When you smoke, poisons from tobacco smoke pass through your lungs and into your blood stream. They are carried around your body and interfere with the way it works. Every puff you take on a cigarette increases the carbon monoxide in your bloodstream which takes the place of oxygen in your blood. The nicotine in the smoke immediately increases your heart rate and blood pressure. It causes your blood vessels to narrow, reducing blood flow. The combination of these causes great stress to your body, especially your heart.

If you smoke when you are pregnant the combination of carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarettes makes it harder for your baby to get the oxygen and nourishment it needs.
Your baby smokes the same cigarette you do.  As you inhale the poisons that tobacco contains (such as carbon monoxide and nicotine) these same poisons infiltrate into your placenta.  This then sends those poisons, along with the oxygen and nutrients that the placenta is supposed to send, directly to the baby.

Pregnancy smoking is sometimes a cause of pre-term labor, low-birth weight, and even death of the baby.  Here’s a sobering number for you: Studies show that somewhere between 20 to 30% of low-weight babies got that way because of the mother’s smoking. What’s more, about 10% of all early infant deaths is attributed to smoking by the mother.

Smoking during pregnancy by a mother is a major cause of sudden infant death syndrome. It also has the following effects:

• Increases the risk of miscarriage
• Increases the risk of complications during the birth
• Increases the likelihood of having a low-weight baby who is more vulnerable to infection and other health problems
• Increases the chances of the baby dying at or shortly after birth.

Children usually get through catarrhal condition without complications, if the symptoms were detected on time and your child gets adequate therapeutic support. If the cold is not treated, the complications do not pass, it could go with a more severe form and become chronic.

Children’s body is most vulnerable during the cold season of the year and especially the period of early spring or late autumn. It is rarely cold in summer. Just a small exposure of temperature and viruses and infections’ in the air (the main route of transmission of diseases cold – the air-filter) introduced in the mucous membranes and begin to actively develop. For example, a child drinks cold juice or eats too cold ice cream, when hot and sweaty after the game, the child ran into the street, wet feet, etc. Sometimes it takes only a few minutes to viruses and bacteria, causing inflammation of the breathing organs to start its operation.

The main symptoms of cold diseases

Cold can be easily identified on a variety of symptoms: cough, throat ache, pain when swallowing, runny nose, increase of body temperature (38 degrees).

Pay attention to all of these symptoms. Cough may be “dry”, “barking”, with expectoration, spasmodic. “Dry” and “barking” cough are symptoms of upper respiratory tract (pharyngitis, laryngitis, tracheitis). Long, spasmodic cough with expectoration is a symptom that the disease descended further and reaches the bronchi and lungs.

Cough is a natural reaction to a stimulus falling in the respiratory system. Cough accompanied by allergies, stress is expressed (usual cough, with a nervous tic in nature). The nature of cough can help you put a more accurate diagnosis of ill child and save him from the cause of cough.

Runny nose may also be allergic in nature, stuffed up nose can be an expression of stress and to be a consequence of excessive consumption of allopathic drops for the nose.

In light cold temperature can rise dramatically, and also drop sharply after some time. If the temperature does not drop below 37 degrees for several days, it is a serious reason to call a doctor.

Scientists conducted a study which found harmful chemical components of phthalates in soft plastic toys. Phthalates are substances due to which vinyl and other plastics are soft. This is the main component found in many plastic toys.

The researchers gave some tips on how to avoid buying these hazardous toys. First, do not take toys containing PVC. Secondly, we can not allow children to play with cosmetic products containing toluene or phthalates. And thirdly, do not buy cheap bijouterie for kids, because it contains harmful substances.

But the views of scholars are sometimes confusing. Other experts argue that parents should not be too worried, as many soft toys do not contain phthalates, and if they contain, it is in very small quantities and is safe for health. In addition, children’s products always undergo a strict quality control, so do not worry about it.

However, the results of the study have not be left unattended, and starting from February 2009 the United States imposed an official ban on the production of soft plastic toys.