Posted by Bob Johnson on November 03, 2001 at 09:50:56:
In Reply to: Any Smokers posted by Rod on November 02, 2001 at 21:59:01:
Rod, the association between CH and smoking is regularly, but not always, part of clinical reports on triggers for CH. It is not clear HOW smoking may contribute to CH: my guess is that the highly toxic materials found in burning tobacco irritates blood vessels and makes them more vulnerable to the spasms which are part of the CH mechanism.
Many folks do not understand the nature of statistics for we often see messages here which say in effect, "it doesn't apply to me, therefore it's not true."
Two examples: the description of CH does not fit all of us; some people never experience certain features of CH, others may have a particular features some of the time. But we have seen folks who are concerned because their experience is different from the medical model (description) which we read in medical literature.
Ditto with medications: the list of side effects which are POSSIBLE (and stated as a percentage of people who have taken the drug in clinical trials). Some people appear to read such a list as a prediction of what they will experience and so are afraid or they avoid trying something which might be helpful.
My point: it's best to read most of these data as statements of POSSIBILITY--not as statement predicting a particular outcome.
The only way to help yourself not become fearful is to learn a bit about how statistics work and learn about the nature of CH--getting your information from some of the good books which are on the market.