Monthly Archives: December 2015

Will Smoking Shisha When I Have a Cold Help?

cold

It’s that time of year when noses are running, eyes are streaming and everyone seems to be coughing. You can’t walk anywhere at the moment without hearing the familiar hack and sneeze as people walk past. Interestingly, it’s probably this mild whether we’re getting that’s making it worse, too. Bugs tend to multiply in warm air, and there’s plenty of that around at the moment!

So, how can you relieve the symptoms?

Well, I scoured the Internet for information, and there’s not much about, but I did find some interesting discussions by doctors who were talking about normal smoking. This was a good place to start, after all, it’s smoking, however you do it.

It turns out the general consensus is that you shouldn’t smoke anything. When I enquired specifically about shisha, I got the same response.

Essentially, smoke is particles of a substance (tobacco in most cases) and coughing when you have a cold is your body’s way of trying to rid itself of particles. If you add more particles to the mix, you’re making it much worse. So don’t!

What about menthol?

There’s a lot of talk about how menthol is good for you, clears colds, helps your immune system etc. A lot of this is probably from the days when mum used to put menthol crystals into a bowl of hot water. The steam used to clear our noses in no time, and the menthol appeared to help.

However, it seems the menthol really does nothing other than add a pleasant smell. So, will menthol shisha help? Probably not.

It seems the best idea, if you have a cold, is to stop smoking anything for a few days. Give your body a rest, have a lie down and relax!