Is your elderly loved one a smoker? Has your elderly loved one decided they are going to quit? If so, or even if they are thinking about doing so, it might be helpful to know what happens to a person’s body when they stop smoking. Knowing about these benefits might encourage your elderly loved one to quit smoking and never go back to it again. Home care services can be on hand to help your senior through the tough times ahead.
Short-Term Benefits of Not Smoking
If your elderly loved one has decided they are going to quit smoking, it is important they know the benefits can start to happen almost immediately. In fact, some people feel benefits in almost 20 minutes of not having a cigarette. The short-term benefits of not smoking that you and your elderly loved one may want to know about include:
- 20 minutes after not smoking – Lower blood pressure and heart rate
- 12 hours after not smoking – Lower carbon monoxide in the blood which lowers the cardiovascular disease risk, too.
- 1 days after not smoking – Lower risk of heart attack
- 2 days after not smoking – Sense of taste and smell start coming back
- 1 to 9 months after not smoking – regaining control over breathing and doesn’t cough nearly as much
If your elderly loved one can quit smoking, in just 9 months, they can start breathing normally again. It might feel odd at first, but in time, they are going to enjoy smelling the fresh air and being able to move around easier.
Long-Term Benefits of Not Smoking
If your elderly loved one can go a year or more without smoking, they can start experiencing some, if not all, of the long-term benefits of not smoking. These generally include the following:
1 year without smoking – Significant reduction of heart attack risk (almost ½ of what it was when they were still smoking)
- 5 to 15 years without smoking – Significant reduction in stroke risk, carbon monoxide blood levels to that of someone who never smoked, and greatly reduced risk of getting cancer
- 15 years without smoking – Significantly reduced risk of coronary artery disease (basically, to that of someone who never smoked at all) and body functions are all almost, if not fully, restored
If your elderly loved one would like to have these long-term benefits, it is possible. Of course, if they are just now deciding to quit smoking, these will take a while. However, they can start looking forward to them and enjoying the short-term benefits of not smoking for now.
Conclusion
These are some of the things that happen to the body when someone stops smoking. Now that you know about these short and long-term benefits, you can discuss them with your elderly loved one. If they are ready to quit smoking, they can start looking forward to these benefits. It is important to know there are products that can help someone to quit smoking. You or an in-home care provider can take your elderly loved one to get a prescription for nicotine cessation products.
If you or someone you know needs Home Care Services in Rochester, MN, contact Adara Home Health Care. We provide quality and affordable home care services for many fragile or senior members in the communities we serve.
Call us at (888) 660-5772 for more information
Sources
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/benefits/index.htm