Allergic rhinitis or hay fever, occurs when a person's immune system mistakenly reacts to allergens in the air. By which the body releases substances to protect itself, making the allergy sufferer to experience persistent sneezing and a runny blocked nose.

According to University of Cincinnati (UC) epidemiologists, it is the environmental tobacco smoke and not the suspected visible mold that drastically increases an infant's risk for developing allergic rhinitis by age 1. The first study to link environmental tobacco smoke exposure and allergic rhinitis in year-old infants. This study is reported by the UC team in the June and early online edition May 17 edition of Pediatric Allergy and immunology.

The study evaluated the effects of numerous indoor exposures to such things as environmental tobacco smoke, visible mold, pets, siblings and the day-care environment on 633 infants under age one.

"We found that infants who were exposed to 20 or more cigarettes a day were three times more likely to develop allergic rhinitis by their first birthday than those who were not exposed," says Biagini.

Such findings suggest that parents should eliminate tobacco smoke from their homes for the health of their children.

Of course, even without this report, parents or anybody else should not smoke around babies. It isn't only about allergic rhinitis in infants, but the dangers of second hand smoke in the general population.

Read more at UC Health News.