Smoking is Incompatible with Healthy Blood Flow

Everyone over the age of 5 or so knows that smoking is bad for your lungs. Smokers cough and wheeze because air has trouble getting into their lungs. Well, smoking can affect your feet in much the same way. Smokers often develop pain, cramping, and other symptoms in their lower limbs because blood has trouble getting there. Smoking is one of the leading causes of a blood vessel problem called PAD (peripheral arterial disease). 

How is smoking related to PAD? 

Just as the chemicals in cigarettes and e-cigarettes damage your lungs, they also can clog blood vessels located far away from the heart such as in your lower legs and feet. Nicotine and other chemicals that you inhale make their way into your blood vessels. Smoking promotes the buildup of plaque in your arteries, a process called atherosclerosis or, more commonly, hardening of the arteries. Arteries become narrowed. Blood can’t flow freely, leading to cramping and pain in your lower limbs.  

Board-certified podiatrists Dr. Samantha Boyd, Dr. Hal Ornstein, Dr. Dan Phan, and Dr. Joseph Saka at Affiliated Foot & Ankle Center are careful to monitor the feet of our patients who smoke. We look out for important symptoms of PAD including:

• pain or weakness in the lower legs when you walk

• lower leg pain even while at rest

• a burning sensation in the feet

• wounds that heal slowly or don’t heal at all

• leg or foot numbness

• cold feet or toes

• discoloration of toes - blue, black, or very pale

• loss of hair on feet or toes 

All smokers should be alert to these symptoms. If you suffer from any of them, contact our Monmouth County podiatry office online or by phone at (732) 905-1110 for an appointment in Howell or Jackson, New Jersey. This is a great time to find the motivation to quit, as the America Cancer Society observes The Great American Smokeout on November 21. Can you use this date as a springboard for quitting? For your feet’s sake, we hope you’ll try.