We all know that smoking kills, but still, many people avoid such terrible facts and continue smoking. Unfortunately, it can cause death risks, but it lets you experience some health issues before killing you. The most common smoke-effective organ of the human body is the respiratory system, lungs. So, here we discuss about the Smoking Effects on Respiratory System and Treatment.
Smoking paralyzes cilia and does not allow it to perform its task (cleaning of dirt and dust components). Due to the poor function of cilia, mucus and toxin get collected in our lungs. It often develops as chronic bronchitis, which is an extreme lung condition.
Lung cancer is the most common disease among smokers and already has taken the lives of many. My uncle also suffered from lung cancer due to smoking effects. He was suggested to quit smoking by one of the best lungs specialists in Islamabad.
People Being Affected By Smoking:
- A survey shows that around 6 million people die from lung disease caused by smoking.
- 8% of high school students say that they smoke once a month.
- People avoid the doctor’s prescription and warning but continue smoking.
- Infected lungs have killed around 480,000 people every year in the US.
- Lung cancer has become one of the most common death causes as it has already hit 90% of lives worldwide.
Major Lung Diseases caused by Smoking
Many cigarette manufacturing companies have labeled their packet “smoking is injurious to health”, but still, people do not quit smoke. We are here with the most common lung diseases caused by smoking.
1. Emphysema
Smoking damages the tissues that are responsible for carrying oxygen to the blood. It breaks down the elastic walls of the lungs, and this condition is known as emphysema. It develops shortness of breath due to weak inner walls of air sacs.
Symptoms:
- Shortness of breath during physical activity
- Chest tightness
- Frequent cough
- Whistling sound during breathing
Treatment
Emphysema is a disease that does not show its signs at an early stage. People are often diagnosed with 2-3 stages of emphysema. There is no precise cure but often treated with medications, lung transplant, protein therapy, oxygen therapy, etc. Avoid smoking can help to prevent people from death or any worsen condition.
2. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease COPD
When inflammation occurs in bronchial tubes in the lungs, it causes breathing issues. A cough with a lot of mucus is a sign that you have a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. Smoking is the major cause of COPD, but it can also happen in non-smokers’ bodies.
Symptoms
- Shortness in breathing
- Tightness in chest
- Lack of energy
- Wheezing
- Frequent respiratory infections
Treatment
Patients with COPD go under different therapies, including Trelegy Ellipta, Breztri aerosphere inhalation aerosol. This combo of therapies is approved by FDA.
3. Lung Cancer
Lung cancer has already killed 90% of people worldwide. After research, it has been proved that lung cancer is caused by smoking. Passive smoking can also cause lung cancer and increase the death risks.
Symptoms
- Coughing up blood
- Chest infection
- Tiredness
- Lack of energy
- Cough that goes for more than 2 or 3 weeks.
Treatment
- Early signs can prevent you from high-risks. Pulmonologists treat lung cancer with:
- Surgery to cut out cancer tissues.
- Radiation therapy kills cancer.
- Chemotherapy to shrink cancer.
- Targeted therapy to stop the cancer cells’ growth.
4. Heart Disease
When a person smokes, it forms plaque in our blood vessels. Clots block the arteries that carry the blood to the heart muscles. Smokers often suffer from heart disease because it causes the thinning or thickening of the blood. We can’t say that the heart is the only organ that cigarette affects the most, but it can damage every organ of the body. Heart diseases are the major cause of the death rate in the US so far.
Symptoms
Chest pain
Shortness in breathing
Neck pain
Coldness in legs or arms
Chest pressure
Chest discomfort
Treatment
The most effective way to get a healthy heart back is to quit smoking. Your heart will rebound the right way when you stop smoking. Cardiologists often prescribe some painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the symptoms. It can take 15 years to fully recover your heart.
5. Asthma
People with early asthma symptoms are riskier because smoking can develop severe damage to the lungs. Smoke narrows the airways and makes them swollen by filling them with mucus. It increases the chances of asthma attacks and leads to more severe breathing issues.
Symptoms
Breathing faster
Drowsiness
Fainting
Breathless to sleep or speak
Blue fingers
Treatment
Discussion with a doctor can avoid serious damage to your lungs. If you are an asthma patient, you shouldn’t smoke, or you will be at high risk to develop breathing issues. A pulmonologist can prescribe you long-term medications but remember. Such medicines can also have side effects. You shouldn’t smoke if you have breathing issues.
Secondhand Smoke and Smoking Effects
Breathed out by smokers can affect the people who don’t smoke. Secondhand smoke kills around 7000 people each year. Children are the most common victim of secondhand smoke.
Symptoms:
- Shortness in breathing
- Frequent ear infection
- Asthma attack
- Frequent sneezing
- Coughing
Treatment
There is the only treatment that involves managing your exposure to smokers.
What Quit Smoking Brings into Your Life?
Experts from Islamabad medicure hospital has come with a search that says quit smoking can:
- Reduce the chances of lung diseases
- Minimize the heart rate issues
- Reduced the cough
- Eliminate the cigarette smell
- Save your money
- Let you Enjoy healthy life
- People will not avoid sitting next to you.
Now, it’s Your Turn to Quit Smoking!
We can’t deny how lung health can give us a quality life even in our late 60s. A healthy diet for the lungs, such as leafy greens, tomatoes, garlic, etc., can prevent us from many infections, but smoking effects can ruin every effort we make. You should also consider quitting smoking as it will also let the people enjoy your company. Here, we would like to share that smoking does not bring a single type of cancer but can cause at least a dozen of cancers. Some diseases minimize the survival rates of the patients. Studies reveal that parents who smoke also affect their children with secondhand smoke that can result in asthma or other breathing issues.