It is known that smoking has numerous harmful effects on health, but it is little known that it can increase the risk of developing Crohn’s disease. This condition is part of inflammatory bowel diseases, a group of chronic conditions that cause inflammation in the colon and/or small intestine. In the case of Crohn’s, inflammation affects the entire thickness of the intestinal wall and can occur in any part of the digestive tract.
Although the exact cause of this disease is unknown, it is known how it manifests itself. Dr. Ingrid Ordàs, gastroenterologist at Hospital Clínic Barcelona, explains: “In these diseases, the body reacts by detecting the intestinal flora as if it were foreign and causes inflammation of the intestine.” The most common symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhea, palpable abdominal mass, nausea, vomiting and weight loss, although they may vary depending on the location of the inflammation. Fever is a serious symptom.
In these diseases, the body reacts by detecting the intestinal flora as if it were foreign and causes inflammation of the intestine.
Several factors can influence the onset of Crohn’s disease. For example, having suffered a previous intestinal infection or having a first-degree relative who also suffers from it, something that occurs in between 5% and 20% of cases. However, genetics is not the only trigger; Environmental factors also play a key role. Smoking, for example, is associated with a worse prognosis since it increases the risk of needing immunosuppressive treatments or surgery.
To date, no curative treatment for Crohn’s disease has been discovered. Dr. Ordàs explains: “Unfortunately, since it is a chronic disease, once it is diagnosed it will be for life.” However, symptoms can be controlled with drugs that improve patients’ quality of life. Treatment is very individualized because each patient presents different symptoms. The objective is to achieve the disappearance of symptoms by healing the inflammatory lesions to prevent the progression of the disease and its possible complications.
Inflammation that affects the entire intestinal wall can cause serious complications, such as intestinal obstruction caused by a narrowing of the intestinal lumen and the formation of fistulas (abnormal tracts that connect two internal parts of the body) that may be accompanied by pus. For this reason, experts insist on the importance of people with Crohn’s disease to stop smoking.
This is not the only reason to give up tobacco: Due to its highly harmful substances, it causes one death every six seconds in the world. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin or cocaine, ammonia causes neuronal aging and long-term memory loss, and tar causes bronchospasms, asthma and cancer. In fact, lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. Furthermore, it is essential to highlight that tobacco is also harmful to the smoker’s environment. The risk of developing lung cancer in passive smokers increases by 35%, and it has been proven that spending eight hours in a closed place with smoke is equivalent to smoking 16 cigarettes.
By quitting smoking, in five years the risk of having a stroke is reduced to the level of people who have never smoked
For this reason, health professionals advise quitting smoking. Although it is not an easy process and the risk of developing cancer persists up to 15 years after stopping, the benefits are notable from day one. In the first 48 hours, blood pressure and pulse normalize, blood oxygen levels improve, and the probability of suffering a heart attack decreases. In addition, there is an improvement in smell and taste. After a year, the lung mucous membranes recover and infections are reduced, circulation improves and cough and difficulty breathing disappear.
Five years after quitting smoking, mortality decreases by half. Furthermore, Dr. Jacobo Sellarés, head of the Multidisciplinary High Complexity Smoking Consultation at Hospital Clínic Barcelona, states: “In five years the risk of having a cerebral infarction is reduced to the level of people who have never smoked.” And, in those who suffer from chronic diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, health improves significantly. Therefore, any smoker should consider quitting tobacco, and having the help of a professional can be very useful to achieve this.
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