Often, heavy smokers are faced with a deterioration in health: they note the appearance of a cough with phlegm, shortness of breath, interruptions in the work of the heart. In addition, smoking has a negative effect on appearance: the teeth turn yellow, the complexion becomes dull, and the skin becomes dry. Therefore, almost all smokers at least once tried to quit.
However, instead of feeling better right away, many people find that they literally hurt everything after smoking their last cigarette. As a result, a person goes back to smoking, choosing, as it seems to him, the lesser of evils.
Let's see why certain unpleasant symptoms can appear with a strong rejection of cigarettes. What to do if a person stops smoking but has health problems?
Processes in the body after quitting smoking.
Every smoker who decides to quit smoking must understand that their dependence on tobacco is not only psychological in nature, but also physiological. Nicotine in the literal sense of the word is included in the body's metabolism. Therefore, the reason you feel bad about quitting is a condition similar to drug withdrawal. The fact that a person, after being linked to an addiction, began to get sick, suggests that the body is rebuilding itself to function without the participation of nicotine.
In addition, it should be understood that these health problems are temporary and will cease to bother after the adjustment period has elapsed. In other words, someone who is determined to quit smoking should be patient and just spend this time during which they will encounter unpleasant symptoms.
Important!For the sake of justice, it should be noted that not all of yesterday's smokers face pronounced problems. Someone has a very strong withdrawal syndrome, while others quit simply and easily.
Gastrointestinal tract
Disruption of the gastrointestinal tract is noticed every two people who quit smoking. Most often, in this case, people note that they have a stomach ache, since against the background of refusing cigarettes, a decrease in intestinal tone may appear. As a result, increased gas production and constipation begin to worry us.
The situation is no less common when a person has stopped smoking and is ill. Heartburn often appears after you quit smoking. The reason for such symptoms is the action of tobacco smoke, which, entering the stomach, irritates its walls and provokes the appearance of gastritis.
However, while a person continues to smoke, nicotine has an antispasmodic effect to some extent and reduces pain. When the intake of an alkaloid in the body is stopped, gastric juice with a higher level of acidity irritates the mucous membrane, leading to heartburn, nausea, and pain.
Also, if a person stops smoking and notices that their stomach starts to hurt, the reason may be a stomach or duodenal ulcer formed during the addiction. This is a serious disease that requires the supervision of a gastroenterologist. Therefore, if a patient stops smoking and experiences heartburn, nausea and belching, constipation, and abdominal pain, he should seek the help of a specialist as soon as possible.
Skin problems
Many yesterday's smokers notice pimples on their face and back after quitting. There may be several reasons for this phenomenon:
- Changes in vascular tone. During the active effect of nicotine on the body, the smoker's skin dries up and the small vessels that feed it are in a spasmodic state. When quitting smoking, the opposite process can be observed: an increase in oily skin. The high level of sebum production, in turn, is an excellent precedent for the formation of acne;
- If a person stops smoking and has acne, this may indicate a hormonal imbalance, which can also occur in the body in the context of quitting smoking. It should be remembered that quitting smoking puts stress on the body, which can affect all its organs and systems;
- Pimples after smoking can form due to a banal exacerbation of acne for the same reason: a stressful situation in which the body finds itself during restructuring to a new mode of operation;
- Finally, the appearance of skin problems can be explained by the fact that, by giving up a bad habit, a person is so exhausted from struggling with the urge to smoke that he simply does not have the strength to take care of the skin. As a result, acne on the face is formed due to banal violations of hygiene rules, especially if the skin is initially predisposed to the appearance of such problems.
Throat and oral cavity
Common complaints from those who decide to quit smoking are also a sore throat and "scratching" in the throat. As an example, consider a situation: a woman stops smoking and notices that her throat has started to hurt. If she before that she could drown those symptoms with a cigarette, then with a high degree of probability the smoker will go back to smoking. Meanwhile, it should be understood that a sore throat is also a temporary phenomenon, which is caused by the process of clearing the airways or the exacerbation of a chronic infection against the background of nicotine rejection.
Another problem of yesterday's smokers is bleeding gums. Sometimes the process is so pronounced that after rejecting a cigarette, the teeth hurt and become less durable.
The main reason why a person who decides to quit smoking has bleeding gums, stomatitis or loose teeth is a decrease in immunity in the context of rejecting nicotine. It becomes difficult for a weakened body to resist gingivitis and cavities, which have formed during the time of tobacco addiction.
Joint and back pain, varicose veins
Often yesterday's smokers have a feeling of stiff back and joint pain. It would seem that there can be no connection between quitting smoking and the fact that, for example, a back pain. However, the appearance of such symptoms can have several explanations at the same time.
If a person stops smoking and their legs hurt, this may indicate a manifestation of so-called drug withdrawal. It is no secret that nicotine has the effect of a weak drug, therefore, when it stops entering the body, it is quite possible that phantom pains appear throughout the body.
Attention!Another explanation for the fact that a smoker has joint pain after quitting a bad habit is the exacerbation of chronic diseases (arthritis, osteoarthritis) in a stressful situation for the body. In this regard, if his legs hurt after a lot of smoking and the joint pain does not go away in a few days, he should seek the help of a doctor.
Other side effects after quitting smoking
The listed symptoms are not a complete list of the problems that a person may face when deciding to kick a bad habit. Almost all ex-smokers during the first days of quitting smoking notice weakness, weakness, general malaise.
Without cigarettes, addicts become nervous and irritable. It is not surprising that many of them do not withstand such a test and soon break down, lighting a cigarette again.
Normalization period
However, those who were able to endure the difficult first period after quitting tobacco soon notice an improvement in their well-being. The phenomena of the so-called withdrawal usually disappear at the end of the first week. In a month, the work of the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels is restored. The skin is no longer dry and bad breath disappears.
Complete normalization of the status of most ex-smokers usually occurs no later than six months after they quit smoking completely.
Conclution
Although it can be very difficult to kick a bad habit, generally none of the people who quit tobacco regrets the decision they made. Smoking actually causes significant damage to the body, so when you stop using nicotine, people actually get healthier, feel better, and look better.