It’s time to acknowledge: This is the third leading cause of death in the world that is not known enough and is not diagnosed in time
Obstructive pulmonary disease claims the lives of three million people worldwide but its awareness is particularly low and most cases are not diagnosed in time. Here is everything that is important for you to know about the phenomenon
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterized by gradual damage to lung tissue and airways. The damage causes increasing difficulty in breathing which in the end, may end in death. As mentioned, this is the third leading cause of death in the world, claiming the lives of millions.
Hereditary and environmental factors are involved in the development of the disease, but first and foremost it is a disease of smokers: for example, a study conducted in the Netherlands found that over eighty percent of patients are smokers or have smoked in the past. Also, much of it is related to exposure of the airways to harmful substances in other ways: mainly passive smoking, air pollution or exposure to dust and smoke in the workplace. There is also a link between smoking e-cigarettes and an increased risk of contracting the disease. In the United States, smokers’ mortality from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is close to that caused by lung cancer, but awareness is much lower.
Continuous damage
When cigarette smoke, or other polluting particles enter the lungs, the immune system responds and creates inflammation in order to eliminate the infection from the body. But as the exposure to smoke continues, the inflammation also remains, eventually causing actual damage to the lung tissue.
It is common to divide the damage into two main types. The first, known as emphysema, is damage to the lungs – the small sacs that fill with air when we breathe. The oxygen in the air enters the bloodstream through the walls of the nadis while the carbon dioxide present in the blood drips from it into the nadis and is expelled out. The efficiency of gas passage in nadis depends on their large surface area. In addition, impairing the wall elasticity of the vesicles can cause air to trap and impair the efficiency of carbon dioxide removal from the lungs.
The second type is called chronic bronchitis, or chronic bronchitis. The bronchi are the tubes that carry air to and from the vagina. When an inflammatory process occurs in them, they become narrower and tend to secrete more mucus. As a result, the airflow efficiency is impaired and a chronic cough develops.
Patients with this condition will experience shortness of breath, especially with exertion, and may also experience coughing, wheezing and wheezing. The natural course of the disease is characterized by severe seizures with significant worsening of shortness of breath and an increase in the amount of phlegm. In the advanced stages of the disease the difficulty in breathing increases, and with them the difficulty of exercising since the body has difficulty absorbing all the amount of oxygen it needs. These seizures become more frequent as the disease progresses, and patients may even need oxygen.
The ongoing damage to lung tissue is largely irreversible, so the disease is considered incurable. Of course, smoking cessation may moderate the rate of deterioration, and is considered the most effective means of preventing mortality from the disease.
Supportive care
There is a wide range of supportive treatments, designed to improve the condition of the symptoms and facilitate breathing. Some patients may be helped by inhalers that inject air into the airways that cause the muscles to relax and thus dilate the bronchi. The inhalers not only improve lung function in the immediate term but also significantly reduce the incidence of seizures.
Another type of treatment is also based on inhalers, but this time with steroids whose function is to reduce inflammation and reduce the incidence of seizures. This treatment helps to clear the mucus from the lungs and thereby reduce the cough and facilitate breathing.
In conclusion, another important recommendation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is to get vaccinated against influenza and pneumonia. The chronic damage that the disease leaves to patients’ health makes it difficult for them to deal with bacterial or viral infections in the airways. And of course, as in many cases, prevention is the most effective way to avoid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – so it’s another great reason to quit smoking.
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