When a person smokes at least two to three times in a day then their lungs get affected by it. Their lungs and breathing path get irritated by the chemicals that you inhale while you smoke. And your body’s way to react to this is by coughing these unwanted substances out. This is known as the smoker’s cough.
Symptoms
There are certain symptoms of smokers cough which tell you that this coughing is due to smoking. The smoker so the cough will be persistent coughing. It may have small breaks in between but it will continue again. Also this kind of cough is mucus free. So it’s a dry and chronic cough. But sometimes the cough may turn into a mucus cough. The colour of the mucus will tell how bad the lung infection is. Other than this there will also be shortness of breath, chest pain and wheezing.
What other problems does the smoker’s cough cause?
When it sis said that smoking is harmful for your health that is 100% true. It slowly and gradually affects your health and leads to major illnesses. There are certain fibers in your trachea and your nose that do the job of pushing out the irritants from your body. By smoking you damage these fibers and they are not able to do their job. So this damaged fiber cannot move the mucus and this leads to excess mucus in your body. And that leads to more coughing.
Furthermore it can cause other illnesses that are respiratory in nature because the fibers of your body are damaged and are not working. These fibers fight off germs from your body and when they are not there to do their job then our immune system becomes weak and we are more prone to colds and flu.
The smokers cough is an indication that your body is tired and badly affected by this habit of yours. Smoking, once you become an addict of it then it is difficult to leave it. But one’s life is more important than your craving for a smoke.
Smokers cough may also be the first step towards lung cancer. You may not feel it but smoking slowly and gradually exposes you to toxic substances. And this affects your lungs badly. And also the damage of your fiber leads you to have viral infections. All of these things lead to lung cancer. The other illnesses that are lead by the smokers cough are Bronchitis, Pneumonia and Emphysema.
Treatments
The most important treatment for your smokers cough is to quit smoking. It is difficult and takes time to completely give it up but once you start and have a strong will power you may be able to accomplish your goal. Once you quit it the smokers cough will also stop.
Since the smokers cough just doesn’t go away so if it is really serious then you should see a doctor and he will prescribe you some medication. It is also advised that you do aerobics. Aerobics help in your intake of air. As a heavy smoker you may have short of breath all the time. And aerobics helps with this problem. Also it helps you let out the stored up mucus. And it’s good that you cough it all out.
There are certain homemade cough remedies to treat smokers cough too. Drinking lots water calms our throat and it’s less painful to cough. Since smokers cough is also a type of cough so the remedies that are there for coughing can also be used for treatment of smokers cough.
Drinking herbal teas and eating honey also helps in soothing your throat. Your throat is tired of coughing and it needs to be calmed down a bit. Drinking hot liquids also helps with soothing your throat and for sometime the coughing stops.
Also taking a steam with herbs in the hot boiling water is the best home remedy for your smokers cough. For that you have to sit in front of the boiling water and take in the steam. This helps in stopping the cough. And you would have to do this at least 2 to 3 times in a week.
Smokers cough is the side effect of you being a heavy smoker. It tells you that your body is fighting and is tired and you should do something about it. Deciding to quit smoking is a big decision but actually maintaining that decision and following it is even bigger. By quitting smoking your smokers cough won’t magically go away it takes time. It is better that you quit smoking at an earlier stage, rather than realizing it when you already have developed a serious illness.
