How To Get Rid Of Lung Diseases & Breathing Problems

In the current polluted environment, lung diseases are not uncommon. Most of us are ignorant of the early symptoms of lung diseases, which lead to some severe problems. Before we peep into how to get rid of lung diseases and breathing problems, let us first understand what you mean by lung diseases?

Lung disease 

Asthma, COPD, infections including influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung cancer, and several other breathing problems are all examples of the types of lung diseases. Several lung diseases can result in respiratory failure.

Your lungs extract oxygen from the air and distribute it to your bloodstream when you breathe. Your body cells require oxygen to grow and function. You inhale roughly 25,000 times per day on an average day. People who suffer from lung illness have breathing trouble.

Now you need to understand when to visit a doctor?

Talk to your doctor right away if you develop any symptoms that could indicate lung illness. Damage or disease in the lungs and associated tissues can cause persistent symptoms (such as coughing, shortness of breath, or difficulty in breathing). An issue with another part of the respiratory system, such as the voice box or the windpipe, might also set them off.

You can easily miss the early signs of lung disease. Knowing the warning signals can assist you in receiving treatment before the problem worsens. Make an appointment with your health care practitioner if you have any of the following symptoms:

• Chronic mucus production: Mucus can protect you from diseases and irritants. Increased mucus production for more than a month, on the other hand, could be a sign of lung disease.
• Coughing up blood: The blood may come from your lungs or upper respiratory systems, indicating a health issue.
• Feeling as if you are not receiving enough oxygen: When it is difficult to breathe in and out, it is an indication that something is wrong.
• Chronic chest pain: A warning indicator is unexplained chest pain that lasts more than a month and worsens when you breathe in or cough.
• Chronic cough: Coughing for more than a month could indicate that something incorrect is happening with your lungs.

After you get to know about these symptoms, it's also necessary to comprehend their causes.

• Smoking: Cigarette smoking is responsible for 85 to 90% of all lung disease cases. When cigarette burns, about 7,000 chemicals are released, many of which are dangerous. Toxins in cigarette smoke impair the immune system of your lung, constrict airways, create swelling in air tubes, and destroy air sacs, all of which contribute to lung disease. 
• Your environment condition: Lung diseases can occur due to the air you breathe daily at work, at home, and outside. It can also occur due to long-term exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke and dust, gases, and chemicals (frequently from employment).

Other risk factors of lung diseases

The leading cause of lung infection, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is smoking. It raises your chances of getting breathing problems and dying from it.

Lung diseases caused by smoking contribute to 80-90% of such cases. Female smokers are nearly 13 times more likely to die of lung diseases than nonsmokers, whereas male smokers are probably 12 times more likely to die due to lung diseases than nonsmokers.

Other lung disease risk factors include:

• Air pollution exposure
• Chemicals, dust, and fumes are all a part of the job
• An infection in the lungs as a youngster
• Second-hand smoke inhalation
• Alpha-1 deficiency is a hereditary disease

After you know the cause of this lung disease, it is also essential to identify the prevention of these lung diseases. 

Prevention methods of lung diseases are:

• Smoking: Smoking wreaks havoc on your lungs and puts you at risk for a type of illness, including lung cancer and COPD. It is due to the discharge of hazardous compounds into your lungs when materials get burnt inside. Do not start smoking if you have never smoked before. It is never too late to quit smoking if you are still doing it. Learn more about quitting smoking, including the various successful drugs and proven smoking cessation programs.
• Wash your hands: To keep germs at bay and to avoid the majority of the common infectious diseases spread by hand, wash thoroughly with soap and water several times a day.
• Convert your fireplace: Particulate particles found in wood and trash can cause severe lung harm. Switch to a cleaner-burning gas or wood stove, or install an electric fireplace or gas insert if possible
• Take the stairs: To relieve the stress on your lungs and boost the efficiency of oxygen delivery and metabolism, do something physical for 30 minutes each day. Take a walk around the building, ride your bike around the neighborhood, or sprint in place for a few minutes.
• Check your home for radon: Radon gas (a naturally occurring radioactive gas formed by the breakdown of uranium in the earth) is a silent killer, second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer. Check to see if your house or office has high radon levels. It could be leaking in the house from foundation and wall cracks. 
• Be aware of the air around you: People with lung disorders like asthma and COPD should pay close attention to particulate pollution levels in the environment, which are tiny solid or liquid particles, and limit their open exposure when the amount is high.
• Stay away from second-hand or third-hand smoke: Third-hand smoke—residual cigarette vapors that attach to walls and furniture and combine with indoor contaminants to generate lung-damaging compounds—should also be avoided. Make sure your carpets are clean.

Now comes the diagnosis phase, when your doctor makes a diagnosis and sends you on your way to treatment. There is no simple test for lung diseases but, the symptoms and physical examination itself do the work of the tests. If you visit your doctor, it is essential to tell thoroughly about your symptoms; so that it becomes easy for the doctor to understand the exact problem. Just tell your doctor about yourself simply mentioning that:

You used to smoke in the past but have left smoking now.

You had taken a lot of second and third-hand smoke.

You had a family history of lung disease.

You have been in contact with a lot of lung irritants at your workplace.

Apart from your symptoms, your doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to your lungs as you breathe during the physical examination. It is then when a doctor sends you for further tests and treatments.

It is equally essential to go for proper lung treatment according to the requirements of your body. There are various treatment methods available in the market nowadays; some of these treatments include: 

Lung therapies

• Oxygen therapy: You can get supplemental oxygen through a mask or nasal cannula if your blood oxygen level is minimal. It may be easier to get around with a portable unit.

Medications

• Antibiotics: Lung disease symptoms can worsen by respiratory infections such as acute bronchitis, pneumonia, and influenza. Antibiotics can help treat COPD flare-ups, but they do not help in prevention.

Some of the medications also include: 

• Inhaled steroids
• Combination inhalers
• Oral steroids 

Surgery 

• Lung transplant: For certain persons who meet specific criteria, lung transplantation may be an option. Transplantation can help you breathe better and be more active. However, it is the main procedure with severe dangers, such as organ rejection, and you will be required to take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of your life.

These treatments help you to get a healthy life rather than going through tremendous lung disease pain. Along with a healthy lifestyle, you can help you get rid of complications more easily.