Why does my Side Hurts or Pain from Smoking Out of Bong? Causes and Solutions

Cannabis is most commonly consumed through smoking, which refers to the inhalation of smoke produced by burning cannabis. However, It is also the most harmful one.

Cannabis smoke contains many of the same harmful toxins, irritants, and carcinogens as tobacco smoke, including tar, carbon monoxide, ash, acetaldehyde, acrolein, etc.

While bong may have some potential benefits - Filtering and cooling smoke for smoother hits, smoking through it can still lead to a negative experience, such as side hurts.

If you are experiencing chest side hurts or pain from smoking weed out of bong. Don't panic. This is usually caused by lung disease. We are going to cover the various reasons and just what you can do about it!

Find out what they are and ways to help alleviate side hurts when smoking marijuana.

What are the Benefits of Using a bong for smoking cannabis?

While smoking in general is considered unhealthy, bongs when compared to joints and pipes are a much healthier alternative because they filter out harmful chemicals and cool the smoke through water filtration.

When you lighting the herb in the bowl and inhaling draws, smoke down the stem into the water. As the smoke bubbles through the water, it cools and filters, collecting in the chamber above.

Bong water is quite effective at reducing harmful substances in smoke. water filtration traps about 90% of phenols, which are tar components, and 50% of solid particulate matter (ash, resin, flower particles).

Bongs also reduce the presence of acrolein and acetaldehyde. Both acrolein and acetaldehyde are toxic to the lung’s primary defense cells: alveolar macrophages.

Inhaling hot smoke can irritate the respiratory tract, and lead to discomfort, and coughing. Cool smoke, on the other hand, is much gentler on the lungs, making for a more pleasant and less harsh bong rip.

Explore More: What is a bong? Benefits? Different Types of Bongs in Brief

Why does my chest side hurt or pain when smoking out of bong? Main Causes

While bongs provide great filtration they don't eliminate all risks, as the smoke still contains high levels of toxins, including carbon monoxide, tiny, harmful particles and carcinogens.

The smooth hits might lead people to smoke more often or take bigger puffs, which could increase health risks over time.

Smoking canabis affects nearly every organ in your body, especially your lungs. Every time you smoke a cigarette, you damage your lungs and airways and prevent them from functionally properly.

You also subject your lungs and airways to harmful, acute side effects, including troublesome coughing and wheezing.

Other side effects are more serious, causing long-term changes to your lungs that occur slowly but last a lifetime.

Some of the most dangerous, potentially fatal health issues caused by smoking are pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, Pleurisy or pleuritis, COPD, and lung cancer.

Very dirty bong water is a breeding ground for bacteria (like flavobacterium) and mold. When you inhale your weed smoke through this, these bacteria can lead to respiratory infections.

Another potential threat to those with weakened immune systems is Aspergillus, which is a fungus which lives on marijuana plants. Marijuana can be contaminated by mold and bacteria.

Aspergillus causes serious lung infections, particularly for people with weakened immune systems such as those with cancer or who take immunosuppressive medications.

Smoked or inhaled marijuana is not recommended for people with on chemotherapy or for anyone with an organ transplant or a weakened immune system.

What Can Cause Chest Side Hurts? Lung Health and Marijuana Smoke

Pain on the left or right side of your chest often happens because of an issue in your lungs.

Smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung and increase your risk of disease.

Side chest pain can be sharp. It can get worse when you take a breath or cough.

You may have other symptoms along with side chest pain, like tightness or difficulty breathing.

However, chest side pain from smoking usually doesn’t come directly from your lungs. The lungs don’t have any pain fibers in them.

For instance, it might be inflammation in the membrane that separates your lungs from your inner chest wall.

Medicines help many causes of right-side chest pain. But some need treatment that includes a procedure.

1. increased mucus buildup in the chest

Smoking marijuana hurts the lungs' first line of defense against infection by killing cells that help remove dust and germs as well as causing more mucus to be formed.

As the amount of mucus increases and thickens, your lungs can’t effectively clean it out, which clogs your airways.

2. Decreased Airflow And Asthma

Smoking can narrow your airways, which is especially harmful to the lungs of a person with asthma. Smoke is a common and powerful trigger for asthma.

Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease that attacks your airways, causing coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.

3. Pneumonia

Smoking causes inflammation in the small airways and tissues of your lungs, causing your chest to feel tight. In addition to chest pain, you’ll also have a fever, chills and a cough.

This inflammation builds up the more you smoke and can turn to scar tissue that provokes physical changes in your airways and lungs.

Scar tissue makes it harder to breathe and can cause a chronic, mucus-filled cough.

4. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is also a trigger for COPD flare-ups. COPD blocks airflow into and out of your lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are two forms of COPD and two more possible side effects of smoking.

Chronic bronchitis causes you to develop a long-lasting cough that produces excess mucus, effectively blocking your airflow.

Emphysema destroys your lung tissue over time, making it difficult to breathe and potentially causing death.

5. Lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most severe potential side effect of smoking. The longer you smoke and the more cigarettes you smoke, the greater your risk of getting lung cancer.

Common symptoms of lung cancer include a long-lasting and worsening cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing, and chronic and recurring infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis.

Chest pain from lung cancer gets worse when you cough, laugh or take a deep breath.

What to do with side hurts or pain from smoking out of bong? 5 Best Solutions

There are minor causes of side hurts from smoking marijuana out of bong, while possibly links to more severe issues that require medical attention. Luckily, there are different solutions available for that.

1. Get Treatment

If you are experiencing chest pain or discomfort after vaping cannabis, it is important to speak with a healthcare professional. They can help determine the cause of your symptoms and recommend the appropriate treatment.

If you have had a checkup and your lung is fine, it is still a good idea to mention your symptoms to your healthcare provider to rule out any underlying issues.

2. Quit smoking

People who stop smoking often find their symptoms improve and sometimes go away completely.

As soon as you quit, your body begins to repair the damage caused by smoking and continues to repair itself for many years.

3. Switch to vaping or eating

If you’re going to use cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes, experts recommend considering another means of getting it into your body.

Some alternatives, depending on your wants and needs, are THC sprays, capsules, dry herb vaporizer, oils (vaping through vapes), concentrates (dabbing through dab rigs or dab pens) and edibles, like gummies.

For example, vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking. Vaping exposes users to far fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cannabis.

4. Replace the bong

Sometimes the type of bong is the problem. Having a bong that has more chambers and percolation points will equate to a smoother less harsh hit.

You could add a second percolator or Ash catcher type device onto your bong for more percolation and or you could try a different downstem with a better diffuser.

5. Clean the Bong

Changing your bong water after every use is a good rule of thumb. Maximum after the second use.

Somewhat frequent users should clean their bong with rubbing alcohol and salt at least once a week or every two weeks to maintain a consistently pleasant smoking session.

Conclusion

A bong can cool and filter smoke to give you a smoother toke that feels less harsh than what you get from a rolled joint, but it’s not protecting you from the health risks of smoking.

Smoking cannabis even with a bong can lead to a range of symptoms, from cough to chest pain. While uncomfortable, these symptoms usually aren’t a cause for concern and subside on their own.

However, sometimes It can also lead to serious lung disorders, including potential life‐threatening lung infection.

Don't take side hurt or pain after smoking cannabis lightly. Seeking medical attention is always advised to find any underlying issues that could be the root cause of why your side hurt after smoking weed.

Finally, Quitting smoking is one of the most important actions people can take to improve their health.