It’s common knowledge that smoking affects your lungs, but you may not know it can also affect your sinuses. No matter if you smoke cigars, cigarettes, or vapes, the nicotine and toxins you inhale can mess with your nose’s natural function.
If you’re wondering how exactly smoking can affect your sinus health, keep reading from your Edinburg ENT team. Our experience in the ear, nose, and throat profession means we can help you!
Your nose has small hair-like particles called cilia that help protect your respiratory system from germs and move mucus along. Cigarettes and other smoking products can contain hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, damaging cilia. When you no longer have healthy cilia, you’re without protection against harmful pathogens and allergens.
Your nose is the first line of defense against sickness, and when the cilia in your nose aren’t functioning correctly, mucus begins to build up. The passages in your nose get clogged, and bacteria or viruses start attacking your sinuses, which can cause a frustrating and annoying sinus infection.
You don’t necessarily have to be a smoker yourself to be at risk for a sinus infection from inhaling smoke — sinus infections are also common among secondhand smokers. Sinus infections can be a result of just breathing in too much smoke.
Because damaged cilia cause mucus to build up in your nose, you may develop post-nasal drip. Post-nasal drip occurs when built-up mucus starts leaking into your throat, leading to coughing or clearing your throat more often as your body tries to clear the blockages. This is known as a smoker’s cough.
As we’ve already established, smoking causes mucus to build up in the nasal cavity. This build-up may make you feel more congested, especially in the mornings. Smoking also increases the risk of developing sleep apnea.
While smoking does affect your body in many different ways, it’s never too late to quit! When you stop smoking, you may notice an improvement in your smoker’s cough, runny nose, congestion, and watery eyes. While healing can take some time, it can do a world of good!
Keeping your sinuses healthy and happy is important since they can affect your sleep, breathing, and immune system! As you can see, smoking can damage so much of our nasal health. The smoke we breathe isn’t good and even affects our loved one’s health.
It’s hard to stop smoking, and we get that! If you’re finding it hard to quit, your doctor may be able to help you. Let our understanding and experienced ear, nose, and throat team at the Glatz Group help you get your sinuses back to protecting your body as they should!
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