The lungs are organs of the respiratory system in humans and utmost other creatures. Their function in the respiratory system is to prize oxygen from the air and transfer it into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere, in a process of gas exchange.
Humans have two lungs, one on the left and one on the right. They’re positioned within the thoracic depression of the casket. The right lung is bigger and heavier than the left wing, which shares space in the casket with the heart.
The lungs together weigh roughly 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds). The lungs are part of the lower respiratory tract that begins at the trachea and branches into the bronchi and bronchioles, and which admit air breathed in via the conducting zone.
The lungs of a person who smokes becomes larger, discolored, and inflamed compared to those of a person who doesn’t bomb.
There are several factors which affect lung function, in one way or the other which includes inheritable conditions, infections, and environmental exposures, and smoking always remains one of the most dangerous factors which affects lungs poorly by changing its structural and functional corridor.
Let’s bandy the functional and structural differences between a smoker’s lungs and healthy lungs. Moving on we will give some tips on quitting smoking and on perfecting lung function.
Healthy Lungs
If we talk about healthy lungs, they look like sponges which are pink, squishy, and can be squeezed normally and get expanded with each breath we take. Their main function of lungs is to take oxygen out of the air you breathe and pass it into your blood.
When we inhale oxygen, that air enters your body through your windpipe, the tube that connects our mouth and nose with our lungs. The air then passes through bronchial tubes, which causes movement of air in and out of our lungs.
Air keeps moving until it reaches tiny balloon-like air sacs called alveoli. Then the oxygen moves into our blood. And, if we talk about the exhale process, lungs help to throw out carbon dioxide out of our body thus cleaning our blood. But, smoking causes imbalance in this process.
Have a look at how to clean lungs.
Smoker’s Lungs
A single cigarette smoke has almost or even more than 7,000 chemicals, and 10% of it is involved in causing cancer.
When we breathe it in, these toxins result in inflammation of lungs once it reaches it resulting in high production of mucus by liver that is actually causing imbalance of lungs functioning causing problems like coughing, bronchitis, and even leading pneumonia.
To elaborate further, one should know what actually these toxins affect the lungs. It actually causes swelling of airways in the lungs resulting in problems like tightness of chest, wheezing and even shortness of breath.
If smoking continues for a longer term, it results in developing scar on tissues inside the lungs and also resulting in blackish lungs from pinkish one.
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Smoker’s Lungs Recovery After Quitting
Once you quit smoking, you can actually stop causing more damage to lungs. Over time, we can observe an increase in lung capacity and also other benefits of quitting smoking habits. What actually happens to lungs? We will learn further how it gets repaired?
As once we quit smoking, replacement of dormant cells starts which actually works to repair damaged cell lining passing through the airways causing gradual healing and regeneration of lungs, thereby leading to declined risks to lung cancer.
Recovery of lung cells depends upon the extent of smoker one was, i.e. long time smoker or rare smoker. If smoking results in COPD, the alveolar cells cannot be restored easily but can stop further degeneration and make breathers better and fresher.
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What Happens to Lungs After Quitting Smoking?
- Within 20 minutes, heart rate and blood pressure drops
- After few days, carbon monoxide level in blood starts declining
- After a few weeks to months, blood circulation improves and even lungs start functioning normally.
- Within a year, cilia starts functioning normally and helps in cleaning lungs by removing mucus and decreasing the risk of infection.
Here is fatty liver grade 2.
Benefits of Quitting Smoking
- Reduced risk of heart attack
- Reduced risk of lung cancer
- Reduced risk of lung infections
- Reduced risk of chronic problems like pneumonia, COPD
- Decline in risk of strokes
- Improved oxygenated blood circulation
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Smoker’s Lung X-ray
As x-ray of every smoker cannot be the same because of different doses the person smokes. Here are some of the differences.
- Outer layer is covered with black membrane and becomes more dense with more smoking
- Increase in size of lungs
- Inflammatory black dots
- Alveolar dilation for barrel shaped lungs
- Dilated intercostal spaces
Otherwise normal lungs are ruddy without any abnormal signs on the x-ray film.
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