Chronic Bronchitis Emphysema - Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema
What are these Conditions? Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are characterized by chronically blocked breathing passages. Collectively, asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis or any combination are called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Usually, more than one of these underlying conditions coexist; most often, bronchitis and emphysema occur together.
To strengthen your breathing muscles, take slow, deep breaths and exhale through pursed lips. - If you're receiving home oxygen therapy, make sure you or a family member knows how to use the equipment correctly. Don't increase the oxygen flow or concentration above what the doctor prescribes because too much oxygen may eliminate your respiratory drive and cause confusion and drowsiness. You probably won't need more than 2 to 3 liters per minute . Ignorance is bliss, is it? Isn't it better to learn more than not to know about something like Bronchitis. So we have produced this article so that you can learn more about it!
If you're taking antibiotics to treat a respiratory infection, be sure to complete the entire prescribed course of therapy. - Practice good oral hygiene to help prevent infection, and learn how to recognize early symptoms of infection. Avoid people with respiratory infections. Get Pneumovax (pneumococcal vaccine) and annual flu shots.
What are the Symptoms?
The typical person with chronic bronchitis or emphysema is a longterm cigarette smoker who has no symptoms until middle age, when his or her ability to exercise or do strenuous work starts to decline and a productive cough begins. Subtle at first, these problems worsen with age and as the disease progresses. Eventually, they cause difficulty breathing on minimal exertion, frequent respiratory infections, oxygen deficiency in the blood, and abnormalities in pulmonary function. When advanced, chronic bronchitis and emphysema may cause chest deformities, overwhelming disability, heart enlargement, severe respiratory failure, and death. A rolling stone gathers no moss. So if I just go on writing, and you don't understand, then it is of no use of me writing about Chronic Bronchitis! Whatever written should be understandable by the reader.
To Help Remove Secretions, Learn How to Cough Effectively
If you have abundant, tenacious secretions, have a family member perform postural drainage (repositioning to drain fluids) and chest physical therapy. (Ask your doctor for instructions on these techniques.) If your secretions are thick, drink at least 6 eight ounce glasses of fluid a day. A humidifier may aid secretion removal, especially in the winter. Writing is something that has to be done when one is in the mood to write. So when we got in the mood to write about Emphysema Chronic Bronchitis, nothing could stop us from writing!
What Causes Them?
Predisposing factors include cigarette smoking, recurrent or chronic respiratory infections, air pollution, and allergies. Smoking is by far the most important of these factors. Smoking increases mucus production but impairs its removal from the airways, impedes the function of airway cells that digest disease-causing organisms, causes airway inflammation, destroys air sacs in the lungs, and leads to abnormal fibrous tissue growth in the bronchial tree. Early inflammatory changes may reverse themselves if the person stops smoking before lung destruction is extensive. Family and hereditary factors may also predispose a person to chronic bronchitis or emphysema.
- Eat a balanced diet.
- Because you may tire easily when eating, eat frequent, small meals and consider using oxygen, delivered by a nasal cannula, during meals.
The most common chronic lung diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases affect an estimated 17 million Americans, and their incidence is rising. They are more common in men than women, probably because, until recently, men were more likely to smoke heavily. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema don't always produce symptoms and cause only slight disability in many people. However, these diseases tend to worsen over time. It is with much interest that we got about to write on Bronchitis. So we do hope that you too read this article with the same, if not more interest!
How are They Diagnosed?
A history of cigarette smoking plus the results of blood and pulmonary function studies help confirm these diseases. It is rather inviting to go on writing on
Chronic bronchitis Emphysema. however as there is a limitation to the number of words to be written, we have confined ourselves to this. However, do enjoy yourself reading it.
What can a person
know the signs of a bronchial cough emphysema do? - Stop smoking and avoid other respiratory irritants. - Install an air conditioner with an air filter in your home.
- Don't remember the day I started smoking, but I do remember why.
- My husband smoked.
- When we kissed, he tasted like a full ashtray smells.
- I started smoking so that that wouldn't bother me so much, but I knew better.
All Through High School, P.E
And health teachers preached the deleterious effects of tobacco smoke on the body. Television, newspapers, magazines, doctors, and the Surgeon General all reported that cigarette smoking caused cancer, emphysema, and many other health problems. I didn't need to hear or read their stories. Both my parents have smoked since their teens. I saw firsthand what smoking does to the smoker. Never be reluctant to admit that you don't know. There is no one who knows everything. So if you don't know much about Chronic Bronchitis, all that has to be done is to read up on it!
Soon, clothes with tiny circles burned into the fabric became the norm. I couldn't breathe easily if I walked further than out to my car. I couldn't play ball with my children; I didn't have the breath. Many times I decided to quit. And I would, for two or three hours. By the end of the second year, I had had three bouts of pneumonia. Variety is the spice of life. So we have added as much variety as possible to this matter on Bronchitis to make it's reading relevant, and interesting!
MDSC638-2012 - 7. SDL-6 Bob's COPD
Was Terrified
If I had not wakened from the smell of burning fabric, I might have died, or at least been badly burned. The new skirt I was wearing had eight holes burned through it. The folds of fabric had protected my skin until I awoke. When I realized that I had risked my life, and ruined a brand new skirt, anger replaced the terror I felt--anger at myself.
Don't remember the day I started smoking, but I'll never forget the day I stopped. On June 2, 1986, I dumped the worst habit I have ever had. Was it worth it? You bet. I no longer have pneumonia every year. Though bronchitis still bothers me on occasion, and I have chronic asthma, most of the time I can breathe without trouble. Best of all, my husband quit, too, within a month of the date that I quit. We have had a smoke free home for more than 20 years, and we have both benefitted from it. The best way of gaining knowledge about Chronic Bronchitis is by reading as much about it as possible. This can be best done through the Internet.
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Learning to Smoke Was Difficult for Me
I had so many reasons not to, that I really had to push to get it done. After years and years of second hand smoke exposure, my health began to deteriorate immediately. By the end of the first year, I had chronic bronchitis. Cigarettes became a crutch. If life was stressful, I smoked. If I was ill, I smoked. If everything was great, I smoked. My habit was so bad, I couldn't drive down the street or cook a meal without smoking. The first thing I did in the morning was light a cigarette. The last thing I did at night was put one out.
- After smoking for five years, I thought I was doomed to be a lifetime smoker just like my parents.
- Then something frightening happened.
- I fell asleep in my chair with a lit cigarette in my hand.
- Unlike many others who died after they went to sleep with a burning cigarette, I was fortunate.
- I wasn't hurt.
- Not physically, anyway.
- After gathering all the cigarettes I had, I went to the kitchen and carefully destroyed each one, then dropped it into the trash can.
- By evening I was suffering, but I refused to buy more.
- Later, I learned my brother-in-law had just quit smoking.
- He told me to buy salted, roasted sunflower seeds in the shell.
"Suck the Salt Off and Spit Out the Seeds," He Said
"Salt cuts the craving for nicotine." It worked. For six weeks, I carried sunflower seeds around with me. Anytime I started to crave a cigarette, I popped four or five sunflower seeds in my mouth. The times I felt foolish for constantly having sunflower seeds in my mouth, I would just remember the new skirt I had thrown away. Don't misunderstand. Quitting cigarettes was the hardest thing I ever did, but I was more determined than I had ever been. Every cloud has a silver lining; so consider that this article on Bronchitis to be the silver lining to the clouds of articles on Bronchitis. It is this article that will add more spice to the meaning of Bronchitis.
Introduction Bronchitis is a respiratory disease in which the mucous membrane in the lungs bronchial passages becomes inflamed and usually occurs in the setting of an upper respiratory illness and is observed more frequently in the winter months. It may be short-lived (acute) or chronic, meaning that it lasts a long time and often recurs and can have causes other than an infection. Bronchitis can also occur when acids from your stomach consistently back up into your food pipe, a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Both adults and children can get it. If you are a smoker and come down with the acute form, it will be much harder for you to recover. If you continue smoking, you are increasing your chances of developing the chronic form which is a serious long-term disorder that often requires regular medical treatment. If you suffer from chronic bronchitis, you are at risk for developing cardiovascular problems as well as more serious lung diseases and infections, and you should be monitored by a doctor.
Most People can Treat Their Symptoms At Home
However, if you have severe or persistent symptoms or if you cough up blood,you should see your doctor. The doctor will recommend that you drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, and may suggest using an over-the-counter or prescription cough medicine to relieve your symptoms as you recover. If you do not improve, your doctor may prescribe an inhaler to open your airways. If symptoms are severe, the doctor may order a chest x-ray to exclude pneumonia.
Conclusion Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages within the lungs and may be accompanied by signs and symptoms of an upper respiratory infection, including: Soreness and a feeling of constriction or burning in your chest, Sore throat, Congestion, Breathlessness, Wheezing, Slight fever and chills, Overall malaise.
Tobacco and infectious agents are major causes of chronic bronchitis and although found in all age groups, it is diagnosed most frequently in children younger than 5 years. In 1994, it was diagnosed in more than 11 of every 100 children younger than 5 years. Fewer than 5% of people with bronchitis go on to develop pneumonia. Most cases clear up on their own in a few days, especially if you rest, drink plenty of fluids, and keep the air in your home warm and moist. If you have repeated bouts of bronchitis, see your doctor. Keeping to the point is very important when writing. So we have to stuck to Bronchitis Respiratory Disease, and have not wandered much from it to enhance understanding.
Symptoms Symptoms lasting up to 90 days are usually classified as acute; symptoms lasting longer, sometimes for months or years, are usually classified as chronic. Signs of Infectious bronchitis generally begins with the symptoms of a common cold: runny nose, sore throat, fatigue, chills, and back and muscle aches. The signs of either type of bronchitis include: Cough that produces mucus; if yellow-green in color, you are more likely to have a bacterial infection, Shortness of breath made worse by exertion or mild activity, Wheezing, Fatigue, Fever -- usually low and Chest discomfort. Additional symptoms include: Frequent respiratory infections (such as colds or the flu), Ankle, feet, and leg swelling, Blue-tinged lips due to low levels of oxygen.
Treatment Treatment depending on the symptoms and cause, may include: Antibiotics to treat acute bronchitis that appears to be caused by a bacterial infection or for people who have other lung diseases that put them at a greater risk of lung infections, Bronchodilators, which open up the bronchi, may be used on a short-term basis to open airways and reduce wheezing, Cool-mist humidifiers or steam vaporizers can be helpful for wheezing or shortness of breath. Early recognition and treatment, combined with smoking cessation, significantly improve the chance of a good outcome. With severe bronchitis, your fever may be as high as 101' to 102' F and may last for 3 to 5 days even with antibiotic treatment. However, if influenza is the suspected cause, treatment with an antiviral drug may be helpful. We have used a mixture of seriousness and jokes in this composition on Bronchitis Doctor. This is to liven the mood when reading about Bronchitis Doctor.
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