Secondhand smoke is extremely dangerous for babies. Among other things, it weakens their lungs, makes them more prone to ear infections, and doubles the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). At the very minimum, make sure nobody smokes anywhere in your house, no exceptions.Cigarettes are very effective devices for spreading harmful chemicals, including nicotine, carbon monoxide, and a variety of potent human carcinogens, all over your house. If you light up in one room, the smoke will be detectable in the entire house within minutes – and that includes the baby's room.Many of the chemicals and fine particles that make secondhand smoke so dangerous immediately stick to just about everything in the house, including clothes, toys, bottles, carpets, walls, furniture, and even stainless steel. (This mixture of leftover tobacco smoke contaminants is called thirdhand smoke.)Over the following weeks and months, these contaminants are slowly released back into the air – the same air that your baby breathes.

Your baby may also be exposed if she puts contaminated objects in her mouth or sleeps on a pillow that has become a reservoir of tobacco smoke pollutants.My colleagues and I recently searched for traces of residual smoke in homes where smokers tried to protect infants by never lighting up in the same room as the baby. The levels of nicotine and other chemicals throughout the house were about five to seven times higher than the levels in nonsmokers' houses. hunter air purifier model 30547Even more important, urine tests showed that the babies in families with smokers had been exposed to eight times as much secondhand smoke as in the homes of nonsmokers.aerus guardian platinum air purifierIn fact, there were elevated levels of tobacco pollutants even in homes where smokers lit up only outside. ionic air purifier tower 3q

Smokers spread contaminants wherever they go – pollutants seep out of their clothes, skin, hair, and breath. So before getting close to a baby, smokers should wear clean clothes (that they haven't worn while smoking), wash their hands and face (especially after smoking), and never let the baby suck on their fingers.We also studied pollutant levels in homes after smokers moved out and nonsmokers moved in. We found that the homes where people regularly smoked tobacco became reservoirs of thirdhand smoke. Nonsmokers may be exposed to these chemicals for months after smokers have moved out, even after the home is cleaned. So before you rent an apartment or buy a house, ask whether the previous residents were nonsmokers.If your house has already been contaminated with cigarette smoke, try clearing the air by opening some windows and doors. Using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter might help for a while, but you'll have to change or clean the filters often because they'll get clogged quickly.

Vacuuming your house with a machine that's equipped with a HEPA filter is also a good idea. Wipe surfaces with a damp cloth, and frequently wash your baby's toys, blankets, and any other objects she may stick in her mouth.Some companies sell "air purifiers" or "ozone machines" to try to remove, neutralize, or camouflage the unpleasant odor of stale tobacco smoke. These devices often use chemical processes that can create additional irritants and toxic substances.Shielding a baby from smoke is almost impossible to do effectively in a household of smokers, but it's critically important to protect babies from harmful substances. So if you're concerned about your baby's health, urge and support the smokers in your house to quit for good. It's the best protection your baby can get. A new study in Pediatrics suggests that some noise machines can produce sounds so loud that they could potentially damage infants’ hearing and auditory development. Here is Dr. Harvey Karp’s take on the study:

This is a useful, rather common sense, study that says loud noise (85dB)…like putting a hair drier  or blasting music 12″ from a baby’s head for 8 hours straight…is potentially damaging to a baby’s hearing. Unfortunately, this article is being used to scare parents and ignores the key – even life saving – benefits of using white noise all night long. Tired parents always need to be reminded of the safe way to do things. Swaddling is great, but you don’t want to overheat a baby or restrict the hips…car seats are great, but they can actually cause infant deaths if not properly installed. And similar caveats are true for white noise. The best analogy may be rocking a baby…when a baby is sleeping gentle swaying is best and is helpful for prolonged periods (that’s why they stay calm for so long in infant swings), but as the baby gets upset any experienced parent starts to rock faster and more jiggly…that is what fussy babies need to be calmed. Surprisingly, babies cry usually reach levels up to 100 dB (as loud as a power lawnmower…and 10 times louder than a hair drier ).

Loud sounds, like vacuum cleaner and hair drier sounds, have been recommended by pediatricians and parenting books for decades to calm fussy babies. But, it is very important to remind parents to only use very loud noise during infant crying. However, the new study just released by the journal Pediatrics  omitted 3 critical points: 1) In the womb, all babies are exposed to the sound of whooshing through the arteries…that is louder than a vacuum cleaner (measured at 75-92dB)… 2) Moderate sound – used all night – is perfectly safe and has been shown to be helpful in boosting sleep, which is why so many families use white noise CDs and downloads. 3) Noise injury is primarily related to the high pitch of sound. The 3 sleep sounds on The Happiest Baby white noise CD are specially engineered to reduce high pitch and amplify low pitch frequencies. That makes them safer…and makes them closer to the sounds babies actually hear in the womb than any other source of white noise.

When considering recommending white noise for babies, it is  extremely important to consider the potential life saving benefits of white noise. Poor infant sleep causes parent exhaustion..and that leads to many very dangerous situations…including postpartum depression, maternal obesity, child abuse and sleep deaths because the exhausted parents put the baby on the stomach or bring the baby into their bed…which causes ~1000  accidental suffocation deaths/year. By enhancing sleep (and reducing crying) low pitched, rumbly white noise may help prevent these very serious problems. So when a baby cries, increase sound level – for a few minutes – to the level of a vacuum cleaner. And, for safe naps and all night sleeping keep the sound about the level of a soft shower. (Encourage parents to place the sound within a few feet of the baby’s sleep area…and to listen to the sound themselves…to judge whether it is too loud.) In the study’s conclusion, the authors correctly recommend sound machine sellers to instruct parents on the dangers of loud sound played for extended periods.