Re: Burning incense

[Guest guest]

Hi , We have burned incense since was born and that was over 5

years ago, we have never had a problem with it. We love incense, what we do is

put it into a holder and put it on a top shelf, the smoke will rise and

disperse through the air. As long as their adequate ventilation then I have

never see

any ill effects, but every one is different. You just want to make sure their

not directly sitting there inhaling it =) Now there is a certain candle if

burned gives out harmful toxins, its quite popular and not to many people are

aware of it. I know the jelly candles are one of them but their are many, so

just a thought if you also burn candles. Have a great 4th and lots of

fun.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

, mommy of 5 years old cf/adhd and no cf

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I was surprised to read that you burn incense. I assumed incense

around people with any respiratory problems was a no-no, like

cigarettes. Burning anything, even the burning wick of a candle, puts

off byproducts that irritate airways, thus increasing inflammation.

In high school, I occasionally burned incense while doing homework.

Many years later I tried some Claire Burke incense that a friend gave

as a Christmas gift, and I had a horrible asthma reaction. Last fall,

during a time when I was really stressed, I treated myself to a

massage and facial at a posh place downtown. There was incense

burning in every room!

My nose and lungs started to close down, and in your life you never

saw so many people run to extinguish all those darn sticks! On top of

that, the scent was incense and Mryyh! Massages are supposed to

be relaxing, but those two scents reminded me of Catholic school days

and Mass -- very unpleasant memories! My massage therapist felt so

bad because of course, the experience is supposed to be positive, not

rekindle negative emotions and of course, not put your health at

risk!

My children's father used to claim that the candles I burned at home

choked him up. But it didn't bother anyone else. Like you, I wondered

if he was just fault-finding because I told him the tobacco smell on

his clothes choked me up. He never smoked in the house, and never

wanted the kids to know he smoked, but he often smoked while he was

closed up in the cab of a tractor or in his pick up while checking

cattle.

But because life is about compromise, since he said the candles

bothered him (and maybe they really did), I stopped burning candles

while he was home.

I can't be around cigarette smoke, even the smell of cigarettes on a

person's clothing immediately shut down my lungs. My daughter is the

same way. She now can spend very little time at our homeplace. After

I moved out, her dad moved in, and he smokes in the house. I was

there briefly last December to pick up some things, but could only

stay a few minutes because of the stale smoke smell.

My son used to say the stale cigarette smell didn't bother him.

However, I always got the feeling he wasn't being entirely truthful.

I got the impression he thought if he admitted it bothered him, then

it would hurt his dad's feelings because he wouldn't be able to stay

at the house.

Knowing was getting ready to go back for a visit (in fact, he

just left today), I reminded him to take his tea tree essential oil

because it's " heat and humidity " time in Oklahoma, and I want to be

sure his lungs stay fungus free. did let it slip, some comment

about the smell of his dad's house.

Do you know how much I HATE that he is spending any time at all and

sleeping in a home that has tar and nicotene clinging to walls,

drapes, carpets and furniture? It's just not good for the lungs.

When one of my son's high school girl friends discovered incense, he

asked her not to burn it around him. He told me the smell didn't

bother him, he just thought it wouldn't be good for his lungs. I was

very proud of him for taking precautions.

I'm sorry, but I agree with Milan's dad on the incense issue. Can you

compromise and just disperse essential oils? There are so many nice

scents and healthful benefits to EO's *without* the risk of smoke.

There's a lot of info on the web about incense, I'm sure both good

and bad. But I only found the stuff discouraging incense use. Below

is an excerpt from a PhD in Environmental Science:

Kim

" Incense use as a part of religious ritual or meditation goes back a

long way, probably thousands of years. As someone who grew up with

its occasional use in religious worship, I can relate to its scent.

In my younger days the scent of incense was, in a way, pleasant.

Increasingly, I have a mixed response, both pleasant and somewhat

irritating.

When incense is burned, it gives off a variety of by-products common

to combustion. But because it is a smoldering burn, it is likely to

give off much higher concentrations. One would expect incense to give

off relatively high concentrations of carbon monoxide, aldehydes, and

respirable particles. It is the respirable particles that we " see " as

smoke.

More smoke is produced when something burns at a lower temperature.

Lower burning temperatures results when incense and other combustible

materials have a higher water content or other substances which are

less combustible (inorganic substances which produce ash). This may

be why your Tibetan incense produces more smoke.

Respirable particles that make up smoke are both upper respiratory and

pulmonary system irritants. They can inflame mucous membranes and

initiate asthmatic attacks in sensitive individuals. Burning incense

has been reported to produce carcinogens such as benzo-a-pyrene,

several other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the nasal

carcinogen, sinaldehyde.

Besides sinaldehyde, a variety of other aldehydes can be produced by

burning incense. These include formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and

acrolein. Both formaldehyde and acrolein are potent mucous membrane

irritants. Acrolein is particularly irritating to the eyes.

The question relative to burning incense is to what extent are there

health risks beyond those of respiratory irritation? One study

indicates that incense burning in a household at least once per week

during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood leukemia.

If one is to use incense and wishes to reduce potential health risks,

one can do so by (a) using a less smoky incense, ( decreasing the

time period incense is burned, and © ventilating rooms/building as

soon after completing incense-burning activities as one can. In each

of these cases, one reduces one's dose or exposure. Depending on the

climate, one could open windows during the time of incense use. "

[Guest guest]

>

> Well, I have to say that cigarette smoke is nicotine, which is

> carcinogeneous, not the smoke itself.

>

As an ex-smoker who struggled to quit for many years, I can tell you

this is not true and too simplistic. Cigarette smoke has many other

carginogens in it than just nicotine. Any combustible item generates

reactive chemicals whthether it is a cigarette or a stick of incense.

jan