Smoke Inhalation - Prognosis

The key to complete recovery from smoke inhalation is often prompt treatment. People with relatively moderate symptoms who receive early treatment tend to recover completely from the experience. In some cases, however, patients may develop chronic respiratory or pulmonary (lung) disorders. Patients most at risk for such disorders are those who had respiratory problems such as asthma (see asthma entry) before exposure to smoke. Those patients are likely to experience more severe symptoms of their disorder than they did before the smoke inhalation.