I am a regular weed smoker and recently had endoscopic sinus surgery. I was told by my doctor to wait at least 2 weeks before smoking again which seems like obviously good advice to me. I then wanted to know the effects of smoking on the healing process, the nasal passages, and specific reasons it’s not recommended post-op but all the papers I found on this are specifically about tobacco.
I’m wondering if the mechanisms of how tobacco smoke impacts healing, circulation, and inflammation are the same as weed smoke? I’m sure there have to be similarities because just the act of inhaling smoke can’t be good for you. But are the health effects due mainly to the smoke itself, or the tobacco?
In: Biology
I had an endoscopy back in June, I only smoked medicinally and with carts. I didn’t hear anything about not smoking afterwards and I ended up using one of my carts maybe 5 hours after the endoscopy. The only thing I noticed is it irritated my throat quite a bit and was really uncomfortable. My throat felt a little raw for a few days after but I heard that’s also normal after an endoscopy. I asked chatGPT to see what it’d say since googling mostly just talks about tobacco and this is what chatGPT said,
“Smoking cannabis after an endoscopy can irritate the throat and airways, which may not be ideal as they could be sensitive after the procedure. It’s generally best to avoid smoking anything for a day or two after an endoscopy to allow your throat to heal properly. If you’re using cannabis for medical reasons, consider alternative consumption methods like edibles or vaping, but always consult with your healthcare provider for personalized advice.”
Nicotine, a key ingredient in cigarettes, is a vasoconstrictor. For wounds to heal it needs a good blood supply to bring in nutrients and a good outflow to relieve edema. Nicotine also causes blood to clot more easily, which reduces further the amount of blood that may be going toward the wound.
There has not been a large body of literature that decisively points to THC as beneficial or harmful to wound healing.
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