discomfort with the same amount of smoke. So you are not being a overreacting when you complain about small amounts of smoke - these small amounts REALLY ARE affecting you more severely than those around you.

In addition to cigarette smoke, often strong odors or weather conditions will also cause symptoms, so you may find that many aspects of your environment cause allergy-like symptoms. Some individuals will actually experience allergic rhinitis and vasomotor rhinitis simultaneously.

You are likely to have vasomotor rhinitis if:

You are highly sensitive to other elements like perfume, strong odors, changes in weather, changes in temperature, or even spicy foods.
Walking into a slightly warmer (or cooler) room makes your nose runny or feel completely dry.
Antihistamine medications do not alleviate the symptoms.

Treatment

Avoid as many situations as possible where your condition might be aggravated-this includes smoke, as well as some of the other vasomotor rhinitis triggers like wearing perfume, using scented candles, etc.
Talk to your doctor about treatment options. Some over the counter medications like oral decongestants and saline nasal sprays may offer you some relief. Some prescription medications that have been proven effective are antihistamine nasal sprays (as opposed to oral antihistamines which typically have no effect on vasomotor rhinitis), anti-drip anticholinergic nasal sprays and corticosteroid nasal sprays.
Limit your exposure to smoke and smoke odor as this is often the cause of many vasomotor rhinitis cases. Use an air purifier like the Dynamic CT500 Home Smoke Eater at home to minimize airborne pollutants.

A Note to Those with Existing Allergies:

Inhaling even small amounts of smoke over a long period of time can actually cause you to develop new allergies or even asthma. In young children, second hand tobacco smoke inhalation greatly increases the likeliness of developing allergies when they get older. If you live with a smoker, you are likely to have more cases of bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, and other respiratory illnesses.

The best thing you can do for yourself make your living space a zero-tolerance smoke area. If this is not an option, you might want to consider an air purifier as an investment in your health.

Some of the symptoms of sinusitis (sinus infection) can closely resemble the vasomotor rhinitis and allergic rhinitis described in this article. Be sure to see your doctor to help you diagnose your condition if tobacco smoke has you feeling under the weather.

For more information about the full effect that tobacco smoke has on you, your home and your finances, see my Effects of Smoking hub.

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Comments

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David says:
7 months ago

To make a statement that "Allergies to Cigarette Smoke is a myth" is absurd. An allergene is simply a foreign substance that causes a persons immune system to overreact and protect itself. Some people have a severe reaction to cigarette smoke. I am one of them. It triggers a mild anaphylactic shock which in turns causes shortness of breath and coughing leading to a severe gag reflex.

Now try to tell me it's not an allergic reaction...

Kenny says:
7 months ago

David, you CAN NOT be allergic to smoke itself. However, smoking does weaken your immune system temporarily, which could cause your body to react to other things in the air you may be allergic too. This webpage is FULL of spelling and grammar mistakes, so I'm not sure how valid it is, but the majority of the information is true. There is no way to actually be allergic to the smoke itself, and anyone who says they are is making up an excuse.

nancydodds1 says:
7 months ago

Thanks for such an informative article.

Angel says:
6 months ago

It is correct that one cannot have an allergy to smoke itself. As the article states, smoke is an irritant that can aggravate other things, such as asthma and cause bad reactions. I should know, I am an asthmatic.. Perfume and smoke both are irritants that can cause an asthma attack, but I don't go around saying that I am 'allergic' to these things.. I know they can trigger my attacks.. I think it's important to note the difference. Those that spout off that they are allergic to perfumes and smoke sound silly to those that are really informed in this area.

Proud Mom says:
6 months ago

"Allergen" or "Irritant" doesn't really matter to me--they both have the SAME effects. Either name you call it, it causes my son to have a severe asthma attack. When I say "severe", I mean his skin turns blue, the ambulance is called, he's rushed to the ER and is hopitalized for several days before returning to normal. It's not an excuse for anything. It is a very real, very dangerous medical condition.

All of that from walking out of a business where a smoker feels the need to stand right outside the doorway and smoke. Or watching a parade and they guy next to you lighting up. Or stopped at a stoplight and the guy next to you hangs his cigarette out the window. I could go on and on......

We do everything we can do avoid ANY exposure to the second-hand smoke, but sometimes, it really is impossible outside being trapped inside your own home.

Nieriel says:
6 months ago

The fact that the symptoms are the same does not mean the problem is the same. This article is correct in identifying this fact. An allergy attack is an IgE mediated immune response to an allergen. Vasomotor rhinitis is a nervous system response. Cigarette smoke is an irritant that triggers the nervous system response and must be treated differently. I suffer from vasomotor rhinitis and I can testify that antihistamines do absolutely nothing to mitigate the effects of even a tiny amount of cigarette smoke. I have to take nose spray and saline as well as a nasal decongestant every day just to get a moderate amount of relief. The only way to solve the problem would be to ban cigarette smoking and, believe me, I would definitely support that.

Simon says:
6 months ago

What a load of rubbish !!!! How dare you say that you can not be allergic to cigarette smoke... okay smoke in itself is an irritant but what causes the allergic reaction is the chemicals in the smoke. There are something like 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke including arensic, formalderhyde, carbon monoxide... all these can cause an allergic reaction to certain individuals which is separate to the smoke itself being an irritant to those who suffer from rhinitis or sinusitis.

Old smoker, now free says:
6 months ago

Very informitive!

I was metting with the landlords of our building Sunday and 1 wiff of their smoking My sinuses blocked, ran and I started to sneeze and cough. True allergy or not it sure felt like an allergic reaction.

e_cigarette says:
5 months ago

I'm a smoker and cirette smoke makes me sneeze. I know i am alergic to it, or the chemicals in it either way a very informative hub. Nice work.

jeannie says:
4 months ago

heres how it goes with me. I was raised in a family with parents that smoked a carton of cigarrettes a week each and we had wood heat also. I'm married now and do not, nor have i ever smoked, but when I go to see my parients and visit I always end up with brochitis sick for a week. so wats the deal? ideas anyone? i need to see my family without getting sick

webdan65 says:
4 months ago

Aside from avoiding their home - you could suggest that they actually clean the air. In the hub article itself is a link for a CT500 Home Smoke Eater that can help. Nothing will make their home feel like a non-smoking home - but air cleaning will definitely improve things. It's recommended that they try to smoke in one room only and put the CT500 in THAT room. Give it a look.

Stephanie says:
4 months ago

I have a reaction to all smoke, someone smoking, house burning, fire place, candle, any sent, anywhere where smoke used to be, anything. if i'm not allergic how do you explain it? i do not smoke nor have i ever smoked. i have sinus infections that turn into worse infections even with treatment. doc just tells me to avoid smoke. easier said than done. it is winter everyone is buring fire places i cant avoid it. i take a nasal spray and zyrtec every day. doesn't help what am i supposed to do? i can't live like this i'm only 22 and it keeps getting worse the older i get. i used to could be around smoke but only for a short time period as long as its not much. now i can't even ride in a friends car who smokes but has not smoked for days or weeks without having a sinus infection the next day. was driving down the road and a house was on fire had to drive thru the smoke work up with an upper respiratory infection the NEXT morning. what else is it other than a smoke allergy?

webdan65 says:
4 months ago

Stephanie:

It is very possible that you have chemical sensitivity or underlying allergy that is aggravated by smoke inhalation, or even vasomotor rhinitis. Technically, cigarette (or any other type of smoke) lacks the protein element that would make it a true allergen. It's the protein in pollen, animal dander, mold spores, etc., that your body reacts to during an allergy/asthma attack.

As my article suggests, this doesn't mean that smoke WON'T cause a lot of irritation (not to mention some other serious conditions) - but you won't be able to treat "smoke allergies" with most allergy medications. Allergy medications are made to interrupt the chemical reaction caused when the proteins in allergens come in contact with mast cells in the skin lining your nose, throat and eyes.

Your sinus infections and upper respiratory infections are most likely linked - after the infection starts in your sinuses, post nasal drip will cause the bacteria to migrate down your throat to your bronchial tubes and lungs. I have the same problem and find that a neti pot really helps prevent sinus infections. When I feel a sinus headache coming on (or was just exposed to smoke, etc), I use the neti pot for a few days until the pressure subsides. It's a natural way to reduce the bacteria causing the infection and soothe the inflammation. It's not the most pleasant thing in the world, but it might be worth trying for your situation.

Just remember that it is always best to consult a doctor - especially if your medications aren't helping your symptoms. For more info on the illnesses mistaken for smoke allergies, read my other smoke allergies article: http://hubpages.com/hub/Smoke-Allergies-4-Reasons-

Brittany says:
3 months ago

Wow, this makes sense to me now- now I know why antihistimanes don't work when I am exposed to cigarette smoke.