If you decide to go to the doctor because you are a bit worried, be certain to tell them that you just recently quit smoking. Like I said before, it is totally normal. Expect to have a productive cough (remember what that means?) and headaches (usually a normal cause of not having that extra bit of nicotine). When the cilia are fully functional, they work double time to push all the excess mucus and foreign particle that layered on the trachea while you smoked. As these cilia start to grow back, you begin with a tickle in your chest, much similar to when you start to acquire a cold. However, these cilia are not gone forever they can grow back, which is exactly what happens when you take away the harmful fumes of a cigarette. As stated earlier, smoking kills your poor little cilia and hinders the protection of your lungs. Quitting smoking is not an easy task at all! Are you noticing some flu-like symptoms? If you are, this is COMPLETELY normal.

Pneumonia is caused by fluid in the lungs to give you a clue as to how serious this may be).ĭid you get concerned and quit? I am personally very proud of you. Now that the cilia are no longer existent, you are prone to choking or aspiration (when fluid, most likely vomit, enters your trachea and travels to your lungs. When you kill the part of your body that keeps dust out of your lungs, you have a problem. When we smoke, the inhalation of smoke slowly but surely kills these little hair-like cilia. In the event that there is a foreign particle in your trachea, the cilia will move back and forth causing the particle or particles to go back up into either your nose, or down your esophagus which leads to your stomach. Most of the time if you have a productive cough (when you cough and yucky mucus comes up) it is because the cilia are trying to get some crazy junk out. These cilia function much like a broom to sweep dust and other foreign particles out of the trachea, to prevent them from entering the lungs. This can include cleaning supplies, like bleach, or things such as refilling your car's gas tank. You'll start noticing smells more and may find that certain strong odors are particularly unpleasant. An average, healthy person has a trachea lined with little hairs call cilia. About 48 hours after you quit smoking, nerve endings and senses that were deadened and blunted by smoking will begin to regenerate and re-grow. The alveoli are where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide take place in our lungs. It branches off into two bronchi, which branch off into bronchioles, which branch off into alveoli. Your trachea is where the air you breathe flows through in order to get to your lungs. Let’s focus on the sickness and break it down a bit.įirst off, we will start with a healthy trachea. Some people experience withdrawals, become intensely angry, or get sick. However, with quitting comes consequences that aren’t very appealing. Quitting smoking? Way to go, friend! It is one of the hardest habits to kick these days but with the slowing of the economy and increase in costs, more people are realizing that smoking is nasty, nasty habit.

Iquit smoking now im sick