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Wang Qiang woke up from a nightmare again, in which he felt difficult to breathe, as if a pair of invisible hands were choking his throat, his lungs were brutally squeezed, and every breath was accompanied by tearing pain.
He gasped for air, his chest heaved violently, cold sweat ran down his forehead, and the alarm clock at the bedside showed that it was two o'clock in the morning, and his wife Anna was still asleep, undisturbed by his movements.
Such nightmares have plagued Wang Qiang for months, and as a sales manager, the 40-year-old has to deal with customers big and small and endless performance pressure every day.
In order to refresh himself, he has maintained a pack of cigarettes a day over the years, and cigarettes seem to have become his best medicine for stress.
He used to be quite strong, but recently he always felt tired and weak, his breathing was not as smooth as before, he would be out of breath when he climbed the stairs, he always coughed at night, and sometimes he even coughed up bloodshot sputum.
Looking out the window at the quiet streets of the early morning, Wang Qiang fell into deep thought, and he vaguely remembered that a few days ago he accidentally saw an article on the Internet about three common symptoms caused by smoking: coughing, breathlessness and oral problems.
Although he didn't pay much attention to it at the time, now that he thinks about it, these symptoms seem to be creeping in.
Cough was the first to appear, at first Wang Qiang thought it was just a common cold, but after taking medicine, it did not get better, but became more and more frequent.
Then there was difficulty breathing, especially when he was exercising or nervous, he always felt a lump of cotton in his throat, and he couldn't breathe no matter what.
As for oral problems, Wang Qiang found that his teeth began to loosen, his gums bleed frequently, and mouth sores became more frequent.
All kinds of discomfort made Wang Qiang feel unprecedented panic, and he didn't dare to imagine what kind of heavy burden it would bring to his family if he really got any serious illness.
His wife, Anna, has always been a virtuous and gentle woman, supporting his career without regrets and taking care of their two children.
After thinking about it, Wang Qiang made up his mind to go to the hospital for a comprehensive physical examination, he knew that early detection and early treatment was the best strategy, besides, he was still so young, no matter what, he couldn't let the disease crush him and ruin everything.
The doctor's diagnosis sent Wang Qiang into an ice cellar, and a CT scan showed that his lungs were already showing obvious signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
It is a serious lung disease that mainly includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Long-term smoking leads to chronic inflammation of the airways, narrowing the airways, destroying the alveoli, and gradually losing lung function.
If left untreated, the condition will become more and more severe, which may eventually lead to respiratory failure and even life-threatening.
In addition, the oral examination also found the problem of periodontitis, and the doctor told Wang Qiang that smoking is an important risk factor for periodontitis.
The harmful substances in tobacco can irritate the gums, damage the periodontal tissues, cause loose teeth to fall out, and smoking also increases the risk of oral cancer, which often has a poor prognosis.
In the face of the doctor's words, Wang Qiang felt dizzy, and he realized that the seemingly harmless cigarettes had buried so many health risks in his body.
Years of addiction to cigarettes made it hard for him to imagine what life would be like without tobacco, but for the sake of his family and his future, he was determined to change.
The doctor formulated a detailed quit plan for Wang Qiang and told him to be determined and grit his teeth to persevere.
The initial withdrawal was the hardest, but after the first few weeks, it gradually improved, and the doctor prescribed some medication to help relieve the discomfort of quitting smoking.
Wang Qiang knows that the road to quitting smoking will not be easy, but he has already made up his mind to take responsibility for his health, and he will use his actions to tell tobacco: I'm sorry, we can only stop here.
The health hazards of smoking are all-encompassing and multi-systematic, and Wang's story is a good example of the close connection between smoking and respiratory diseases and oral problems.
Long-term smoking is the main cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tobacco smoke contains a large number of harmful substances, which can lead to chronic inflammation of the bronchial mucosa and airway remodeling, causing airway obstruction; It can also damage the alveolar walls, leading to emphysema.
These pathological changes can lead to a series of respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, chronic cough, and sputum production, which seriously affect the quality of life of patients.
In addition, COPD tends to progress slowly, early symptoms are not obvious, and it is often not detected until the disease is more severe, so it is especially important to quit smoking early.
Smoking is also an important risk factor for oral diseases, and the harmful components in tobacco can directly irritate the oral mucosa, damage the oral microenvironment, and increase the risk of oral bacterial infection.
Nicotine can also cause vasoconstriction in the gums, affecting the blood supply to the periodontal tissues.
Over time, smokers are more likely to develop gingivitis, periodontitis, which leads to loose and lost teeth, and smoking is also one of the risk factors for oral cancer.
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