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: How long before you can get the lung function of a person who has never smoked? |
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Reply
| | | From: Joel (Original Message) | Sent: 3/29/2006 3:27 PM |
I'm a 25 year pack-a-day smoker, now going cold turkey at 2 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes, and not suffering too much, for the most part, and very, very glad for your advice about blood sugar!
My question is: How long will it take (if ever) for my lung function to become that of someone who never smoked? I've taken up rowing as exercise -- I love it, but if I want to get better at it my stamina will have to improve, thus my question about lung function.
Thanks!
Melissa |
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Reply
| | | From: Joel | Sent: 3/29/2006 3:29 PM |
Hello Melissa:
It is possible for a person who has smoked for many years to get back the lung function of a person who has never smoked. Not because the lungs can repair the underlying lung tissue that has been destroyed by smoking, because the lungs cannot in fact repair this destroyed tissue. The reason a person may get back the lung function of a never smoker is that we are born with a whole lot more lung tissue than we actually use or need. Years or decades of smoking destroys tissue with every puff but it is possible that a person has not destroyed enough to actually have permanently taken out breathing capability.
Within about three months a person who has quit smoking can improve his or her lung function up to 30%. Again, this is not from regrowing new underlying lung tissue, but more so from regeneration of tissue within the bronchus which carries cilia that enables the lungs to open up these large airways making airflow more efficient and thus easier for the lungs to breath. On top of this stop smoking ends the process of inhaling massive doses of carbon monoxide produced by tobacco smoke, meaning that the blood is getting much more oxygen with every breath of air that a person inhales. This reduces the workload on the lungs and the heart.
Read the articles Smoking's Impact on the Lungs and Circulatory disease at www.whyquit.com to see how all of these mechanisms are intertwined.
It is important to note here, that once a person has smoked enough to destroy tissue that was not reserve capacity, he or she will likely have some degree of permanent breathing impairment for the rest of his or her life. That is why it is so beneficial to quit before the diagnosis of a disease like emphysema or any other form of COPD. Once the diseases has progressed to a diagnosable condition, the person is not likely going to be able to have the lung function he or she would have had if he or she had never smoked. Quitting though does greatly slow the progression of the disease that can occur over time with normal aging and as said in the opening here, even these people can have some great initial improvements in lung function because of the repair of the bronchial tissue.
The way for any smoker to maximize breathing ability he or she will have for the rest of his or her life is to make and stick to a personal commitment to never take another puff.
Joel
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Reply
| | | From: Joel | Sent: 3/29/2006 3:39 PM |
I see the links did not come through above. Here they are: |
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