Exposed to second hand smoke for hours.

[HackGame]

Like the title, I’ve been exposed to second hand smoke for about 3-5 hours in total. It really bothered me, because I feel my breath shorter including the right side of my chest feel a dull pain. I couldn’t even feel my left lung nor the left side of my throat! I tried telling the doctor, but they wouldn’t let me speak with from my dad being selfish. How I got exposed to second hand smoke is my dad taking me to a few test appointments. Basically his car has smoke scent that bothered me that I tried opening the window for a few minutes since my dad is getting bothered. It’s pretty difficult to get help from this. Any experience from anyone else?

[nomorepanic]

Most of us oldies on here grew up with parents that smoked in the house, eating in restaurants with people that smoked, sat in smoke filled pubs and cinemas, even sat on airplanes with smokers etc etc and non of us have ever suffered any bad from it.

You will be just fine - a few hours of smoke inhalation is NOT going to do you any harm at all.

[HackGame]

I hope so. My breath became a bit shorter a few days after the inhalation. Maybe it’s my anxiety causing my pain? I’m not too exactly sure, because the pattern can be really odd. And I try not to look up anything, but I ended up doing so. It’s scaring the heck out of me >_>;

[nomorepanic]

a few days later - definitely not related then. It will be anxiety.

[KK77]

There is a difference between second-hand smoke fumes and tobacco smell, which clings to all materials creating that horrid musty smell. Because we're no longer exposed to cigarette smoke we've become much more sensitive to the smell. 20+ years ago even non-smokers were somewhat immune to passive smoking, and as Nic says, it didn't do many people any harm. In fact, pollution from heavy traffic is likely to be worse in some ways.

[tjb113]

If you haven't been as exposed to it as some of us were growing up then it probably just caused some irritation. A few hours of exposure isn't going to cause an immediate and dangerous condition though, so no need to worry.

[HackGame]

I sure do think so. The only thing to be concerned now is my right breast. (I’m a boy btw) It keeps irritating me from a weird kind of pain at the side and bottom of it. It’s even itchy too. It’s been happening for a few days going at random times. Eventually just now, I spat out my mucus and found what seems to be blood. I spit more and I see a bit more. Silly though, I’m not sure if it’s because of me eating Burger King an hour ago. I’m still having thoughts it might’ve been lung cancer.

[Matilda_H]

If you're quite young, around 12-15, you might have temporary gynocemastia, which is nothing at all to be worried about as it happens EXTREMELY often in young boys. When puberty starts in boys, the testosterone goes extremely high so your body tries to re-balance it by converting some of it into estrogen (female hormone) and it can give you painful and itchy breasts. It usually disappears a year or so after it starts.

If you're not that young then you could just have some irritation or a pulled muscle. If you've done any vigorous activity you could have pulled a muscle, and things can itch whilst they heal.

As for your mucus, have you had a cold or a sore throat recently?

[Fishmanpa]

This truly is a non-issue. What you're saying is you rode in a car that someone smoked in and it "smelled" like smoke. It's not like he was smoking in the car while you drove and it was wafting around you. And 3-5 hours of smelling the remnants of a smoker? Is that any different than being around someone who had tobacco smell on their clothes?

The physical symptoms? ANXIETY! There's no possible way that you would have symptoms other than that. No. Way.

Positive thoughts

[HackGame]

I am pretty young. I’m actually 15 in that matter. Luckily my right “breast” doesn’t bothered me as much as like the past few days ago. I’m still not sure if my mucus is blood or not. I have ate another fast food meal with ketchup. It’s mostly transparent with a tiny liquid of red. Still it could be ketchup that caused it, but would it still be bad either way whether if it’s blood or not? I’m sorry if it seems like I’m being very stupid. The mucus part just felt very new to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been having excessive mucus? I honestly don’t know anymore.
Update: It’s not ketchup. I spat out some mucus and it still has transparent liquid blood.

[HackGame]

I just went to the doctors for blood in my mucus. They said it’s just low humidity. Honestly, I’m too embarrassed to even go to the doctors anymore. Every time it’s just me being stupid over everything I have.

[Pamplemousse]

Well, in my formative years I lived in a house where both parents were twenty-a-day smokers. Schoolfriends thought I smoked too.

Still here.