i am 19 and i have been smoking on and off since i was 16. I have been pretty steady at a pack or so a day. I am now quitting and wondering how severe the damage could be that i have done in that amount of time. I am getting into some martial arts and i am curious as to if i will ever be able to compete at the same level as everyone else. I am def short of beath fairly easy...but do you think i have ruined my lungs or can i come out of it?
2007-01-19 02:18:19 · 6 answers · asked by etowner123 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Respiratory Diseases
smoking apack/day that long is horrible to ur lungs... they're probally kinda bad... but hey!! good news!!since you've stopped ur lungs will start to clean themselves out...slowly. You should have completely healthy lungs in a year or two!! good luck!
2007-01-19 02:30:31 · answer #1 · answered by jeza_babi_89 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
After around three months, the lungs may have regained the capacity to clean themselves properly, depending on whether irreparable lung damage has occurred, and blood flow to the limbs will have improved. The long term benefits of quitting tobacco are impressive. If stopped for 5 to 15 years many of the risk factors return to a level close to that of people who have never smoked. Regardless of age, life expectancy goes up, and the risk of lung cancer comes down if quitting takes place prior to the development of cancer or other serious disease. You could go and have a check up just to see if there has been any damage. It will be good for your peace of mind. It's good that you are doing martial arts as that will re-build you lungs and body. You should also look into other activities which will hasten the healing. Running, swimming are excellent healing activities..There are some excellent sites go to Google and search "Recovery from smoking" Also reading books by those who have quit is helpful. See big lists of best sellers on AMAZON.com. Wish you the best.
2007-01-19 11:08:22 · answer #2 · answered by Mukunda M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Obviously smoking is bad. Its good that you have decided to quit. you said you have smoked 1 pack a day for 3 yrs, that's a lot. The lungs never fully heal when there is damage from smoking, but because your young they will clear up and regenerate a good bit. You will probably experience shortness of breath for awhile, and coughing up of some nasty dark colored sputum, but as you begin to heal you will notice a decrease in shortness of breath and clearing of your sputum.
I would recommend going to your doctor for the shortness of breath. Let him know you have quit smoking, and he may decided to put you on a bronchodilator to help keep your airways open and decrease your shortness of breath. This will allow you to be more active with less side effects.
So don't give up on your Martial Arts, you can definitely achieve the same level as everyone else, it might just take you a little longer and extra work to do it. Good Luck to you!!!
2007-01-19 21:19:33 · answer #3 · answered by nikkiRT 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Years of smoking cause damage to the airways in the lungs. This lung damage continues to progress with the use of tobacco.Average current and former smokers will likely not notice or acknowledge symptoms for several years. Typically, they will begin noticing the first symptoms of shortness of breath when they reach their 40s.
2007-01-19 10:26:40 · answer #4 · answered by DemoDicky 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Quitting can only help you. Since you are young and have only smoked for a few years, chances are that your breathing will improve dramatically from quitting. In the long run, you're doing yourself a big favor.
2007-01-19 10:23:41 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stop smoking. Your lungs will heal themselves.
2007-01-19 10:23:39 · answer #6 · answered by allisoneast 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋