We all know smoking is bad for our health. But beyond the well-publicised risks of cancer and heart disease, many smokers might not be fully aware of how it compromises their immune system, leaving them highly vulnerable to common ailments like upper respiratory infections (URIs). If you smoke, those persistent coughs, sniffles, and sore throats are not just small nuisances – they're frequently early signs that your body is fighting back against the persistent battery of tobacco smoke.
How Smoking Compromises Your Defenses
In an exclusive interaction with the editorial team of Onlymyhealth, Dr Bhumesh Tyagi, Consultant, General Medicine and Physician, Shardacare, Health City, Noida, explained that in order to appreciate why smokers are more vulnerable to URIs, it's important to understand how smoking affects the sensitive respiratory system:
- Paralyzed Cilia: Your trachea and bronchial tubes contain fine, hair-like cilia that line them. These cilia work like an escalator, sweeping mucus, dust, and germs out of your lungs all the time. Smoking paralyzes and destroys these important cilia over time, creating openings for harmful particles and microorganisms to settle and multiply.
- Compromised Immune Cells: Smoking actually impairs the immune cells' function, including macrophages and neutrophils, which are your body's defense against intruders. This means your immune system has a poor ability to recognize and neutralize viruses and bacteria that invade your respiratory tract.
- Increased Mucus Production: Ironically, the irritation from smoke makes your airways produce more mucus. But since the cilia is damaged, this extra mucus becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses, not a protective barrier.
- Inflammation: Continued inflammation in the airways, which is directly caused by smoking, further compromises the respiratory lining, allowing the pathogens to more easily invade and infect.
Early Warning Signs: Don't Ignore These Symptoms
Since your body is engaged in a constant battle against an uphill struggle, even modest symptoms can fast-track themselves quickly for smokers. It's essential to take note of the below early warning signs of an upper respiratory infection:
1. Recurring Cough (if it changes)
Although a "smoker's cough" is expected, watch closely if your cough occurs more regularly, is productive (expectorates phlegm), or changes in quality. It may signal a new infection establishing itself.
2. Increased Sputum/Phlegm Production
Pay attention if you're coughing up more phlegm than normal, or if its color shifts from clear to yellow, green, or even brown. This is a definite sign of an active infection.
Sore Throat that Persists or Becomes Severe: A sore or scratchy throat is usually the first manifestation of a URI. In smokers, this will be more severe and hang around longer than in non-smokers.
3. Nasal Congestion or Nasal Runniness
Although normal, ongoing stuffiness or ongoing clear, then thicker, nasal discharge may be the beginning of a cold or sinus infection.
4. Fatigue and Overall Malaise
Feeling unusually drained, worn down, or just "not yourself" may be an early warning sign that your body is combatting an infection.
5. Mild Ache or Headache
These are generalised aches that may occur as a URI begins and your immune system kicks in.
Mild Chills or Fever: Even a slight body temperature increase may indicate infection. Don't ignore it.
6. Hoarseness or Laryngitis
If your voice goes hoarse or entirely away, it may be a sign of inflammation of your vocal cords as a result of infection.
Bottomline
Smoking not only exposes you to potentially life-threatening illnesses but it also increases your susceptibility to ordinary, but debilitating, upper respiratory infections. Knowing the warning signs and being proactive can help you better guard your health. The ultimate protection against such infections, as well as a multitude of other health problems, is quitting smoking.