Smoking with tonsillitis

The smoke of a cigarette contains a large amount of substances that damage most tissues of the body. However, this effect is particularly marked where the highest dose of the smoke occurs. Since the tonsils are located in the throat, they are very exposed to the smoke.

If tonsillitis is present, in order not to increase the inflammation considerably, smoking cigarettes or similar products should be avoided so that the natural healing processes of the immune system are not hindered by cigarette smoke, since in addition to the bacterial infection, the foreign substances present in cigarette smoke are attacked by the immune system. It should also be noted that smoking during tonsillitis can make the swallowing difficulties that usually exist anyway even worse. Even before the infection breaks out, the smoke and the substances contained in it weaken the immune system, so that an infection with a few pathogens may already cause tonsillitis in smokers, whereas the immune system of non-smokers may have been able to fight off the infection.

The consumption of chewing tobacco is not an alternative either, as the substances contained in it also reach the mucous membrane in the affected area and significantly slow down the healing of the infection. Since it is often not possible for many people to completely give up nicotine, it could be considered to apply nicotine patches as a substitute in the case of an existing infection. These patches increase the nicotine level but do not disturb the body in its fight against tonsillitis due to the harmful cigarette smoke.

The symptoms of tonsillitis, especially sore throat, are also significantly aggravated by tobacco smoke. Coughing is also intensified by cigarette consumption, which can cause other problems such as sleep disturbances. A tip for non-smokers suffering from tonsillitis is to stay away from places where they would be exposed to the cigarette smoke of others. Smoking bars or other places with particularly high levels of cigarette smoke in the air can slow down the healing process of non-smokers equally.Parents of children with existing tonsillitis should pay particular attention to this, as tonsillitis in children should heal as quickly as possible to avoid an undesirable worsening of the disease and a possible hospital stay.