The Quest for Breath
By Tonya Parker
When I went off to college three decades
ago, I stopped taking breathing for granted. I began
to learn how this unconscious, yet controllable act
of transporting oxygen into the body and carbon
dioxide out of the body plays an important role in
our physical, emotional and spiritual functioning. I
took deep, full breaths, inhaling crisp, clean air, a
sense of peace, focusing my mind, relaxing my
muscles, quieting my spirit. The campus itself was a
tranquil haven paying homage to nature’s diverse
flora and fauna. The dorms were smoke-free, and
when I could afford to eat out, I sat in non-smoking
sections. But then it was time to return home, an
event that caused me dread. Sure, I loved my
family, and I missed them when I was away.
However, going home became equated with
suffocating.
My father was a smoker. Not a few-puffsand-I’m-done smoker, but a Joe-Camel-two-packsa-day smoker. With wild, curly hair framing his
thin, dark, face, he would sit quietly in a corner,
reading, watching television, or working on a craft
project as he held that ever-burning cancer stick
between his nicotine-stained fingers. A layer of
smoke filmed everything in the house, and I
remember walking in a room with him and
immediately breaking into a paroxysm of coughing.
Even at night, in a different room in the house,
separated by closed door, I slept with a wet cloth
over my face in order to breathe. Those were the
days when a tickle in my throat from cigarette
smoke led to laryngitis, which then made its natural
progression to bronchitis.
My father has long since transitioned, and
the rooms he occupied no longer reek of smoke.
However I’m left with continued sensitivity to any
type of smoke, plus allergies to dust, mold, pollen,
and various and sundry airborne pollutants.
Breathing fully is no longer as simple as closing a
door and wetting a cloth. Minimizing carpets,
cleaning drapes, dusting on and under surfaces, and
vacuuming all help, but my housekeeping skills
leave a lot to be desired. Keeping the house and car
windows up, and avoiding the outdoors when grass
is freshly cut and when pollen yellows the car
windshield also help.
Natural health experts relay other strategies
for improved breathing/allergy management,
include avoiding milk products—even items baked
with milk as an ingredient—to avoid immune
system irritability. They also advocate adding
vitamins C and E to our diet, in supplement form,
or try eating berries and other fruits rich in
antioxidants, which help protect us from the
damage caused by exposure to environmental
toxins such as my old enemy, cigarette smoke. Also,
something as simple as drinking plenty of water
helps to hydrate our nasal passages and flush out
our systems.
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