Pneumonia is a serious condition that can be diagnosed in adults and children of all ages. It is necessary to take a responsible approach to its treatment, therefore, many bad habits must be put aside, including smoking. Without self-control, therapy will not give a quick effect, moreover, complications may appear.
Why smoking is not recommended for pneumonia
Cigarettes have a negative impact on human health. First of all, the blow is taken by the organs of the respiratory system, including the lungs. Medical statistics confirm that many smokers go to the doctor with airway inflammation.
Resins are deposited in the lungs, filling the alveoli, and preventing the patient from breathing deeply. Tobacco causes the following negative changes:
- The functioning of the ciliated epithelium and the intensity of the cilia of the bronchial mucosa are impaired, which makes sputum more difficult to remove from the bronchi and lungs. Pneumonia itself is characterized by increased secretion of mucus, so when smoking there is a risk of “congestion”, pain, nausea and suffocation.
- Smoking impairs the defenses, so it is easier for infections to enter the body and attach to the epithelium of the respiratory organs.
- The permeability of the vessels increases, and their walls also become less elastic. As a result, with a strong cough, the capillaries in the mucous walls can break, therefore, smoking patients often notice blood clots in the sputum.
- Harmful substances of cigarettes provoke pneumonia and reduce the effectiveness of therapy.
The beneficial dynamics from medications and procedures go astray with regular smoking. At the same time, not only cigarettes and cigarillos do harm , but also hookah, since it also contains harmful impurities and causes inflammation of the mucous membrane. Some believe that e-cigarettes are not harmful, but doctors have documented a direct link between their use and the incidence of lung cancer.
Many patients quit smoking during therapy, while some of them do not return to the bad habit. This is the right decision, because with repeated craving for cigarettes, inflammation can recur for the following reasons:
- Tar and nicotine are deposited in the lungs, so organ deformation is likely. Because of this, the supply of oxygen to all body systems is disrupted.
- After suffering pneumonia, the paired organ still needs some time to recover – this process can take more than one year. If you smoke immediately after the diagnosis is “healthy”, the tissue does not have time to regenerate, since the harmful substances in the cigarette have a destructive effect.
The addiction can lead to the chronicity of the inflammatory process. The transition of the disease to this stage is fraught with complications that make a person disabled or kill. Smoking is especially dangerous for adolescents, since their body has not yet stopped developing. If you harm yourself at the stage of growing up, then in 10-15 years the habit will result in serious illnesses.
Possible consequences
Cigarettes contain many harmful compounds that are very difficult to remove from the body:
- Tar. Causes damage to lung tissue and causes cancer.
- Arsenic. This is one of the most dangerous poisons for humans.
- Vinyl chloride. With an impressive experience, smoking has a negative effect on the liver, and also provokes the appearance of malignant tumors. With short-term exposure to the substance, headache, dizziness and fatigue appear.
- Cadmium and Nickel. Poison the kidneys and urinary system.
- Formaldehyde. Causes cancer.
- Ammonia. Poisons the body.
Cigarette composition
- Polonium 210. Increases the risk of cancer, and the impact extends to all systems.
- Hydrogen cyanide. When you inhale this compound, fatigue appears and your head begins to ache.
- Acrolein. The substance is considered a carcinogen because it has a strong effect on the lungs, causing emphysema.
- Carbon monoxide. Poisons a person and can even lead to death.
- Toluene. Negatively affects memory, appetite and body tone.
- Urea. It becomes the cause of addiction, since the aroma of cigarettes depends on this ingredient.
- Benzoperine . Affects the genetic structure of DNA, therefore, women who smoke often have children with congenital diseases.
- Ethylene. Causes drowsiness and loss of energy.
Smoking has a negative impact on the treatment process. Typical symptoms of pneumonia are manifested in the following symptoms:
- paroxysmal cough that starts out dry and becomes wet after 2-3 days;
- shortness of breath, shortness of breath, chest pain;
- hyperthermia, in which the thermometer readings can rise to 39 ° C;
- sweating at night, as the temperature drops during sleep;
- lethargy, loss of appetite and weight, fatigue, a person may become depressed.
If the patient smokes for pneumonia, treatment will not be effective. The cough starts to get worse, and it becomes harder to breathe. The fact is that the resins clog the alveoli, which is why the patient cannot take a full breath, and with inflammation of the lung tissue, the situation only gets worse.
First, with incomplete breathing, the blood in the pulmonary vessels begins to stagnate, since it cannot drain normally. Subsequently, there is a risk of pleurisy – inflammation of the pleural sheets and lung abscess, which is an alarming signal of deterioration of health.
Secondly, a lack of oxygen is diagnosed, since a person does not breathe deeply. Because of this, all body systems suffer, and primarily the nervous and cardiovascular. Memory deteriorates, the transmission of signals from the brain to peripheral nerve centers is inhibited. The heart and blood vessels weaken, and the cells do not have time to recover.
Thirdly, smoking during pneumonia or other inflammatory processes provokes the growth of pathology. The area of the lesion increases rapidly, and it becomes more difficult for the body to cope with the disease.
Tobacco smoke inhibits the therapeutic effect. Pneumonia is a disease in which antibiotics and antiviral drugs play a large role, but microorganisms quickly adapt to the drug. For this reason, doctors have to select serious complex medicines. Smoking makes it much harder to recover and experience the beneficial effects of medication. Moreover, antibacterial agents themselves have a strong effect on health, since they destroy not only harmful microflora, but also useful ones. It can be concluded that when treating pneumonia, the load on the body is already large, and it is impossible to aggravate the situation with cigarettes.
It is better not to combine smoking and treatment of pneumonia, as the consequences can be quite severe. Doctors recommend that patients give up their bad habit – and for good reason, because cigarettes in many cases cause inflammation of the respiratory system. While it is not easy to quit smoking, the need for it is obvious.