Do they stay in my lungs forever or does the body have some kind of process to cleanse the lungs?
In: Biology
The air tubes leading down and to each lung are coated with mucus, similar to the snot in your nose. The inside lining of the tubes also have cells with cilia, tiny hair-like protrusions that move in a wave to help push the mucus upwards and out of the respiratory tract. Anything stuck to the mucus will either end up going into the stomach or coughed out.
However, any particles that get beyond these tubes into your lungs will be stuck. Your body detects any foreign substances and puts a fiber shell around it to isolate it. Even a healthy, non-smoker lung will have visible particles from a lifetime of breathing.
Breathing in too many particles or chemicals will eventually impact lung function. Certain particles also can carry bacteria, fungi, or viruses which can infect the lung, causing pneumonia. Lastly, certain substances like asbestos and silica are especially spiky and cannot be fully isolated. They constantly cause damage in the lungs that need fixing. The body’s response and fixing of the damage increases the chances of lung cancer.
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