1. Respiratory Disorders & conditions

2. Instructions for class today:
Read through the following slides on various respiratory disorders and conditions – fill out your chart as you go.
There are a few extra disorders in the powerpoint that you don’t need to write notes about. I won’t test you on those, they’re just there for interest.
Once you are done filling out the chart, there are some questions on the last slide for you to complete for the remainder of class.

3. Asthma A chronic inflammatory disease of the airway
Causes shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, coughing and wheezing
Air is obstructed as it passes in and out of the lungs
Caused by genetic and environmental factors such as dust or pollen, or by exercise

4. The lining of the airway becomes inflamed and may produce more mucous
The more inflammation, the more sensitive the airway becomes
Can also result in:
The muscles surrounding the airways become sensitive and start to twitch and tighten
This can also occur if inflammation is not treated
It can be treated with inhaled medications (puffer)

5. Bronchitis
**Very similar result to asthma, but different cause**
The bronchi and bronchioles become irritated or infected – can be caused by a virus, bacteria, or inhaled irritants
Results in inflammation, mucous production, and tightening of airways.
As mucous builds up, the coughing reflex is triggered to help clear these airways

6. Pleurisy (aka. Pleuritis)
The pleural membrane around the lungs become inflamed - usually due to infection
Causes pain when breathing
Often occurs as a secondary infection related to pneumonia

7. Drowning Besides Oxygen deprivation… Fresh water Salt Water
Water gets in your lungs, creating osmotic pressure
Water floods the blood stream through osmosis (hypotonic!)
Dilutes blood chemicals – can result in heart failure
Salt Water
Water is drawn out of capillaries (osmosis) and into the lungs (hypertonic)
This prevents oxygen from reaching the walls of the alveoli

8. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning
Sometimes called the silent killer
A dangerous air pollutant that we can’t see, smell, or taste
Comes from the incomplete combustion of organic material
Car exhaust, malfunctioning gas furnace, BBQ
(never use a BBQ inside!!)

9. How does it harm us?
Carbon monoxide can bind to hemoglobin in our RBC more efficiently than oxygen can (about 200x better!)
Oxygen is blocked from binding to red blood cells
Symptoms of CO poisoning
Headaches, weakness, dizziness and nausea
Coma, organ damage, and death soon follows

10. High Altitude Breathing
At higher altitude, air is ”thinner”. Low air pressure contains less oxygen, so breathing is considerable less efficient. This is why mountain climbers take O2 tanks with them.
A person not acclimatized to such conditions will not be able to get enough oxygen - This is called “altitude sickness” or Hypoxia

11. Hypoxia
Caused when breathing at high altitudes does not supply enough oxygen for your body.
Oxygen levels in the blood are too low and any physical exertion results in shortness of breath and light headedness.
The body responds by increasing breathing rate and over time the body creates more red blood cells to enable more oxygen absorption – this is Acclimatization (your body adjusts and adapts to your environment)
Ever heard of high altitude training? (you’ll need to look this up in the questions at the end)

12. Scuba Diving
At normal atmospheric pressure, nitrogen does not dissolve significantly in water, and does not diffuse into our blood
A scuba diver experiences increased pressures in deep water, and the body tissues absorb high volumes of gas at this increased pressure

13. Nitrogen Narcosis Beyond 40-60 meters
Pressure increases the amount of nitrogen dissolved in blood
Also known as “rapture of the deep”
A diver may experience blissful giddiness, disorientation, or irrational fear and panic – can be very dangerous if the swimmer cannot find their way back to the surface.
The effects wear off after a diver returns to normal depth and pressure

14. The Bends As divers head back to the surface, pressure decreases
If a diver surfaces too quickly the extra dissolved gases in blood can form bubbles as pressures decrease. These bubbles become trapped within the blood vessels
The bubbles block blood flow and can be very painful and potentially fatal

15. Cold and Flu Virus
The common cold (rhinovirus) and the flu (influenza virus) get into cells of the respiratory tract
They replicate and destroy cells (we’ll go into more detail about how this happens in our next unit)
Result in sore throats and extra mucous production

16. Smoking…
Nicotine can paralyze cilia (small hair like fibres in the respiratory tract) and interfere with mucous production
As a result, air is not cleaned as it enters the lungs
Cigarette smoke also contains 250 different chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans, and 69 of those chemicals are known carcinogens (substances that cause cancer)

17. Emphysema
Lung tissue and alveoli lose their elasticity – means that breathing in and out becomes much more difficult.
It becomes especially difficult to breathe out completely which results in “stale air” being trapped in the lungs.
In 2018 it was the 3rd leading cause of death
(Chronic lower respiratory disease)
What causes it????  Smoking.

18. Smokers also experience…
Bronchitis
Hearth disease – less oxygen in the blood means the heart works harder!
Liver disorders – from filtering out extra chemicals
Radiation exposure – from radioactive particles in the smoke – Cancer
Premature aging and wrinkling

19. Follow up questions Use the Powerpoint, as well as Google search to answer the following:
How is asthma different than bronchitis?
What are some common sources of carbon monoxide to watch out for?
Why is carbon monoxide called the “silent killer”?
Why is it important that scuba divers return to the surface gradually, and not too quickly.
What is high altitude training? What are its benefits, and how does it work?