What Causes Breathing Problem And Dry Heaves After Quitting Smoking?

Posted on Mon, 27 Jun 2016

Question: i quit smoking three weeks ago i smoked on avg 50 cigaretes a day. i am having a lot of trouble breathing now as well as coughing a lot.. i am 34 years old and smoked for 15 plus years. im fine when sitting still but if i do activity such as climb a ladder i get out of breath very quickly. at times ive coughed so hard its felt like dry heaves.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
spirometry might be needed

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

smoking affects the lungs in many ways. The most predictable type of damage is destruction of the airways and their functionality. Extensive destruction causes loss of pulmonary capacity. Functional damage includes decreased ability to produce phlegm and to move it upwards.

Stopping smoking reverses some of the above (not all). The airways start to produce more phlegm and the cilia move the phlegm towards the throat. Therefore some individuals experience more cough after stopping smoking which sounds strange to them. This situation may continue for a few weeks.

You can help it with adequate hydration. There's not much more you can do.
A spirometry can be used to assess your lungs' capacity. If you're unfit then all physical activity would be much more difficult.

I hope it helps!
Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T