Do Lungs Heal After Quitting Smoking

People who smoke have the chance of dying because of it.

This is commonly known. 

Okay, You had your first cigarette (or loads of them). Can you reverse this?

If you are wondering if it is possible to counteract the damages caused by smoking or if you are going to be stuck with bad respiratory health for the rest of your life?

We delved deep into research to find answers to these questions. Read on to learn more.

To heal or not to heal:

Your lungs start healing and cleaning themselves the moment you hit the stop button on your smoking habit. Within a short time, small positive changes accumulate to become larger health advantages.

If you quit smoking before the age of 40, you reduce your chances of death from smoking by 90%!

Cool, right? But the perks do not stop there. Here is a deconstructed timeline of how the lungs go through their self-cleaning process (Note: This depends on how long you were a smoker!:

• Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide content in your body decreases. Heartbeat and blood pressure are reduced.
• Within 12 weeks, you regain some of your original blood circulation and lung function.
• Within 12 months, you will notice you cough and experience shortness of breath way less.
• Within 5-15 years, your chance of developing lung cancer, stroke, cervical cancer, and chronic disease decreases drastically.

The perks are major, and yes, the lungs heal after quitting smoking!

How should I clean my lungs?

Every smoker would have thought at some point if there is any way to “detox” their lungs after they quit smoking.

We have good and bad news for people with similar thoughts.

Bad news: You cannot do a lot to cleanse your lungs of the toxins that you accumulated via years of smoking. 

The good news; is that the lungs are self-healing and can reverse their damage on their own. You can adopt some supplementary good habits to enhance your overall well-being.

Are your lungs cleaning themselves? How will you know if the process has already started?

Well, there are particular symptoms that you can look out for, which are indications that your body is healing:

• Coughing is good: Remember, we said, coughing as a smoker is bad. But once you quit, coughing is good.

Let’s explore the science behind this. During smoking, you build up a considerable amount of mucus in your lungs, which remains after you cease.

After you smoke, your lungs start to heal, and the thin hairs called cilia are active once again. Now, they can remove the mucus from your lungs and commence the cleaning process. As a result, during the first two months of your cessation, you will continue to cough much more than normal to excrete the phlegm from your system.

This is strictly temporary and nothing to be afraid of. So stay strong and keep avoiding cigarettes.

• Improved quality of life: Better smell and taste senses improve your overall quality of life. Less breathlessness and coughing are some other perks to look out for.

How can you help your lungs clean up?

Lungs are self-healing and can generally take care of themselves, but incorporating some healthy habits into your daily lifestyle cannot hurt. Some habits you can include are:

• Drink warm liquids: People who smoke generally tend to have excess mucus buildup in their lungs. When you stop smoking, the cilia (tiny hairs in your lungs) become motile again and work to remove this excess mucus from your lungs.

When you drink warm liquids, the process of thinning out mucus accelerates. You can try drinking green tea and broth. Green tea has additional anti-inflammatory properties that can also help with the inflammation in your lungs, another side effect caused by smoking.

Additionally, green teas come in a variety of flavors, making them a treat for your palate. If you are not a fan of drinking warm liquids, you can also consider steam inhaling.

• Get your daily dose of physical activity: Exercise can increase your body capacity, and your lungs are no exception. 

By taking a simple walk daily, you can keep your air sacs open and improve your blood circulation, thus improving lung capacity.

• Include anti-inflammatory foods in your diet: Another common side effect of smoking is lung inflammation. Many anti-inflammatory foods can reverse swelling in your body, but there is no proof that they work to reduce lung inflammation. However, you can still include them in your diet since they are generally good for you. 

Some of the anti-inflammatory foods that you can include in your diet are:

1. Spinach
2. Almond
3. Blueberry
4. Cherry

• Pollutants are your biggest enemy: Since you are healing from your past habits, it is not a good idea to further expose your lungs to second-hand smoke and pollution. Do not involve yourself in situations that involve smoking. Keep your living conditions clean by regularly vacuuming and changing your appliance filters from time to time. Avoid highly polluted areas as much as possible.

FAQS:

1. Can lungs heal after 20 years of smoking?

Yes, your lungs are capable of healing after smoking. Once you stop smoking, your lungs will start healing itself. With a proper diet and good exercise, you can reduce the chances of getting any health risks associated with smoking.

2. If I quit smoking, will my lungs heal?

Yes, your lungs will heal. The healing process begins the moment you start smoking, and within a few years, you will see improvements in your overall health. 

3. How long will it take for my lungs to completely heal?

Within a few months, you can see small changes like a reduction in coughing and so on. And by the time you cross the 15-year mark, your chances of getting lung cancer are only slightly higher than that of the lifetime non-smoker.

Final Thoughts:

It is possible to regain your health prior to your smoking habit. So, if you think there is no point in quitting smoking – you cannot be further away from the truth. Your body has the uncanny ability to get back on its feet, given the right time, care, and conditioning. Therefore, give your body the love it needs and watch it heal you from inside to out.

Sources:

1. https://www.livestrong.com/article/336528-how-fast-do-your-lungs-clean-up-from-smoking/

2. https://www.healthline.com/health/quit-smoking/how-to-clean-lungs-after-quitting-smoking#natural-ways-to-clean-lungs

3. https://www.verywellhealth.com/lung-detox-8551926

4. https://www.verywellmind.com/after-the-last-cigarette-how-your-body-heals-28243885. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/quit-smoking/expert-answers/quit-smoking/faq-20057818