Sore Throat
Results are mixed as to whether cessation actually causes sore throats. Years of tobacco use clearly damaged and irritated tissues. Powerful toxins numbed them to tobacco's daily assaults.
A 2003 study found that while 19.7% (25/127) reported sore throats during the first week of recovery, 9.4% (12 of 127) reported that the sore throat that they had immediately prior to quitting vanished during the first week.[1]
As tissues heal and nerves re-sensitize they may feel temporarily irritated. If so, ice or cool liquids may provide soothing, and cough drops may generate moisture and temporary relief from minor discomfort.
But as a site of other more serious diseases, if mouth or throat pain or discomfort persists, the smart move is to get seen and have it medically evaluated.
Coughing, Mucus or Nasal Drip
According to the Ward study, roughly 60% in recovery reported coughing on day two, 48% by day seven, 33% by day fourteen, and 15% by day twenty-eight.[2] A 2003 study found that 79% experienced coughing during the first week (100 of 127).[1]
Cilia are microscopic hair-like projections that line nasal passages, our windpipe (trachea), and bronchial tubes. Cilia inside lung bronchial tubes linking air sacs (alveoli) to our windpipe oscillate in unison at a rate between 5 to 11 cycles per second.[3] They act as a wave-like broom or slow-moving carpet that sweeps secreted mucus, containing trapped contaminants, up and out of our lungs.[4]
Tobacco toxins inflict extreme damage and near-total destruction of a smoker's cilia. It results in roughly 50% developing a chronic cough (chronic bronchitis), as inflamed bronchial tubes and lungs fight to expel trapped mucus containing pathogens, toxins, and particulate.
The good news is that within three days of commencing recovery our cilia begin regenerating and within six months they've fully recovered.[5] They will soon be engaged in cleaning and clearing gunk from the lungs.
Years of tar build-up are loosening. Some will be spit out in phlegm or mucus but most will be swallowed. Mucus and coughing are common, yet according to the Ward study many experience neither.
Clearly, healing lungs benefit from fluids to aid with cleansing and healing. Although the "8 x 8" water drinking rule is under attack for not having any studies to back it (drinking 8 ounces of water 8 times daily),[6] "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
Ice can soothe and moisten healing tissues. Cough syrups or decongestants may also bring temporary relief from coughing or irritation. But, again, don't hesitate to get seen should your cough persist.
Although destroyed lung air sacs can never be replaced, those not yet destroyed clean up nicely. And many ex-smokers see a significant increase in lung function within six months.[7]
I couldn't run 200 feet while still smoking and thought I'd never do so again. With early emphysema, it isn't like I'm some big runner now. But I do run-walk a few hundred feet at a time at least weekly and I'm not nearly as winded when the running stops and the walking phase starts.
I thought I'd destroyed these lungs beyond repair. Sometimes it's wonderful being wrong.
Not to scare you but make an appointment and get a thorough check-up if still coughing after having stopped smoking or vaping for a month, or sooner if experiencing additional symptoms. This is the Centers for Disease Control's 2020 online list of the most common lung cancer symptoms:[8]
- Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away.
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath.
- Wheezing.
- Coughing up blood.
- Feeling very tired all the time.
- Weight loss with no known cause.
- Other changes that can sometimes occur with lung cancer may include repeated bouts of pneumonia and swollen or enlarged lymph nodes (glands) inside the chest in the area between the lungs.
Yes, a persistent cough can be a warning sign of disease, including lung cancer. A thorough examination that includes a simple chest x-ray can bring piece of mind.
Quitter's Flu
Actually, there's no such thing as "quitter's flu." If you type "quitter's flu" into a medical study search engine such as PubMed you'll discover that there are no journal articles mentioning it.
Coined online, it's a term referring to the collective flu-like effect of experiencing multiple recovery symptoms at the same time, such as a productive cough, sore throat, and possibly a headache.
What's critical to note, especially since coronavirus, is that having a fever, or feeling feverish, or experiencing chills is NOT a nicotine or smoking cessation recovery symptom.
Viruses and bacteria don't hibernate or go on vacation because we ended nicotine use. New ex-users get colds, the flu, and other life-threatening conditions too. If you think you have the flu, you need to get seen.
Chest Tightness
Although not mentioned in symptom studies, every once in a while a new ex-user will mention chest tightness.
Whether arising from tension, stress, depression, or somehow related to coughing, lung healing, hidden lung disease, or now missing bronchodilator cigarette additives, chest tightness warrants concern and attention.
Why? Because chest tightness may be a sign of an underlying life-threatening condition such as asthma, pneumonia, a pulmonary embolism, pleurisy, a heart defect, heart failure, or a heart attack.
It's very possible that what you're feeling was actually caused by years of inhaling tissue-damaging toxins, that stopping and healing are at last allowing you to feel what was already there. But not always.
The smart move? Listen to your body. If experiencing chest tightness, pick up the phone, call your doctor, get examined, and hopefully learn why.
References:
2. Ward, MM et al, Self-reported abstinence effects in the first month after smoking cessation, Addictive Behaviors, May-June 2001, Volume 26(3), Pages 311-327.
3. Selwyn DA, et al, A perfusion system for in vitro measurement of human cilia beat frequency, British Journal of Anaesthesia, January 1996, Volume 76(1), Pages 111-115 [4.6 cycles per second]; also see, Clary-Meinesz C, et al, Ciliary beat frequency in human bronchi and bronchioles, Chest, March 1997, Volume 111(3), Pages 692-697 [11 cycles per second].
4. Stannard W, Ciliary function and the role of cilia in clearance, Journal of Aerosol Medicine, Spring 2006, Volume 19(1), Pages 110-1155.
5. Spitzer, J, Smoking's Impact on the Lungs, 2001, WhyQuit.com, Joel's Library.
6. Valtin H, "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really? Is there scientific evidence for "8 x 8"? American Journal of Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, November 2002 Nov, Volume 283(5), Pages R993-1004.
7. Buist AS, The effect of smoking cessation and modification on lung function, The American Review of Respiratory Disease, July 1976, Volume 114(1), Pages 115-122.
8. Centers for Disease Control, What are the symptoms of lung cancer, https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/symptoms.htm - accessed May 1, 2020.
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