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Quitting smoking is an important first step to help you protect the health of yourself and those around you. However, you are wondering how to clean the lungs?
While there's no quick fix to help your lungs stay as healthy as they were before you started smoking, there are a few things you can do to help your lungs repair themselves after quitting. Let's see some ways to clean the lungs in the content below.
1. Can I clean my lungs after I quit smoking? After quitting smoking, you may have a need to clean your lungs to remove accumulated toxins. Fortunately, the lungs have the ability to clean themselves. The lungs will begin the self-cleaning process from the moment you quit smoking.
The lungs are an organ system that can repair itself over time (in some cases). After you quit smoking, your lungs will slowly begin to heal and regenerate. The rate at which your lungs heal depends on how long you've smoked and how badly damaged the smoke is.
Smoking can cause 2 types of permanent damage to your lungs. They are:
Emphysema: With this disease, the small air sacs in the lungs (called alveoli) are destroyed, reducing the surface area of the lungs. At that time, the lungs cannot exchange the amount of oxygen that the body needs; Chronic bronchitis: With this condition, the smaller airways leading to the alveoli become inflamed, preventing oxygen from reaching the alveoli. These conditions are collectively known as: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
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2. What are natural ways to clear the lungs? While there's no way to reverse the scarring or lung damage caused by years of smoking, there are steps you can take to prevent further lung damage and help improve your health. improve lung health. They are:
2.1 Cough If you are wondering how to clean your lungs, you can practice active coughing. According to Dr. Keith Mortman (chief of thoracic surgery at the George Washington Medical Association in Washington, DC), a smoker is likely to accumulate a lot of mucus in the lungs. This buildup can persist after quitting smoking. Coughing is the body's way of getting rid of excess mucus, which clogs the smaller air passages and opens them up to take in oxygen.
2.2 Exercise Experts also stress the importance of physical activity. Staying active is one of the ways you can maintain and improve your lung function. Simply walking every day helps keep the air sacs in the lungs open. If these air sacs remain open, they can exchange oxygen and deliver oxygen where the body needs it.
2.3 Avoiding Pollutants Avoiding smoke, dust, mold, and chemicals will help improve lung function. Animal studies have found that exposure to filtered air reduces mucus production in the lungs. Mucus can inherently block the smaller airways, making it harder for the lungs to get oxygen.
Before going out to exercise or play, you should check the air quality of the place where you live. If it's a bad air quality day, then you should spend more time at home instead of going out.
2.4 Drink Warm Water According to the American Lung Association, drinking enough water is very important for lung health. By drinking about 2 liters of water a day (8 glasses of water), you can thin the mucus in your lungs, making it easier for you to expel the mucus in your lungs when you cough.
Drinking warm liquids such as tea, vegetable broth or warm filtered water will thin the mucus, making it easier to clear the lungs.
2.5 Drink green tea Research has shown that green tea has anti-inflammatory properties, which may prevent certain lung diseases. In a 2018 study, survey participants who drank green tea twice a day or more had a lower risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
2.6 Apply sauna therapy Try steam therapy that involves inhaling steam which can thin mucus and reduce inflammation in the airways. A 2018 study in a small group of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease found that the use of a steam mask significantly improved their breathing rate. Importantly, despite the immediate relief of symptoms, these patients did not notice any change in lung health after stopping the sauna.
2.7 Eating Anti-Inflammatory Foods Smokers' lungs can become inflamed, making it difficult to breathe. Although there is currently no scientific evidence that maintaining a diet high in anti-inflammatory foods will prevent pneumonia, there is some research that suggests it may reduce inflammation in the body.
In other words, eating anti-inflammatory foods is good for the body. These foods include: Blueberries, cherries, kale, spinach, olives, almonds,...
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3. What happens to your lungs when you smoke? First, it is necessary to talk about the working principle of the lungs. When you breathe in, air enters your airways (trachea) and splits into two airways (called bronchi), each leading to one of your lungs. The bronchi then split into smaller air passages (called bronchioles) - which are the smallest air passages in your lungs. At the end of each bronchiole are small air sacs called alveoli.
When you smoke, you inhale about 600 different compounds. These compounds can be broken down into thousands of chemicals, many of which are potentially carcinogenic.
Secondhand smoke can affect every organ in your body. Specifically:
Heart: Cigarette smoke makes blood vessels narrower, making it difficult for blood to circulate oxygen to the rest of the body and making the heart work harder; Brain: Nicotine (from tobacco) withdrawal can make you feel tired and unable to concentrate; Respiratory system: Secondhand smoke can cause the lungs to become inflamed or congested, making it difficult to breathe; Reproductive system: Over time, smoking can cause infertility and decrease sex drive. Later, smokers can suffer from many chronic diseases such as: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, some cancers,... These diseases and some diseases Other diseases related to smoking habits can affect the patient's life expectancy and quality of life.
Quitting smoking is one of the most important and best decisions for your health. When you finish smoking your last cigarette, your lungs will begin to work on self-cleaning. Please pay attention to the ways to clean the human lungs above to promote lung health.
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Reference source: healthline
