Author: Apricus Health

You cannot argue with the fact that smoking severely affects your body and your overall health. Fortunately, these harmful effects are not completely irreversible. Over time, organ functions regenerate, and your overall well-being improves.

Usually, it takes approximately a year to recover from most of the damage caused by nicotine to your body. However, it is essential to understand that every smoker’s recovery process is an individual matter, and in some cases, complete recovery may take up to fifteen years.

Quitting smoking is always a challenge, for some smokers – even a struggle. Thus, many opt for alternatives, such as vaping devices like Vype or tobacco heating systems like iQOS, believed to be less harmful. But, if you come prepared, you have a higher chance to succeed in your recovery. Below, you will find more information about how your body readjusts after you quit smoking.

Factors That Affect the Recovery Process in Your Body

Getting rid of nicotine addiction significantly increases the chances of a longer and more comfortable life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the recovery process begins just 20-30 minutes after smoking the last cigarette. However, the duration of a full recovery after smoking cessation depends on the following factors:

• the age of smoking initiation
• the duration of addiction
• age and sex of a smoker
• the average number of cigarettes consumed per day
• the initial and current state of health
• degree of damage to internal organs, including those not related to tobacco smoking
• existing chronic diseases, especially in the stage of decompensation
• concomitant use of alcohol, drugs as well as taking medications

It is also necessary to take into account environmental factors. Readjustment is more successful if a person is in a comfortable psychoemotional environment. Recovery largely depends on the lifestyle, working conditions, social circle, and family. However, the key element to success is a conscious desire to quit smoking.

Stages of the Recovery Process

The body’s reaction to quitting smoking is most intense in the first two weeks after you stop smoking. All the symptoms that appear during this time frame are a consequence of the so-called nicotine withdrawal – the body is being cleansed of nicotine. Still, the processes in which nicotine participated have not yet been rebuilt. Let’s take a closer look at the processes that occur in your body after you quit smoking:

First Day

Already in the first hours without nicotine, your body starts readjusting and experiencing the first benefits. In the first 20 minutes, the heart rate and blood pressure are returning to normal. As a result, internal organs, the brain, and limbs begin to receive more blood due to improved blood flow.

You may also experience an elevated mood during the first day. However, some people may notice decreased appetite, weakness, slight anxiety, or difficulties with sleeping.

First Week

During the first week after giving up tobacco, the nicotine withdrawals continue, accompanied by a number of symptoms. They include:

• tremor
• excessive sweating
• lack of appetite
• shortness of breath
• tinnitus
• difficulties sleeping
• heartburn

At this stage, the regeneration of the intestinal mucosa and bronchi, where sputum accumulates, begins. By the end of the first week, the stomach and pancreas work in a standard mode, taste sensations improve, while blood pressure can be slightly elevated. The gallbladder and intestines function with minor failures without nicotine.

This first week can be emotionally challenging – stress levels increase, irritability and aggression alternate with apathy. You will experience an intense craving for smoking. The probability of a relapse is high, but the determination will probably return by the end of the week.

First Month

After a month without smoking, the body is restored at the cellular level. Harmful substances are excreted, and the bronchial mucosa regenerates. The overall well-being improves – the blood cells count is restored, and the vascular tone increases. As a result, the immune system and tissue nutrition improve. Yellow nicotine stains on your fingers and nails begin to go away, and the overall condition of your complexion improves.

Six Months

After six months, the total regeneration of skin cells is completed, meaning your complexion changes for the better, peeling and dryness go away. Regeneration of the mucous membrane and other tissues of the bronchopulmonary system continues all this time.

Vascular tone returns to normal in three months after quitting smoking. Blood cells are completely restored by the end of six months. By the end of the fourth month, your appetite gets back to normal, and the weight stabilizes. Because of that, you can reduce the amount of food you eat, as your body can digest it much better now.

After six months, your lungs are cleaned, resulting in their increased capacity – you can breathe deeply now. The normal functioning of the stomach and intestines is restored, and also, starting from the fifth month, liver regeneration begins.

By this time, your mood is already stable and even cheerful, and your sleeping patterns are back to normal. Moreover, the craving for cigarettes is easier to suppress since, at this moment, you will experience only a slight desire to return to a familiar ritual. Keep in mind that despite that, by then, you will probably have other habits with which to replace smoking, relapses are still possible under provoking circumstances – for example, after drinking alcohol.

One Year

A year without smoking cigarettes is a serious achievement. After a year of nicotine cessation, the body usually recovers so much that the risk of stroke decreases by 50%, of heart attack – by 40 %, and the probability of lung and liver cancer by 80-90%.

The risk of a relapse is minimal, but it is worth remembering what you went through to accomplish this milestone. It is not worth risking such an achievement for the sake of one cigarette.

Final Note

According to the Office for National Statistics, “in Great Britain, more than half (52.7%) of people aged 16 years and above who currently smoked said they wanted to quit.” It means that half of the people who smoke would like to get rid of the habit, but they either cannot get through unexpected nicotine withdrawal symptoms or haven’t found a solid reason to do so.

However, it is essential to remember that smoking can be dangerous both for you and for people around you. In contrast, giving up cigarettes helps normalize the functioning of all body cells while reducing the risks associated with pulmonary, cardiovascular, and oncological diseases. Moreover, you will notice positive changes in the social, financial, and even sexual dimensions of your life.

It’s no secret that most of the world’s attention has been cast in the direction of the COVID-19 pandemic that’s currently plaguing countries spanning the globe. Naturally, with rising infection rates, hospitalizations, and even deaths, the coronavirus is on everyone’s minds. That being said, the chaos the coronavirus is causing is actually overshadowing something else incredibly serious—this year’s influenza effects on the United States.

In other words, the US is experiencing a relatively severe influenza season that’s resulted in thousands of deaths. According to the JAMA Network, over 16,000 deaths were reported in the United States as a result of influenza.

While the COVID-19 pandemic should not be overlooked, it’s important to ensure we’re focusing on the facts about influenza in the United States as well. Continue reading to distinguish and differentiate between the two, understand their impacts, and learn the basics about the 2019-2020 influence season the United States is currently undergoing.

Coronavirus and Influenza: How the Two Compare

Again, the coronavirus is a pandemic that obviously merits attention. Still, the pandemic doesn’t change or alter the fact that the United States is currently undergoing a relatively severe influenza season as well. According to the JAMA Network, it was proposed that the CDC estimated (as of February 15, 2020) that at least 29 million people in the United States will be ill with influenza.

They also predicted at least 13 million physician visits, 280,000 hospitalizations, 16,000 deaths, and at least 105 pediatric influenza-associated deaths as reported to the CDC by state health departments.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t focus on the COVID-19 epidemic. At the time of this publication, the CDC’s weekly surveillance reported that, on April 4, 2020, the total number of cases in the United States had totaled to about 277,2-5 with a total of 6,593 reported deaths from the 55 jurisdictions in the US reporting cases (including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, and the US Virgin Islands. The CDC continues to update this surveillance report consistently.

At the time of this publication, it was suggested that the 2019-2020 influenza season was considered moderately severe with a large number of ill people and substantial numbers of both hospitalizations and deaths. Further, this season has shown to be especially severe for children—displayed by incredibly high pediatric hospitalization rates.

How to Prevent Catching and Spreading Both COVID-19 and Influenza

Currently, the best ways to prevent catching and spread influenza is to get the flu vaccine every year, avoid sick people (especially those who are displaying symptoms like coughing), and be sure to wash your hands frequently.

As far as the coronavirus, the CDC does now advise wearing a mask if going out in public. In addition, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, avoid sick people, if you feel ill don’t leave your home, and of course, follow your state or city ordinances for social distancing.

We are now well into the pandemic’s second year. It has killed more than half a million US citizens. It’s true that there are some encouraging signs, such as the vaccination of one in four American adults at this point.

As everyone waits for things to gradually return to normal, it seems that many individuals want to continue checking up on their friends and relatives to see how they’re doing. That’s smart, since mental health professionals believe that many people are suffering these days.

If you’re in the group that has received a vaccination, you’ll be able to see many of the people soon who you have not visited during the past twelve-plus months. Once you are all fully vaccinated and able to see each other in person, you can talk about the mental and psychological strain that the past year has put on all of you. That should be a tremendous relief.

Let’s talk more about what the past year has been like for many people from a mental standpoint.

How Difficult It Is to Track Emotional and Psychological Issues

With many physical problems, medical professionals can more or less tell how bad or widespread they are. There might be a little underreporting, but they can look at hospital records and clinic data to see how common or atypical any condition is.

Look at something like TBIs, or traumatic brain injuries. Doctors think that nearly two million people in the US sustain one annually. The Center for Disease Control places that number even higher, though, possibly as high as three million.

Even with something that doctors and other medical professionals or organizations can track relatively easily, it’s hard to determine the exact number. Think how much more difficult it is to track something like anxiety or pandemic-related stress.

A Sudden, Worldwide Change

Some people grow up thinking that things are virtually immutable. They might see a small change and accept it, like a particular McDonald’s closing or a new barbershop opening up down the street from them.

A global pandemic is much more difficult to process mentally. Suddenly, millions of people are losing their jobs. Friends and relatives can’t see each other anymore, which takes away their major support networks.

As time passes, hundreds of thousands die, even while politicians can’t agree on how serious what is happening actually is. People receive contradictory information on how they should conduct themselves.

The Lasting Repercussions

Some people are mad at others who have acted all along like the pandemic doesn’t exist and who have refused to wear masks or socially distance themselves. However, some of those who have neglected to take these preventative measures have not done so for political reasons.

Many people act the way that they do because they’re not able to make the mental adjustment necessary to accept what is happening all around them. It’s like someone standing on a beach and deciding to bury their head in the sand in response to the tidal wave that is bearing down on them.

The point is not what someone believes politically or how seriously they have taken Covid-19. It is that

many doctors seem to agree that millions are suffering out there because their mental health has deteriorated significantly over the past few months. What’s not clear is how many are in dire straits and how long the effects of the lengthy quarantines and all that has come with them will last.

Staying Mentally Healthy

As we mentioned earlier, there are some positive signs now that the FDA has approved three different vaccines. Vaccination efforts have increased a great deal, and that should help some people who are struggling to get through 2021 just as they did 2020.

If you’re not in the best mental shape, though, and you’re able to recognize that, try to find an outlet for what you’re feeling. It does no good to lash out at family members or colleagues at work. If you can acknowledge that you need someone to talk to, try to find a therapist or speak to your doctor.

They can talk to you about medication and stress management techniques. It’s not a weakness to seek help, especially at a time when so many other people are likely going through the same thing that you are.

What has taken place has shaken the entire world, and it’s the rare individual who will come out of this stretch precisely the same as they were before.

The challenges that COVID-19 has brought to the world on a global scale are immense. The virus and subsequent illness are serious threats to individuals’ health and wellness, prompting the aggressive countermeasures governments and healthcare professionals have taken.

From lockdowns to record-pace vaccine development, the steps taken in an attempt to blunt the impact of COVID-19 have been nothing short of astounding. Still, many people have been seeking ways in which they can be proactive on a personal level aside from embracing an enhanced level of hygiene and disinfecting.

A piece of that personal proactive puzzle may be here, as recent studies have shown that physical activity can dramatically reduce the risk of complications caused by COVID-19.

The Research

A study recently evaluated the hospitalization admissions, intensive care unit rates, and mortality for 48,440 COVID-19 patients. What it found was that inactive patients had substantially higher rates of all three outcomes—hospitalization, ICU admission, and death—than patients who were moderately or consistently active.

In other words, physical activity is a simple, effective COVID-19 risk mitigation that you can take personal responsibility for in your daily life. The opposite is also true—by remaining inactive, you put yourself at a higher risk of COVID-19 complications.

The research goes even further than simply identifying physical activity as a risk factor mitigator. In fact, it identifies inactivity as the third strongest risk factor for severe outcomes related to COVID-19, ranking only behind old age and a previous organ transplant.

Conclusions

Regardless of your current physical state, beginning a regimen of proper exercise can significantly improve your overall health and your ability to avoid severe complications from COVID-19. It is important to keep in mind, however, that your exercise routine should be scaled to fit your current abilities.

To get started, consider talking to your doctor about your concerns and your desire to mitigate your COVID-19 risk through exercise. They can work with you to formulate a suitable approach to physical activity that is safe and effective. As you improve, that regimen can be scaled up to fit your new level of fitness.

Given the restricted access to fitness facilities—including gyms and outdoor parks—in certain areas, you may have to adapt your exercise to the resources currently available to you. Be sure to bring this up when conversing with your doctor so that they can help tailor your exercise to the facilities you have access to.

According to the CDC, smoking causes nearly 500,000 deaths every year. Additionally, Cancer.org claims smoking is responsible for more than 80% of lung cancer cases. Why should you be one of them? Not only is smoking damaging to your health, but it’s also expensive, unattractive, and increasingly banned in public venues worldwide.

If you’ve decided to quit smoking, chances are that you might need some help. Here are five of our favorite apps to help you in your journey to a tobacco-free lifestyle:

Quit Smoking: Cessation Nation

With a 5-star Android rating, Cessation Nation not only comes highly recommended, but it also comes with fun games and ways to connect with fellow ex-smokers who are “feeling the pain” of quitting. Another fun tool that’s unique to this app is its “Savings Calculator,” which allows you to see how much money you’ve saved since ditching the “cancer sticks.” Users earn rewards for their progress, adding a little extra incentive for fighting those pesky cravings.

LiveStrong’s MyQuitCoach

Feel like you could use a “coach” in your battle to give up nicotine? LiveStrong’s MyQuit app is just that: you can choose whether you’d like to taper off or simply quit “cold turkey.” Like other apps on the list, you can set personal goals and daily reminders, but it also gives you positive feedback and the motivation you’ll need to put that nasty habit behind you (and keep it there).

Smoke-Free

No one is going to pretend that quitting cigarettes is easy, but Smoke-Free makes it a little easier, with a bevy of tools designed to put that pack-a-day habit behind you for good. It shows fun information, like how much your health has improved since you’ve quit, along with powerful motivational tools. What’s more, they boast an impressive success rate with helping people beat the butt. The app has over three million downloads and claims to be the most popular smoking cessation app in the UK. They also maintain a 5-star approval rating on the iPhone with over 20,000 five-star reviews.

QuitNow!

QuitNow! is more than just a smoking cessation aid: it is a community of like-minded ex-smokers determined to say goodbye to nicotine forever. It’s also a multilingual app, offering more than 40 languages. Features of the app include a money-saving calculator and a fun, helpful chat section. Using this app means it’s never been easier to say “Adios” to cigarettes than it is with QuitNow!

Craving to Quit

Feel like these other apps might work, but desire an app that has some hardcore credentials behind it? Craving to Quit was developed by a team of researchers from Yale University. The app offers a 4-day free trial and after that, it’s a $25 per month subscription. On average smokers consume one pack of cigarettes a day, at $5.50/pack, so it could pay for itself within one week. With this program, those trying to quit benefit from an app-based program, a coach & community, and a live video chat support group with addiction experts.

There’s never been a better time to quit cigarettes than now. Consider one of these helpful apps which will make it easier to track your progress, reach out for support, and add years to your life.

As we age, the wisdom of experience is often invaluable. But as important as it is for an older person to receive medical advice and treatment from a doctor or other qualified professional, that advice and treatment may not always be accepted perhaps out of concern about the side-effects of taking certain medications, or because they don’t want to risk being viewed as an invalid by being forced to use a walking aid.

Older people who don’t want to be seen as a burden should always bear in mind that medical professionals are there to help them and not to patronize them. Here are the ins and outs of getting medical help when older.

Work With A Medicare Consultant

Older people want the same things as everyone else, the attention of the best doctors, the most modern treatments, and the lowest prices. Health insurance is usually expensive for the elderly, but the government has come to the rescue. Medicare is part of the social security system the government sets up for the elderly, the disabled, and people with end-stage renal disease. A good way to avoid the Medicare maze is to work with a professional who can help you plan. It pays to work with a consultant who knows the ins and outs of the medicare system.

He or she can keep track of the constant changes in the Medicare rules and the financial impact the changes have on the client (client is the term used to refer to the one who needs the help). The professional should also know which forms need to be filled out and at what times of the year. This will help you to be able to get all the medications you need with ease

Don’t Neglect Yourself- Schedule Checkups and Stick to Them

Getting sick as a senior can be difficult for both the patient and their family. It is important to schedule regular check-ups so if something does come up, it can be addressed early. Don’t let your health conditions worsen or slip away without taking action. Sometimes issues that arise from lack of care are easily treated by a doctor, but many times they are not.

If you neglect yourself, your doctor will be unable to help and whatever is ailing you may become worse. Getting regular check-ups doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you. It simply acts as a safety net for unforeseen health problems that may arise.

Take All Medication as Directed by Your Doctor

Many patients forget the instructions and dosage of their prescriptions, which can lead to having symptoms that are more severe than the symptoms they were originally trying to treat. It’s easy to get the dosage and instructions wrong so the best way to avoid the problem is to follow the instructions exactly as given. To avoid trouble, the best thing to do is to take the medication as your doctor instructs you and make sure the dosage information is on the bottle.

Also, keep the bottle of medication with you at all times so it’s easy to reference the correct dosage. If you don’t have the bottle then take a picture of the instructions and notes that came with the medication.

Don’t Miss Out on Get Well Visits

Another important thing to remember is the instructions that the doctor gave you the first time the prescription was picked up. If the pharmacy gives you the wrong instructions, it can lead to incorrect dosages. It’s essential to always double-check the dosage and make sure the pharmacist has given you the right directions when picking your medicine up.

If the pharmacy has the wrong prescription information then the best thing to do is call the pharmacist immediately and give the full name of the medication, the dosage, and the directions for taking the drug. If you don’t go through these steps then when you get home and take the medicine it won’t be the right dosage that your doctor instructed you to receive. 

Sometimes the doctor may refer you to a specialist who has more experience in the field of medicine your condition falls under so they will be able to give you better advice on the treatment you need. The best thing to do if the doctor doesn’t know the answer is to get the information yourself and then schedule another appointment with the doctor so they can help you find the solution.

In conclusion, the best way to avoid the worrisome medicare maze is with the use of the internet. A simple Google search can help you understand the dosages and the treatment you need for your condition so nothing gets missed out on when it comes to treatment. The internet helps to get the information you need by helping you determine the correct dosage and the cost of the medication so you know how much money you will be shelling out for your prescriptions. If there are any questions or concerns make sure to call the doctor’s office or the pharmacy. Follow the instructions exactly as the doctors instruct you.