Q. Can smoking harm your sinuses?

A. Smoking is one of the major culprits contributing to lung disease and other respiratory problems, including sinusitis (sinus infection). Cigarette smoke damages and in severe cases destroys the delicate hair-like structures "cilia" found in the sinus membranes. The cilia in your sinus membranes can re-grow, however this requires the person to stop smoking.

Cigarette smoke (either by smoking or due to second hand smoke) could irritate the delicate mucus membrane linings and may also cause a person to experience swelling and intolerable discomfort in the sinus area (i.e. facial region)

Q. What does smoking do to you?

A. Smoking can harmfully affect your body in several ways. The harmful effects of smoking occur mostly to the respiratory system. Cigarette smoke is the one of the most notorious irritants that aggravates asthma and sinus infections. When you smoke or inhale cigarette smoke (passive or secondhand smoking), you become twice as susceptible to getting asthma or cancerous disorders.

Bronchi or bronchial tubes extend from the windpipe (trachea) into the lungs. These tubes (bronchi or bronchial tubes) are responsible for carrying air both into and out of the lungs. When the tissues lining the interior of these tubes become inflamed due to any harmful substances that you inhale, you increase your risk of developing asthma.

An asthma sufferer's bronchial tubes are highly sensitive to many triggers like smoke or other air-borne irritants. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, the irritant settles in the lining of these airways which may cause the person to experience an asthma attack.

Also, when cigarette chemicals mingle with the saliva in your mouth, a cancerous substance that may have devastating effects is produced. Tobacco chemicals destroy all protective components of saliva, leaving a corrosive mixture that hampers the mouth cells. This may cause a person to suffer with bad breath and may even predispose one to mouth cancer.

Smoke substances such as cigarette smoke or pollutant smoke are one of the primary causes of sinusitis and other respiratory ailments. When you constantly inhale any form of smoke, your cilia (hair-like structures in your sinus membrane that function to sweep the secretions out of the sinuses to the back of the throat) becomes impaired resulting in a slowing down of nasal drainage. Mucus may then collects in the sinus cavities creating more congestion which may result in a sinus headache or a sinus infection.

Q. How does smoking damage your sinuses?

A. Every adult produces approximately two quarts of mucus in the nose and sinuses each day. Most of this mucus is carried through the nose and drips down the back of the throat where it is swallowed unconsciously. We generally are unaware of this process since it is facilitated by the cilia.

Cigarette smoke hampers normal cilia functioning, slowing down their normal cleansing properties. When the cilia become impaired due to tobacco chemicals, mucus becomes stagnant and collects in the sinus cavities. The ostium (small opening leading into the nasal sinuses) also becomes obstructed due to stagnant mucus which thickens very fast, disabling proper drainage.