Chronic Lung Diseases: Treatment

So in this article of My Health Only, we are going to tell you about the chronic lung diseases, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, complications,. by knowing lung disease, you will be able to treat it as soon as possible.

Prevention of Lung Disease –

How to prevent diseases in the lungs?

To protect against lung diseases you can adopt these methods:

• Exercise regularly, aerobic exercise that increases heart rate may be most beneficial.
• Wash your hands regularly
• Do not touch your mouth with hands (try to touch as little as possible)
• Stay away from sick people
• Eat nutritious food
• Drink plenty of water
• Get your doctor checked regularly
• Do not ignore any signs and symptoms associated with lung diseases
• Quit smoking
• Stay away from the smoker and its smoke
• Do not breathe at home or outside pollution or contaminated air
• Do not breathe in any kind of chemical, dust or smoke etc.
• If you are at high risk of lung cancer, talk to a doctor about it and get it checked.

Diagnosis of Lung Disease –

How is lung disease tested?

To test for lung related problems, the doctor asks about the patient’s previous medical condition and performs a physical examination of the patient. Doctors can also use a device called a “stethoscope” to check for abnormal sounds during breathing.

Spirometry – During this test, doctors use a medical machine (instrument) called a spirometer. With the help of this test, it is ascertained how much air you can take during breathing and how much air you release back. Also, with the help of this test it is also found out how fast you leave the air out. If the doctor finds any problem in the result of the test, then he gives medicines and tests again to check for improvement in the condition.

Blood tests – Blood tests are done to check the white blood cells in the blood, with the help of which infection can be detected in the lungs.

Allergy testing – This test is used to check for allergies and to find out the causes of asthma.

X-ray or Electrocardiogram – If the doctor suspects that your symptoms are due to some other disease or any external object going into the body, then the doctor will examine the chest X-ray or do electrocardiogram to detect such a condition.

CT scan – With the help of this test, the lungs and other parts of the chest can be seen very clearly.

Arterial blood gas analysis – With the help of this test, it is found out how well your lungs are receiving oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.

Lung biopsy – If the doctor suspects lung cancer, they can do a lung biopsy to check for it. During the biopsy, a small piece in the form of a sample is extracted from the lung tissue, which is examined.

Sputum culture – During this test, the doctor can take a sample of your mucus and send it to the lab for testing. The mucus is examined in the lab and the presence of bacteria in it is detected, which can cause lung infections and other diseases.

Pulse oximetry – This test is used to know how much volume your lungs can pass oxygen to the blood.

Treatment of Lung Disease –

How is lung disease treated?

There are many different types of treatment according to the type of lung disease. Some options for treating lung diseases, such as:

Patients with COPD and asthma may require an inhaler and bronchodilator. With their help, the blocked respiratory passages are opened and other symptoms of asthma and COPD are pacified.

Patients who have breathing problems are treated with oxygen therapy. In this process, the patient is put on a mask, with the help of which the patients get oxygen.

Use of corticosteroid drugs, sometimes corticosteroid drugs may be given to reduce swelling and redness in the lung tissue.

If you have pneumonia, you may have to be hospitalized. In the hospital you are given oxygen therapy and intravenous antibiotics.

Antibiotics are given to the patient to treat TB, whose course lasts longer.

The treatment of lung cancer depends on the type of cancer and its severity. During this treatment, doctors prepare a treatment plan, which includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. With the help of surgery, the cancerous part of the lung is removed, there are some other types of medicines, which help to destroy the cancerous cells.

If lung cancer has reached the last stage, then lung transplant is the last option. However, other measures like improving lifestyle are also very important, they not only help the lungs to function properly but also protect them from diseases.

Some severe cases of lung disease may require an operation. Lung volume and diaphragm expansion and contraction can be improved during the operation.

Operation –

Lung transplant – Lung transplant is the only option left for treating some people. Lung transplantation improves your ability to stay active and breathe properly. However, it is a major operation and is associated with many dangers such as Organ rejection. In the situation of organ rejections, the body’s immune system does not accept the transplanted organ, which may require immune-suppressing medications throughout the life.

Supportive treatment –

Oxygen Therapy –

Lung damage cannot be prevented with the help of this therapy, but it helps in many other ways, such as:

• Improve sleep
• Make the patient feel healthy
• Reduce the risk of blood oxygen deficiency
• Lowering blood pressure on the right side of the heart
• Improve breathing capacity
• Increase exercise capacity

Other treatments –

• Exercise to increase body tolerance
• Using the right breathing techniques to improve lung health

Complications of Lung Disease –

What problems do lung disease cause?

If any lung disease is not treated in a timely manner, many types of complications can develop from it, such as:

• Severe breathing difficulties (in cases of emphysema or COPD)
• Breathlessness
• Death of a patient due to lung cancer
• People suffering from COPD also get acid reflux disease (in this case stomach contents and food etc. come back into the food pipe).
• Malnutrition, it is believed that malnutrition in the body is due to the efforts made to breathe and increase the amount of calories in the body.
• Having sleep problems due to difficulty in breathing. In this situation you are not able to sleep well at night, due to which you feel tired during the day.

People who have trouble breathing for a long time, then due to problems in normal life, some mental symptoms also develop in them:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Panic disorder