Will my lungs repair themselves after quitting smoking and how long does it take!
Question:
Will my lungs repair themselves after quitting smoking and how long does it take?
I recently quit smoking and I'm very proud of myself because it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Now that I think I'm in the clear from going back to it, I'm wondering if my lungs will undue the damage I have done to them and how long it will take. I smoked for about 19 years.
Answers:
Congratulations!
There are three general areas of damage caused by cigarettes:
- Functional problems. Things like no taste, no smell, hacking cough, energy level will return within a few days after quitting smoking.
- Cancer and heart disease. The risk of cancer drops gradually after quitting, and levels out after about 5 years at only slightly more than the average person. In other words, if you quit for at least 5 years and don't get cancer in that time, your chances of getting it are then only a little more than the average person. Similar arguments hold for your risk of heart disease.
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) - Emphysema, which is destruction of the walls of the alveoli, will never recover, but it will get worse with continued smoking. Chronic bronchitis, which is damage to the walls of the bronchioles, will sometimes get better, but again, it will get worse with continued smoking.
If that's not reason enough to quit smoking I don't know what else is. Good luck and congratulations again!