A condition in which a person's airways become inflamed, narrow and swell and produce extra mucus, which makes it difficult to breathe.

Asthma can be minor or it can interfere with daily activities. In some cases, it may lead to a life-threatening attack.

Asthma may cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, cough and wheezing.

Homeopathy treatment can well manage the acute symptoms and Chronic state of asthmatic condition like difficulties in breathing, cough, fever, etc most effectively and more safely.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is by definition an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible) asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis. This disease is characterized by increasing breathlessness. Here we discuss what COPD is, how it can be treated, and what are the risks.

Many people mistake their increased breathlessness and coughing as a normal part of aging. In the early stages of the disease, you may not notice the symptoms. COPD can develop for years without noticeable shortness of breath. You begin to see the symptoms in the more developed stages of the disease. 

Damage to the lung tissue over time causes physical changes in the tissues of the lungs and clogging of the airways with thick mucus. The tissue damage in the lungs leads to poor compliance (the elasticity, or ability of the lung tissue to expand). 

The decrease in elasticity of the lungs means that oxygen in the air cannot get by obstructions (for example, thick mucus plugs) to reach air spaces (alveoli) where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occurs in the lung. Consequently, the person exhibits a progressive difficulty, first coughing to remove obstructions like mucus, and then in breathing, especially with exertion.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Symptoms

People with COPD can often mistake their symptoms for other respiratory problems, such as exercise-induced asthma or a bad cold. If you have any of the following symptoms, you should see your doctor as soon as possible:

• Wheezing

• Tightness in the chest

• Fatigue

• Multiple respiratory infections

• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) that gets worse with mild activity

• Having to clear your throat first thing in the morning, due to excess mucus in your lungs

• A chronic cough that may produce mucus (sputum) that may be clear, white, yellow or greenish

• Blueness of the lips or fingernail beds (cyanosis)

• Frequent respiratory infections

• Unintended weight loss (in later stages)

• Swelling in your ankles, feet or legs

If left untreated, COPD can lead to hospitalization and even death. Be proactive if you are showing signs of the disease and be evaluated by your physician promptly.

What Causes COPD?

The main cause of COPD in developed countries is tobacco smoking. In the developing world, COPD often occurs in people exposed to fumes from burning fuel for cooking and heating in poorly ventilated homes. 

Only about 20 to 30 percent of chronic smokers may develop clinically apparent COPD, although many smokers with long smoking histories may develop reduced lung function. Some smokers develop less common lung conditions. They may be misdiagnosed as having COPD until a more thorough evaluation is performed.

Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace, exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution, frequent use of a cooking fire without proper ventilation, and genetic problems like Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency are also causes of COPD.

Stages of COPD

One way to establish stages for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease program (GOLD). 

The staging is based on the results of a pulmonary function test. Specifically, the forced expiratory volume (how much air one can exhale forcibly) in one second (FEV1) of a standard predicted value is measured, based on the individual patient’s physical parameters. 

The stages are as follows:

• Stage I is FEV1 of equal or more than 80% of the predicted value

• Stage II is FEV1 of 50% to 79% of the predicted value

• Stage III is FEV1 of 30% to 49% of the predicted value

• Stage IV is FEV1 of less than 30% of predicted value or an FEV1 less than 50% of predicted value plus respiratory failure

Infection that inflames air sacs in one or both lungs, which may fill with fluid.

With pneumonia, the air sacs may fill with fluid or pus. The infection can be life-threatening to anyone, but particularly to infants, children and people over 65.

Symptoms include a cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and difficulty breathing.

Lung cancer is cancer that starts in the lungs.

The lungs are located in the chest. When you breathe, air goes through your nose, down your windpipe (trachea), and into the lungs, where it flows through tubes called bronchi. Most lung cancer begins in the cells that line these tubes.

There are two main types of lung cancer:

• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer.

• Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) makes up about 20% of all lung cancer cases.

If the lung cancer is made up of both types, it is called mixed small cell/large cell cancer.

If the cancer started somewhere else in the body and spreads to the lungs, it is called metastatic cancer to the lung.

Causes

Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer for both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined.

Lung cancer is more common in older adults. It is rare in people under age 45.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. Close to 90% of lung cancer is related to smoking. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk for lung cancer. The risk does decrease with time after you stop smoking. There is no evidence that smoking low-tar cigarettes lowers the risk.

Certain types of lung cancer can also affect people who have never smoked.

Secondhand smoke (breathing the smoke of others) increases your risk for lung cancer.

The following may also increase your risk for lung cancer:

• Exposure to asbestos

• Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals such as uranium, beryllium, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal products, mustard gas, chloromethyl ethers, gasoline, and diesel exhaust

• Exposure to radon gas

• Family history of lung cancer

• High levels of air pollution

• High levels of arsenic in drinking water

• Radiation therapy to the lungs