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How we damage our lungs
(Avoiding emphysema, bronchitis and other lung disease)
It is important to keep your lungs in top working order.
The oxygen they bring into your body powers everything
you do. If you damage them, they cannot be repaired, and you will be
less able to keep active. Badly damaged lungs can make old age a living
hell for years on end, leaving people constantly breathless, coughing
and barely able to walk.
Your lungs are easy to damage
Lungs are fragile and vulnerable. If you open them out they’d cover the whole of a singles tennis court, but they'd mostly be far thinner than tissue paper. Every day, 10,000 to 20,000 litres of air passes over this thin membrane, with all the pollutants, germs and dust it contains.
It’s
no surprise that the most common day-to-day diseases we suffer from are
coughs, colds and ‘flu – all diseases of the lung.
Some types of dusts and chemicals can damage your lungs if you breathe them, and most work environments now take precautions against these.
A far more serious problem, though, is smoking. Tobacco smoke contains 70 chemicals known to cause cancer. Many more irritate the lung, leaving it inflamed and leading to bronchitis, with the sufferer constantly coughing to clear the mucus that builds up.
The inflammation can break down the
walls of the minute air sacs in the lungs, a condition called
‘emphysema’, and can damage the airways, leaving them narrowed and less
effective. All this makes breathing very difficult and uncomfortable.
Some of the things you can do
If you smoke, the sooner you give up, the less
damage your lungs will suffer. Even a single cigarette a day is harmful.
At work and home, take seriously the
instructions and advice when handling chemicals.
Try to avoid catching colds and coughs, as
repeated infections can damage your lungs.
What the book covers
The book explains in more depth
what can damage your lungs
steps you can take to protect these vital organs.
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Next: infections
Selected references for the book
Lung structure
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/gray/subjects/subject/240
Lung defences
Nicod LP
Lung defences: an overview
Eur Respir Rev 2005;14:45-50
Olivieri D Scoditti E
Impact of environmental factors on lung
defences
Eur Respir Rev 2005;14:51-56
Nicod LP
Pulmonary Defence Mechanisms
Respiration 1999;66:2-11
Infections
http://www.lunguk.org/you-and-your-lungs/conditions-and-diseases/pneumonia
Upper respiratory infections; coughs, colds
and sore throats
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_respiratory_tract_infection
Bronchial asthma
Dodge RRBurrows B
The prevalence and incidence of asthma and
asthma-like symptoms in a general population sample.
Am Rev Respir Dis. 1980;122:567-75.
http://www.lunguk.org/you-and-your-lungs/conditions-and-diseases/asthma
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001196/
http://www.asthma.org.uk/all_about_asthma/asthma_basics/index.html
House dust mite
http://www.asthma.org.uk/all_about_asthma/asthma_triggers_az/housedust_mites.html
Chronic emphysema
http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/encyclopaedia/e/article/emphysema/
Chronic obstructive lung disease
Celli BR et al
Standards for the diagnosis and treatment of
patients with COPD: a summary of the ATS/ERS position paper
Eur Resp 2004;23:932-946
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/copd1.shtml
Litmanovich D Boiselle PM Bankier AA
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease:
Comparison Between Conventional Radiography and Computed Tomography
European Radiology 2008;19:537-551
British Lung Foundation ‘Breath Test’
http://www.lunguk.org/media-and-campaigning/world-copd-day/breath_test
Harms of Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cessation
Occupational lung disease
http://www.lunguk.org/you-and-your-lungs/conditions-and-diseases/occupational-lung-disease
Blanc PD Torén K
Occupation in chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and chronic bronchitis: an update
Int J Tuberculosis Lung Dis 2007;11:251-257,