Heavy smokers often face deteriorating health: they notice the appearance of cough with sputum, shortness of breath, interruptions in the work of the heart. In addition, smoking has a negative effect on appearance: teeth turn yellow, complexion becomes dull and skin becomes dry. Therefore, almost every smoker at least once tried to give up the bad habit.
However, instead of feeling better right away, many people find that they literally hurt everyone after smoking their last cigarette. As a result, one returns to smoking, choosing, as it seems to him, the lesser of evils.
Let's see why some unpleasant symptoms can occur with abrupt cessation of cigarettes? What to do if a person quits smoking but has health problems?
Processes in the body after quitting smoking
Every smoker who decides to quit smoking must understand that his addiction to tobacco is not only psychological but also physiological. Nicotine is literally involved in the body's metabolism. Therefore, the cause of malaise when quitting smoking is a condition similar to drug withdrawal. The fact that a person, after becoming addicted, has become ill suggests that the body is recovering to work without the involvement of nicotine.
In addition, it should be understood that these health problems are temporary and will cease to be a concern once the adaptation period has expired. In other words, someone who is determined to quit smoking must be patient and just go through the time during which he will encounter unpleasant symptoms.
Important!In fairness, it should be noted that not all yesterday's smokers face significant problems. Some have a very strong withdrawal syndrome, while others simply and easily give up cigarettes.
Gastrointestinal tract
Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract are noted by every second person who quits smoking. Most often in this case, people notice that they have pain in the stomach, because against the background of quitting cigarettes may appear a decrease in intestinal tone. As a result, increased gas production and constipation are beginning to worry.
It is not uncommon for a person to give up cigarettes and get sick. Heartburn often occurs after quitting smoking. The cause of such symptoms is the action of tobacco smoke, which, entering the stomach, irritates its walls and provokes gastritis.
However, as long as a person continues to smoke, nicotine has some antispasmodic effect and reduces pain. When the intake of an alkaloid in the body stops, gastric juice with increased acidity irritates the mucous membranes, leading to heartburn, nausea and pain.
In addition, if a person quits smoking and notices that his stomach starts to hurt, the cause 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 the patient quits smoking and notices heartburn, nausea and belching, constipation and abdominal pain, he should seek professional help as soon as possible.
Skin problems
Many of yesterday's smokers noticed pimples on their faces and backs after quitting smoking. 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 becomes dry and the small vessels that feed it are in a spasmodic state. When you quit smoking, the opposite process can be observed - an increase in oily skin. The high level of sebum production in turn is an excellent background for the formation of acne;
- If a person quits smoking and has acne, it may indicate a hormonal imbalance, which can also occur in the body against the background of nicotine withdrawal. It should be remembered that quitting smoking is a stress for the body, which can affect all its organs and systems;
- Pimples after smoking can be formed due to the banal exacerbation of acne for the same reason: a stressful situation in which the body falls during the restructuring to a new mode of operation;
- Finally, the appearance of skin problems can be explained by the fact that abandoning a bad habit, a person is so exhausted from fighting 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 prone to the appearance of such problems.
Throat and oral cavity
Common complaints of those who decide to quit smoking are also sore throat and "scratching" in the throat. As an example, consider a situation: a woman quits smoking and notes that her throat has started to hurt. If she has previously been able to suppress such symptoms with a cigarette, then it is very likely that the smoker will return to cigarettes. Meanwhile, it should be understood that sore throat is also a temporary phenomenon caused by the process of airway cleansing. or exacerbation of a chronic infection with nicotine withdrawal.
Another problem of yesterday's smokers is bleeding gums. Sometimes the process is so pronounced that after giving up 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 against the background of nicotine withdrawal. The weakened body becomes difficult to resist gingivitis and caries that have formed during tobacco addiction.
Joint and back pain, varicose veins
Often smokers yesterday have a feeling of stiffness in the back and joint pain. There seems to be no connection between quitting tobacco and the fact that, for example, back pain. However, the appearance of such symptoms can have several explanations at once.
If a person quits smoking and his legs hurt, this may indicate a manifestation of the so-called. Withdrawal of drugs. 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 pain will occur throughout the body.
Attention!Another explanation for the fact that the smoker has joint pain after giving up a bad habit is the exacerbation of chronic diseases (arthritis, osteoarthritis) in a stressful situation for the body. In this regard, if your feet hurt after smoking and the joint pain does not go away within a few days, you should seek medical help.
Other side effects after quitting smoking
The symptoms listed are not a complete list of problems that a person may face when deciding to get rid of a bad habit. Almost all ex-smokers in the first days of quitting noted weakness, weakness, malaise.
Without cigarettes, addicts become nervous and irritable. Not surprisingly, many of them did not withstand such a test and soon broke down, lighting a cigarette again.
Period of normalization
Those who managed to endure the difficult first period after quitting tobacco soon noticed an improvement in their well-being. The phenomena of the so-calledWithdrawals usually disappear by the end of the first week. Within a month, the work of the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels is restored. The skin stops drying and the bad breath disappears.
Complete normalization of the condition of most ex-smokers usually occurs no later than six months after complete cessation of smoking.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that it can be very difficult to give up a bad habit, usually none of the people who have given up tobacco regret the decision they have made. Smoking really causes significant damage to the body, so when you stop consuming nicotine, people actually become healthier, feel better and look better.