Lung Conditions

•Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Damage to the lungs results in difficulty blowing air out, causing shortness of breath. Smoking is by far the most common cause of COPD.

•Emphysema: A form of COPD usually caused by smoking. The fragile walls between the lungs' air sacs (alveoli) are damaged, trapping air in the lungs and making breathing difficult.

•Chronic bronchitis: Repeated, frequent episodes of productive cough, usually caused by smoking. Breathing also becomes difficult in this form of COPD.

•Pneumonia: Infection in one or both lungs. Bacteria, especially Streptococcus pneumoniae, are the most common cause.

•Asthma: The lungs' airways (bronchi) become inflamed and can spasm, causing shortness of breath and wheezing. Allergies, viral infections, or air pollution often trigger asthma symptoms.

•Acute bronchitis: An infection of the lungs' large airways (bronchi), usually caused by a virus. Cough is the main symptom of acute bronchitis.

•Pulmonary fibrosis: A form of interstitial lung disease. The interstitium (walls between air sacs) become scarred, making the lungs stiff and causing shortness of breath.

•Sarcoidosis: Tiny areas of inflammation can affect all organs in the body, with the lungs involved most of the time. The symptoms are usually mild; sarcoidosis is usually found when X-rays are done for other reasons.

•Obesity hypoventilation syndrome: Extra weight makes it difficult to expand the chest when breathing. This can lead to long-term breathing problems.

Pleural effusion: Fluid builds up in the normally tiny space between the lung and the inside of the chest wall (the pleural space). If large, pleural effusions can cause problems with breathing.

•Pleurisy: Inflammation of the lining of the lung (pleura), which often causes pain when breathing in. Autoimmune conditions, infections, or a pulmonary embolism may cause pleurisy.

•Bronchiectasis: The airways (bronchi) become inflamed and expand abnormally, usually after repeated infections. Coughing, with large amounts of mucus, is the main symptom of bronchiectasis.

•Lymphangioleiomyomatosis ( LAM): A rare condition in which cysts form throughout the lungs, causing breathing problems similar to emphysema. LAM occurs almost exclusively in women of childbearing age.

•Cystic fibrosis: A genetic condition in which mucus does not clear easily from the airways. The excess mucus causes repeated episodes of bronchitis and pneumonia throughout life.

•Interstitial lung disease: A collection of conditions in which the interstitium (lining between the air sacs) becomes diseased. Fibrosis (scarring) of the interstitium eventually results, if the process can't be stopped.

•Lung cancer: Cancer may affect almost any part of the lung. Most lung cancer is caused by smoking.

•Tuberculosis: A slowly progressive pneumonia caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Chronic cough, fever, weight loss, and night sweats are common symptoms of tuberculosis.

•Acute respiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS): Severe, sudden injury to the lungs caused by a serious illness. Life support with mechanical ventilation is usually needed to survive until the lungs recover.

•Coccidioidomycosis: A pneumonia caused by Coccidioides, a fungus found in the soil in the southwestern U.S. Most people experience no symptoms, or a flu-like illness with complete recovery.

•Histoplasmosis: An infection caused by inhaling Histoplasma capsulatum, a fungus found in the soil in the eastern and central U.S. Most Histoplasma pneumonias are mild, causing only a short-lived cough and flu-like symptoms.

•Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (allergic alveolitis): Inhaled dust causes an allergic reaction in the lungs. Usually this occurs in farmers or others who work with dried, dusty plant material.

•Influenza (flu): An infection by one or more flu viruses causes fever, body aches, and coughing lasting a week or more. Influenza can progress to life-threatening pneumonia, especially in older people with medical problems.

•Mesothelioma: A rare form of cancer that forms from the cells lining various organs of the body with the lungs being the most common. Mesothelioma tends to emerge several decades after asbestos exposure.

•Pertussis (whooping cough): A highly contagious infection of the airways (bronchi) by Bordetella pertussis, causing persistent cough. A booster vaccine (Tdap) is recommended for adolescents and adults to prevent pertussis.

•Pulmonary hypertension: Many conditions can lead to high blood pressure in the arteries leading from the heart to the lungs. If no cause can be identified, the condition is called idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

•Pulmonary embolism: A blood clot (usually from a vein in the leg) may break off and travel to the heart, which pumps the clot (embolus) into the lungs. Sudden shortness of breath is the most common symptom of a pulmonary embolism.

•Severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS): A severe pneumonia caused by a specific virus first discovered in Asia in 2002. Worldwide prevention measures seem to have controlled SARS, which has caused no deaths in the U.S.

•Pneumothorax: Air in the chest; it occurs when air enters the area around the lung (the pleural space) abnormally. Pneumothorax can be caused by an injury or may happen spontaneously.

 

Lung Treatments

• Thoracotomy: A surgery that enters the chest wall (thorax). Thoracotomy may be done to treat some serious lung conditions or to obtain a lung biopsy.

•Video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS): Less-invasive chest wall surgery using an endoscope (flexible tube with a camera on its end). VATS may be used to treat or diagnose various lung conditions.

•Chest tube (thoracostomy): A tube is inserted through an incision in the chest wall in order to drain fluid or air from around the lung.

•Pleurocentesis: A needle is placed into the chest cavity to drain fluid that's around the lung. A sample is usually examined to identify the cause.

• Antibiotics: Medicines that kill bacteria are used to treat most cases of pneumonia. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses.

•Antiviral drugs: When used soon after flu symptoms start, antiviral medicines can reduce the severity of influenza. Antiviral drugs are not effective against viral bronchitis.

•Bronchodilators: Inhaled medicines can help expand the airways (bronchi). This can reduce wheezing and shortness of breath in people with asthma or COPD.

• Corticosteroids: Inhaled or oral steroids can reduce inflammation and improve symptoms in asthma or COPD. Steroids can also be used to treat less common lung conditions caused by inflammation.

•Mechanical ventilation: People with severe attacks of lung disease may require a machine called a ventilator to assist breathing. The ventilator pumps in air through a tube inserted into the mouth or the neck.

•Continuous positive airway pressure ( CPAP): Air pressure applied by a machine through a mask keeps the airways open. It is used at night to treat sleep apnea, but it is also helpful for some people with COPD.

•Lung transplant: Surgical removal of diseased lungs and replacement with organ donor lungs. Severe COPD, pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary fibrosis are sometimes treated with lung transplant.

•Lung resection: A diseased portion of the lung is removed through surgery. Most often, lung resection is used to treat lung cancer.

•Vasodilators: People with some forms of pulmonary hypertension may require long-term medicines to lower the pressure in their lungs. Often, these must be taken through a continuous infusion into the veins.

•Chemotherapy and radiation therapy: Lung cancer is often not curable with surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can help improve symptoms and sometimes extend life with lung cancer.


 

Asthma linked to pulmonary embolism risk

 Patients with asthma have an increased risk for pulmonary embolism, show Dutch findings.

In particular, patients with a severe case of the disease are most at risk.

"This is the first time a link has been found between asthma and pulmonary embolism and we believe these results have important clinical implications

The authors compared 365 patients with mild-moderate asthma and 283 patients with severe asthma against age-matched controls from a previously published Norwegian population study.

During 31,889 person-years of follow up, 16 patients with asthma developed deep vein thrombosis, and 19 patients had a pulmonary embolism.

The rate of pulmonary embolism among patients with severe asthma was nine times greater than in the general population (0.93 vs 0.18 per 1000 person-years). The rate among patients with mild-moderate asthma was four times greater than in the general population, although this did not reach statistical significance (0.33 vs 0.18 per 1000 person-years).

Multivariate analyses showed that severe asthma was associated with a 3.33-fold increased risk for pulmonary embolism versus no asthma, and also showed that oral corticosteroid use was associated with a 2.82-fold increased risk .

By contrast, the risk for deep vein thrombosis was not associated with the presence of asthma.

Asthma has been associated with procoagulant and antifibrinolytic activity in the airways, but this is the first study to examine an association with pulmonary embolism, explain the authors in the European Respiratory Journal.

Inactivity due to severe symptoms and the use of corticosteroids may also play a role, they say.

"Pulmonary embolism is a potentially life threatening complication that may occur in relatively young patients with severe asthma," write Majoor and colleagues.

"Doctors should therefore increase their awareness and lower the threshold for the evaluation of patients with severe asthma for possible pulmonary embolism.

"In addition, we believe that strategies to reduce the risk of pulmonary embolism, such as thromboprophylaxis

sthma Signs And Symptoms In Children

 

Asthma is a chronic disease that attacks the respiratory tract called bronchial in the lung where there is inflammation process happened in the bronchial cavity wall. The result of inflammation process is airway constriction so the patients experience shortness of breath. Asthma is one of the most prevalent disease in developed countries, especially areas with high level of air pollution.

 

Asthma Signs and Symptoms in Children

 

 Until now, the cause of asthma is unknown despite a lot of reseearches has been done by the experts. Theories how do you get asthma has not been agreed upon by experts around the world. But there is a similarity between asthmatic patients, that they have a bronchial hypersensitivity. Treatment type from physicians for asthma  condition depends on their severity. Physician need to understand the asthma pathophysiology so that patient is get appropriate treatment. The followings are factors that are believed as asthma cause/risk factors and therefore can trigger asthma attack:

 

1. Hereditary factors. Genetic factors are quite significant.

 2. Allergenic substances, such as wool, fibers, carpet, pollen, animal hair, etc. (allergy asthma).

 3. Household insects, especially cockroaches. Dead cockroaches dry and crush into powder which is very light to be floated by the air.

 4. Air pollution, from cigarette smoking (as passive smokers), factory smoke, etc.

 5. Exercise, especially vigorous ones like running race, soccer that is excessive enough to trigger asthma.

 6. Weather. Cold air and air conditioning are also stimulants for some patients.

 

Asthma signs and symptoms in children :

 

1. Shortness of breath due to narrowing of airway

 2. Respiratory sounds (wheezing), especially while exhaling. But not all asthmatics have respiratory sounds!

 3. Prolonged cough at night and cold weather

 4. Severe attack can cause the patients unable to speak

 5. Some patients also experience narrowing chest.

 6. On children, initial symptoms can include itching in neck or chest.

 7. During asthma attack, patients’ anxiety can worsen their condition. They sometimes look very sweaty.

 8. Treatments

 

Asthma signs and symptoms in children, just like in adults is a disease that cannot be treated completely. This means, there are still some possibilities that asthma attacks can occur in the future Basic principles of asthma treatment are based on severity of signs and symptoms. Treatments of asthma, the principle therapies are extra oxygen, nebulizer gas, corticosteroids injection (intravenously administration), and cough relievers.

 For asthmatics, it is very recommended to take the prescribed medicines regularly, always bring nebulizer, and avoid the risk factors to prevent asthma attacks

 

218 days ago by Rashid Jalbani 1

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1

 

Mesothelioma is a unique disease in that symptoms do not usually manifest themselves until anywhere from 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. For patients and doctors, this is …the most frustrating aspect of the disease. The latency period of mesothelioma is lengthy, making the disease difficult to diagnose until its later stages when symptoms finally begin to appear and treatment options are limited.

 

Recognizing Symptoms

 

Just like any added disease, the affection of mesothelioma alter from case to case and with the severity of the illness. The blazon of mesothelioma – whether pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial – aswell determines what the affection ability be. Generally times, the accepted all-embracing bloom of the individual, as able-bodied as his/her age, may aswell play a role in how the accommodating is afflicted by the ache and which affection are a lot of bothersome.

 

One of the a lot of difficult problems with diagnosing mesothelioma and abutting the affection with the ache is the actuality that so abounding of the affection can calmly be mistaken for added added accepted (and beneath serious) chest or respiratory diseases like flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, affection disease, and others.

 

A doctor able-bodied abreast in mesothelioma analysis will yield time to investigate a patient’s history and hopefully affix accomplished acknowledgment to asbestos with the symptoms. Patients can aslo abetment their doctor if they were advisedly exposed. Anyone that was anytime credible to asbestos, even if it was decades ago, should acquaint their doctor of the exposure. That advice will not alone aid the doctor in analysis but will aswell advice annihilate the charge for abounding cher and afflictive tests that may be ordered while attempting to arrrive at a absolute determination.

 

Tests are getting developed that will advice analyze mesothelioma at an beforehand stage, even afore the a lot of accepted affection appear. It is hoped that these tests will aid in alleviative the ache afore it alcove its a lot of avant-garde stages.

 

Causes

 

The Symptoms

 

 

 

As was declared previously, affection of mesothelioma can vary, but the a lot of accepted accepted affection are:

 

Shortness of animation or adversity breathing

 

Coughing

 

Pain in chest or abdomen

 

Fluid in the chest, lungs, or abdomen

 

Weight loss

 

Loss of appetite

 

Inability to sleep

 

Husky voice

 

Difficulty swallowing

 

It is the aboriginal two affection that about accompany a accommodating to the doctor’s office. Both adversity animation and assiduous coughing are acquired by the lung’s disability to aggrandize appropriately due to tumors in the pleural region. The growing tumors could cause the pleura, pericardium, or abdominals to expand, appropriately acquiesce aqueous to enter. That about causes affliction – astute to astringent – in the afflicted regions, such as the chest or abdomen. Animation difficulties aswell accomplish it harder to beddy-bye and generally aftereffect in accident of appetence and, eventually, weight loss.

 

Depending on the blazon of mesothelioma diagnosed – pleural, pericardial, or peritoneal – affection ability alter from the above, which affect mostly to pleural mesothelioma, the a lot of accepted anatomy of the disease.

 

Common affection of peritoneal mesothelioma ability include:

 

Abdominal pain, astute to severe

 

Swelling of the belly arena due to aqueous accumulation

 

Breathing difficulties

 

Loss of appetence consistent in weight loss

 

Bowel obstruction

 

Nausea

 

Vomiting

 

Weakness

 

Fever

 

Anemia

 

Common affection of pericardial mesothelioma ability include:

 

Chest pain, alignment from afflictive to severe

 

Shortness of breath

 

Heart palpitations

 

Persistent coughing

 

Extreme fatigue afterwards basal action or exertion

 

Because the three types of the ache are agnate but arise in altered locations of the body, the accommodating is acceptable to accept affection that overlap. For example, about all meso patients ache from conciseness of animation and fatigue, but the affliction may be added credible in the abdominal/stomach breadth for peritoneal patients and in the chest for those with pleural or pericardial mesothelioma.

smoking lungs

 Russian surgeons said what they first believed was a tumor in a man's lungs turned out to be a living, growing fir tree, according to reports in the Russian media. The doctors said they found a tree measuring nearly 2 inches long inside the lung tissues of 28-year-old Artyom Sidorkin. Horticulturalists remain skeptical, however. Tricia Diggins of the Wellesley College Botanical Gardens in Boston told ABC News that while it may be possible for such trees to grow without light, she doubted whether such an environment could yield an apparently normal, green plant.