Seeking short term solutions to second hand smoke from 24hr chain smoker
October 3, 2016 4:25 AM Subscribe
My new neighbors are chain smokers who smoke right outside my bedroom windows. The weather in our neighborhood has been especially nice lately, so they're out on their patio more often to smoke multiple cigarettes over an hour. The second hand smoke is really affecting me now. I have a super important interview on Tuesday. What can I do to reduce the earache, cough, and dry eyes caused by the smoke?
Heavy duty air filters have been running in my room and elsewhere since Friday. Earache and cough started the same day after I opened my window to get fresh air and instead treated myself to a sizeable dose of smoke that had drifted up to my room from my neighbors' patio. (4 people were chain smoking out there that morning and afternoon.) DayQuil helps a lot during the day, but NyQuil isn't working its magic so I can sleep at night without waking up to cough or put a damp washcloth over my eyes to stop the itching. Right now I've been up since 2am because they came back outside to smoke around the same time. Keeping my windows tightly shut doesn't stem the flow of smoke at all, and Benadryl/Zyrtec aren't doing much either..
I can't address the chain smoking with the neighbors or our HOA for a while because of Reasons. Obviously things have to change asap. However, the more pressing issue is that I have an interview this week that is the most important interview ever, and I can't miss it.
How do I cope in the interim so I can go to my interview (whether it's still on Tuesday or moved to another day this week) and not be totally inundated by sleeplessness/shortness of breath due to this new and very disruptive addition to my life? Is it inhaler time? I have 20 hours ish to try and mitigate my symptoms and I know that's stupid but it is what it is. :(
Thanks for your help and/or commiseration.
Heavy duty air filters have been running in my room and elsewhere since Friday. Earache and cough started the same day after I opened my window to get fresh air and instead treated myself to a sizeable dose of smoke that had drifted up to my room from my neighbors' patio. (4 people were chain smoking out there that morning and afternoon.) DayQuil helps a lot during the day, but NyQuil isn't working its magic so I can sleep at night without waking up to cough or put a damp washcloth over my eyes to stop the itching. Right now I've been up since 2am because they came back outside to smoke around the same time. Keeping my windows tightly shut doesn't stem the flow of smoke at all, and Benadryl/Zyrtec aren't doing much either..
I can't address the chain smoking with the neighbors or our HOA for a while because of Reasons. Obviously things have to change asap. However, the more pressing issue is that I have an interview this week that is the most important interview ever, and I can't miss it.
How do I cope in the interim so I can go to my interview (whether it's still on Tuesday or moved to another day this week) and not be totally inundated by sleeplessness/shortness of breath due to this new and very disruptive addition to my life? Is it inhaler time? I have 20 hours ish to try and mitigate my symptoms and I know that's stupid but it is what it is. :(
Thanks for your help and/or commiseration.
Best answer: If you're that sensitive to smoke, you need to find a hotel or visit friends until after the interview. It sucks, but both NyQuil and DayQuil are going to put your head in a bad space for the interview and throwing an inhaler (if you've never used one) into the mix is just going to add to the chemical cocktail in your bloodstream.
posted by Candleman at 4:42 AM on October 3, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Candleman at 4:42 AM on October 3, 2016 [7 favorites]
If closing the window doesn't stem the flow of smoke then you have an air leak and lower pressure inside than outside (that's pulling the air and smoke in). Work to increase the pressure inside: Turn on your AC (just the fan part, no need to cool the neighbourhood or freeze yourself if AC is not longer useful).
That should prevent new smoke from coming in, but if it's come in already, it may be that this isn't just an incoming smoke issue, but a all-stuff-already-stinks issue. This might require steam cleaning.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:08 AM on October 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
That should prevent new smoke from coming in, but if it's come in already, it may be that this isn't just an incoming smoke issue, but a all-stuff-already-stinks issue. This might require steam cleaning.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:08 AM on October 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Take pictures of yourself and/or record yourself speaking, so that you can use this evidence in the future when you do decide to address the issue.
Try to make any photos and/or recordings as dispassionate as possible. Don't make it look at all like you are playing up the effects. Include information about whether or not you might be sick for other reasons.
If you go to a hotel room, and your problems get better immediately, you might document that too.
Don't actually plan to use this documentation at first; try a friendly approach. Just have it in case you need it.
I'm not a lawyer, and if I made something like this I might _never_ use it, but it would be nice to have just in case.
Also: have you tried other (non-drowsy) antihistamines? Fexofenadine/Allegra?
posted by amtho at 5:14 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Try to make any photos and/or recordings as dispassionate as possible. Don't make it look at all like you are playing up the effects. Include information about whether or not you might be sick for other reasons.
If you go to a hotel room, and your problems get better immediately, you might document that too.
Don't actually plan to use this documentation at first; try a friendly approach. Just have it in case you need it.
I'm not a lawyer, and if I made something like this I might _never_ use it, but it would be nice to have just in case.
Also: have you tried other (non-drowsy) antihistamines? Fexofenadine/Allegra?
posted by amtho at 5:14 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ugh, I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.
A hotel room is really not the worst idea, or a friend's house if you're lucky like that. If that isn't feasible, do you have another room on the opposite side of your house where you could set up temporary quarters? Get out of the gross room however you can and spend no time there until after your interview.
For physical symptoms you could try a few things. Saline drops for your eyes can wash out some of the irritants, and a saline mist for your nose can really help your sinuses to recover. There's also the neti pot rinse thing but ugh those stress me out more than help. A cool mist humidifier could help keep your whole complex system moist and mitigate a lot of your symptoms, help you cough less. If you can sleep with an eye mask on, wearing one might help block further smoke irritants from getting in your eyes, even if you are just resting and not sleeping.
Some of this could be psychological (it's still real, though!) so try some aromatherapy, too. An oil diffuser with a few drops of an essential oil that you find calming might help, and you can add a little bit to your laundry if you need to de-funk your interview clothes. In my experience, rosemary does a good job of covering up smoke smell harmoniously, instead of just being a floral+smoke mess like a lot of air fresheners do.
posted by Mizu at 5:41 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
A hotel room is really not the worst idea, or a friend's house if you're lucky like that. If that isn't feasible, do you have another room on the opposite side of your house where you could set up temporary quarters? Get out of the gross room however you can and spend no time there until after your interview.
For physical symptoms you could try a few things. Saline drops for your eyes can wash out some of the irritants, and a saline mist for your nose can really help your sinuses to recover. There's also the neti pot rinse thing but ugh those stress me out more than help. A cool mist humidifier could help keep your whole complex system moist and mitigate a lot of your symptoms, help you cough less. If you can sleep with an eye mask on, wearing one might help block further smoke irritants from getting in your eyes, even if you are just resting and not sleeping.
Some of this could be psychological (it's still real, though!) so try some aromatherapy, too. An oil diffuser with a few drops of an essential oil that you find calming might help, and you can add a little bit to your laundry if you need to de-funk your interview clothes. In my experience, rosemary does a good job of covering up smoke smell harmoniously, instead of just being a floral+smoke mess like a lot of air fresheners do.
posted by Mizu at 5:41 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There's also the neti pot rinse thing but ugh those stress me out more than help.
I personally prefer the squirt bottles rather than the actual pot, fwiw. And I would definitely recommend trying some sort of sinus rinse. I have really bad allergies, and I get the most help from using Flonase. If you have an albuterol inhaler or something like that, I would use it if you are having serious trouble breathing, but personally, I find it a bit "activating" so I wouldn't use mine right before bed or right before an important interview.
For deodorizing, I find leaving out open containers with some ground coffee or baking soda can help without having to resort to air fresheners which can sometimes cause problems for me. Febreze also makes a spray specifically to help with allergens, although ymmv.
But in the short term, if at all possible, I'll nth staying in a hotel for the night or with a friend.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:30 AM on October 3, 2016
I personally prefer the squirt bottles rather than the actual pot, fwiw. And I would definitely recommend trying some sort of sinus rinse. I have really bad allergies, and I get the most help from using Flonase. If you have an albuterol inhaler or something like that, I would use it if you are having serious trouble breathing, but personally, I find it a bit "activating" so I wouldn't use mine right before bed or right before an important interview.
For deodorizing, I find leaving out open containers with some ground coffee or baking soda can help without having to resort to air fresheners which can sometimes cause problems for me. Febreze also makes a spray specifically to help with allergens, although ymmv.
But in the short term, if at all possible, I'll nth staying in a hotel for the night or with a friend.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:30 AM on October 3, 2016
Oh, and if you have bad post nasal drip, you might want to use mucinex.
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:30 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by litera scripta manet at 6:30 AM on October 3, 2016
Hotel room and all that. But for a longer term solution, If only I had a penguin... has it. That is, if you have a source somewhere in your apartment for clean outside air. Running an AC next to that patio is not going to work very well. But if you can run an AC on the opposite side of the building, that unit can pull in clean air, so that your inside pressure is higher than outside and air is pushed out toward that patio rather than being pulled in, which is currently the case. This will work a lot better than permitting smoke to enter and then trying to scrub it with air filters.
posted by beagle at 7:12 AM on October 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by beagle at 7:12 AM on October 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
Running fans placed to suck clean air from one side of a building and blow out toward the smoky side of the building can help, but it's still pretty difficult to manage. It's easiest to get a decent seal with dedicated window fans. You might have enough time to try this out before bailing for a hotel (but the hotel's probably the best solution given your timeline.)
If a hotel's not doable, maybe sleep somewhere other than your bedroom for the night, as far away from the smoke as possible.
That said, last time I had this problem consistently, there was no solution because the smoker neighbors would switch which side of the building they smoked at (and sometimes both sides at once. Usually indoors, too.) I should've moved away from there years before I did.
posted by asperity at 8:38 AM on October 3, 2016
If a hotel's not doable, maybe sleep somewhere other than your bedroom for the night, as far away from the smoke as possible.
That said, last time I had this problem consistently, there was no solution because the smoker neighbors would switch which side of the building they smoked at (and sometimes both sides at once. Usually indoors, too.) I should've moved away from there years before I did.
posted by asperity at 8:38 AM on October 3, 2016
I have to second the saline squeezy bottles. All the benefit of the neti pot, none of the drowning feeling. I have horrible allergies and this really changed my life! Do it several times a day when your symptoms are severe like this. The first or second time it may not feel any different, but then suddenly you'll feel MAGIC when everything clears out.
posted by radioamy at 11:04 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by radioamy at 11:04 AM on October 3, 2016
Oh also about the NeilMed saline rinse. The directions tell you to do it like the neti pot, where you have the water rinse out the other side of your nose. I prefer to do it a different way that doesn't require so much head tilting. I lean my head forward over the sink, put the bulb in one nostril, and plug the other with my finger. The water will rinse out your mouth.
I know, it sounds gross. But seriously it's great.
posted by radioamy at 11:05 AM on October 3, 2016
I know, it sounds gross. But seriously it's great.
posted by radioamy at 11:05 AM on October 3, 2016
Best answer: How much money can you afford to spend to address this problem?
If only I had a penguin... beat me to the punch about creating a positive pressure environment in your house. I'd recommend a powerful box fan sealed into a window on the opposite side of the house. Use this fan to push fresh air in. This air will need to escape the house somehow, so it should push air out the smoky side. You might even try several box fans to push clean air in from several locations. If air is being pushed out the smoky side, smoke won't be able to enter.
You could get some additional benefit by strapping a furnace filter to the inlet side of the box fan.
Also, how intensive are the air filters you're using right now? Are they true HEPA filters? I've done a lot of research and can point you to three different high performance air filters that have been well recommended here on Ask MeFi before. I have one of each and like them all:
- IQAir HealthPro series (most powerful, but big and loud on high settings)
- BlueAir
- RabbitAir MinusA2
These filters are multiple hundreds of dollars at retail, but if you check Amazon reviews you'll find that people believe they are effective when cheaper filters didn't work.
If you're considering the hundreds of dollars you might spend on temporary relief in a hotel, it's possible you could get longer-term relief for the same cost by improving airflow management and filtration in your house.
posted by reeddavid at 12:01 PM on October 3, 2016
If only I had a penguin... beat me to the punch about creating a positive pressure environment in your house. I'd recommend a powerful box fan sealed into a window on the opposite side of the house. Use this fan to push fresh air in. This air will need to escape the house somehow, so it should push air out the smoky side. You might even try several box fans to push clean air in from several locations. If air is being pushed out the smoky side, smoke won't be able to enter.
You could get some additional benefit by strapping a furnace filter to the inlet side of the box fan.
Also, how intensive are the air filters you're using right now? Are they true HEPA filters? I've done a lot of research and can point you to three different high performance air filters that have been well recommended here on Ask MeFi before. I have one of each and like them all:
- IQAir HealthPro series (most powerful, but big and loud on high settings)
- BlueAir
- RabbitAir MinusA2
These filters are multiple hundreds of dollars at retail, but if you check Amazon reviews you'll find that people believe they are effective when cheaper filters didn't work.
If you're considering the hundreds of dollars you might spend on temporary relief in a hotel, it's possible you could get longer-term relief for the same cost by improving airflow management and filtration in your house.
posted by reeddavid at 12:01 PM on October 3, 2016
FYI some citis have laws that smokers cannot smoke within 25 ft of buildings for this very reason.
Find out if your city does, call your non emergency number if you ask and they dont comply. Ultimately they need to smoke somewhere else That doesn't bother you and it is their responsibility to find somewhere.
(I'm a adult who was severely asthmatic as a child and someone smoking was a quick way to get me into the ER. I'm not nice about it. )
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:55 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Find out if your city does, call your non emergency number if you ask and they dont comply. Ultimately they need to smoke somewhere else That doesn't bother you and it is their responsibility to find somewhere.
(I'm a adult who was severely asthmatic as a child and someone smoking was a quick way to get me into the ER. I'm not nice about it. )
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:55 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I majorly lucked out -- not five hours after I posted this question, the neighbors went on a week-long vacation. With that reprieve from the constant smoke, I was able to go to the interview and do reallly well, AND get a part time job somewhere else in the meantime as Interview #1 is a long-game interview process. Now my house is equipped with a bunch of new air filters and humidifiers, and I'm prepared to head to a hotel the next time it gets super bad.
posted by Hermione Granger at 12:04 PM on October 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Hermione Granger at 12:04 PM on October 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by corvine at 4:29 AM on October 3, 2016 [11 favorites]