Most Common Respiratory Disorders and Treatments

The most common respiratory disorders include;

• Asthma
• COPD &
• Lung Cancer

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects about 12 million people in the US. Children in particular are easily affected by asthma, while there is a greater prevalence for asthma in African-American people.

Asthma when occurs the airways of the lungs narrow and constrict, making it harder to breathe. This causes wheezing and tightness in the chest as well. Allergens, environmental agents and infections are all asthma triggers. Passive smoking, maternal smoking during pregnancy, genetics and exposure to animal dander, pollen and air pollution also put a person or child at risk for asthma.

Although asthma can occur at any age, many people first develop it as children. There is no cure for asthma, although sometimes young children tend to outgrow this disease. Management of asthma symptoms is the key to living a healthy life.

Treatment

Long-term medications are very important as they reduce inflammation in asthmatic people. Short-term drugs or rescue drugs, as they are known, only help to provide and reduce symptoms of an asthma attack. The easiest way to prevent an asthma attack is to avoid exposure to known asthma triggers. Treatment of asthma typically consists of medication taken by an inhaler or nebulizer. Medications used to treat asthma include; beta2-agonists, anticholinergic agents and corticosteroids.

There different types of asthma: allergic, non-allergic, occupational, drug induced, exercise included, and cough variant asthma. Non-allergic asthma occurs after the age of 40 and is generally due to exposure to irritants such as smoke, pollution, fresh paint, or household cleaning products. Allergic asthma is common in children and is often caused by allergies to house dust mites, animal dander, mold, and pollens. Occupational asthma is due to exposure to other industrial chemicals, while rigorous exercise can also cause an asthma attack.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

COPD is defined as generally irreversible and progressive chronic airflow obstruction. It is the 4th leading cause of death in the US. COPD is the name given to two similar diseases that obstruct breathing, namely chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Some 14 million people in the US have been diagnosed with either of these two diseases. Sometimes however, both these disease can occur together.

Risk factors for COPD include; smoking and exposure to second hand smoke, occupational pollutants, family history, recurrent respiratory infections, and protease deficiencies. However, smoking is responsible for 80-90% of COPD cases.

Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is characterized by an irritating cough, mucus overproduction, and inflammation of the bronchial tubes lasting 3 months or more, in a period of 2 consecutive years. Patients are usually diagnosed with chronic bronchitis in their 30's and 40's. A history of smoking is a major factor in chronic bronchitis.

Emphysema

Emphysema is a condition in which the walls between the alveoli or air sacs within the lungs lose their ability to stretch and recoil, they then weaken and break. Elasticity of the lung diminishes causing air to be trapped in the air sacs and impairing the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Symptoms of emphysema include shortness of breath, cough and a limited exercise tolerance. Smoking is also the main cause of emphysema.

Treatments

The treatment objectives for COPD are to slow the decline in lung function, relieve symptoms, improving daily lung function and improve the overall quality of life for a person with this disease. The most important step in treating COPD is to quit smoking, as smoking further increases loss of lung function. By quitting smoking loss of lung functioning is slowed down.

Medications relieve symptoms such as shortness of breath, and treats respiratory tract infections that can worsen COPD. Currently bronchodilators and corticosteroids are used in COPD treatment. However, no medications have been found to cure the disease or reverse the loss of lung function caused by smoking.

Lung Cancer

According to the American Lung Association, more than 169,500 new cases of lung cancer were treated in 2001, with most being caused by cigarette smoking. More people die from lung cancer than from any other type of cancer. This cancer usually starts in the lining of the bronchi, but can also begin in other areas of the respiratory system, including the trachea, bronchioles, or alveoli. Lung cancers are generally divided into two types:

• Non-small cell lung cancer
• And small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer is more common than small cell lung cancer. There are three main kinds of non-small cell lung cancer and they are named for the type of cells in the tumor:

• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Adenocarcinoma &
• Large cell carcinomas

Small cell lung cancer grows rapidly and quickly spreads to other organs. This type of lung cancer is extremely fatal and often requires lung removal or lung transplantation.

It is important to find out what kind of lung cancer one has, as they are all treated differently.

Though lung cancer usually does not cause any symptoms when it first develops, however after a tumor begins to grow, a persistent cough is the most common symptom. Other symptoms include: constant chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, recurring lung infections, bloody sputum and hoarseness.

There are several risk factors that make a person more likely to develop lung cancer, and smoking ranks number one. More than 90 percent of lung cancers are thought to be a result of smoking. Additional risk factors include: secondhand smoke, smoking marijuana, recurring lung inflammation, asbestos exposure, exposure to hazardous chemical products and radiation.

Treatment

Treatment for lung cancer is determined based on, a person’s age, overall health, and medical history, the extent of the disease and tolerance to medications and/or therapies. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are often used to treat lung cancer.

There are three types of surgery that are most often used in lung cancer treatment. The choice depends on the size and location of the tumor, the extent of the cancer, and the general health of the patient. Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stops them from growing and dividing, while chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to kill the cacogenics cells.