Emphysema - Causes and Cure
Emphysema is a lung disease which comes under the umbrella of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).It basically involves the damage to air sacs or alveoli in the lungs as the lungs lose the ability to stretch and contract. The air sacs become weak and the walls break creating a larger air sac, which traps the air.the ability to exhale is reduced considerably.Inflammation sets in the airways and after prolonged illness, there is scarring of the tissues.
Due to all these reasons , air flow is restricted and symptoms of breathlessness sets in.The early symptoms are negligible cough and shortness of breath.The disease is also a ‘silent killer’ because by the time real symptoms surface, the disease has rendered the lung irreparable. Emphysema is a fatal disease which degenerates with time.Medication is only to suppress the symptoms related to this disease.
Apart from breathlessness other symptoms are cough, reduced ability of physical exercises.Loss of weight and fatigue develops due to carbon dioxide accumulation in the body.Eating becomes a chore and takes away a lot of breath so patient tends to avoid eating. When a person eats, the stomach expands putting pressure on diaphragm, which puts pressure on the lungs making breathing difficult.
The most common factor for all chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases is smoking. Smoking starts to destroy the microscopic hair or cilia that protect the bronchial tubes in the air passage from irritants.
The primary function of cilia is to keep the allergens out of the airways but the tobacco smoke interferes with the primary function. Sweeping away of the irritants stops and they get lodged in the air passages, which can later lead to inflammation in the air sacs of the airways. Prolonged use of tobacco can scar the tissues and narrow the air passages making breathing difficult.
The aim of the treatment is to provide relief from the related complications of inflammation and bronchodilators to open obstructive air passages. Drugs available are steroids and aerosols. Antibiotics are also prescribed to curb the spread of bacterial infections that can increase the chances of further damage to the lungs. Further medication is availed to reduce the inflammation and open blocked airway to normalize breathing.
However, the first thing that can lessen your chances of acquiring this disease or to lessen its spread is to stop smoking and reduce passive smoking as much as possible.
Anita Choudhary has been freelancing and writing for over 4 years and can be contacted at mailto:anita22_ch@yahoo.co.in anita22_ch@yahoo.co.in for any kind of writing assignments.
