Emphysema

What is Emphysema? Emphysema is a long-term lung disease. In your lungs, you have a numerous number of root-like air passages called bronchioles. Off each of these bronchioles are small airs sacs called alveoli which support the bronchioles. Emphysema occurs when the alveoli’s walls break down, which causes breathing to become exceptionally difficult due to the lack of surface area in the lungs. It also causes the bronchioles to lose support and causes the airways to narrow.

What causes Emphysema? The main cause of emphysema is smoking cigarettes. If a person were to smoke for a larger amount of time, they are most likely to get emphysema. Another cause of emphysema is called Alpha 1 Antitrypsin deficiency. Alpha 1 is a genetic disorder when there is a lack of enzymes in the lungs to protect it. A person could also get emphysema from second-hand smoke.

Heavy-Breathing/Shortness of Breath Signs and Symptoms Heavy-Breathing/Shortness of Breath Chest Expansion Fatigue Hyperventilation

There is no cure for Emphysema! Emphysema Treatment There is no cure for Emphysema! But there are some ways that you can prevent/slow down the effects of emphysema. Don’t smoke or stop smoking: Once damage through emphysema has been done to your lungs, it is unable to be reversed. There is not true cure for emphysema, only treatments which can slow the damage down. 2. Oxygen Therapy: Cell respiration requires appropriate levels of oxygen, so when the appropriate levels are not reached (oxygen is restricted), this form of treatment may be used. Works to increase the supply of oxygen to the lungs, which in turn increases accessibility of oxygen to the other body tissues. Oxygen is administered to patients through a face mask. The mask covers the nose and mouth, letting oxygen cross through both passageways. Concentrated oxygen can be used at home, in gas canisters.

Treatment Continued 3. Bronchodilators: Medications given to individuals which have difficulty breathing. They relax the bronchial muscles, making the airway larger and allow more oxygen to pass through the lungs. Several different kinds of bronchodilators; some work longer, some are fast-acting, some dilate airways differently   4. Steroids: People who have asthmatic symptoms along with their emphysema or with worse symptoms can take steroids. Works to reduce inflammation in the respiratory system, which will help someone breathe better.

Treatment Continued 5. Antibiotics: Reduce the risk of lung infections 6. Exercise: When the muscles around the lung are better-conditioned, lungs are able to bring in more air and increase the body’s oxygen supply. 7. Surgery: The most diseased areas of the lung are removed to allow the remaining lung muscles to work better. If necessary, lung transplants can be done.

Emphysema in lung tissue.

Diagnosing Emphysema Stethoscopes: A stethoscope is used to listen to specific parts of inside the body from the outside. Mainly it is used to hear the heart, lungs, and intestinal track. They can differ in their shape and the way they work, it all depends on the type of stethoscope you have. Generally they have two ear pieces (one for each ear) that attaches to a head through a rubber tube; the head is what receives the sound. When diagnosing something like emphysema, a stethoscope is used to listen to the chest, like in most situations. In an early stage, you may only hear a slight wheezing, but if the disease has worsened, a doctor will tap on your chest while listening to your breathing. It is likely he will hear a hollow sound because of the break or growth of the alveoli on your lungs. This helps doctors determine whether or not a person emphysema.

Diagnosing Emphysema pt.2 Chest X-Rays:           A chest x-ray is used to have a fairly clear image of the inside of the chest without actually entering it. With this image you are capable of seeing the heart, lungs, airways, blood vessels and the bones of the spine and chest. To get an image of your chest, the x-ray sits against a wall as you stand in front of it.           It is used to in the diagnosis of emphysema because it gives you a clear view of what your lungs look like at the moment and it can be compared to what a normal, healthy looking lung should be like. This helps determine whether or not a person has emphysema and to keep monitoring them as their treatment goes on. MRI’s:            An MRI, or magnetic resonance imagining, is something like a chest x-ray, it gives you an image of inside the body without actually entering it. The difference is that it is much more detailed and used to view many different things and it does not use ionizing radiation. With it you can view organs, soft tissues, bone and mostly all other parts of the inner body.           MRI’s can be used to view the lungs and will give a detailed picture. This will help to diagnose emphysema as well because it allows a better judgment of a person’s disease.

Emphysema Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aus9V_UNbiI

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emphysema http://www.lung.ca/diseases-maladies/a-z/emphysema-emphyseme/index_e.php http://www.thoracic.org/sections/copd/for-patients/what-kind-of-medications-are-there-for-copd/what-are-bronchodilators.html http://www.faqs.org/health/Sick-V2/Emphysema.html http://www.bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_condition_info_details.asp?channel_id=2022&relation_id=16665&disease+id=51&page_no=2 www.google.ca http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=chestrad http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/St-Wr/Stethoscope.html http://www.hmc.psu.edu/healthinfo/e/emphysema.htm http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr