Lung diseases and its replications

Lung disease has become a common problem world wide. Smoking, air pollution and increasing population has been the cause for many lung disease. Anybody can have a disease due to these three reasons because they are inter-related to each other. For example, a non-smoker becomes a second hand smoker if the person with whom he/she is living is a smoker, he is also polluting the air and the people around. Yes, you may be a non-smoker and have no bad habits but can still be at risk. Check out whether you have any signs of lung disease from the checklist below.

COUGH: A persistent cough dry or productive that lasts for more than 12 weeks is the first sign of a lung disease. An irritating cough is an indicator of lung cancer. A tumor or a foreign body causes irritation to the lung wall and stimulates cough. A productive cough with expectoration is usually a symptom of lower respiratory tract infection.

DYSPNEA: Difficulty in breathing is called dyspnea. Dyspnea occurs when there is air hunger, that is where the oxygen content is low in blood. Dyspnea is a major sign of most lung diseases like bronchitis, COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, lung cancer, SARS and emphysema.

CYANOSIS: Cyanosis is also caused by decreased oxygen content blood which presents as a bluish discoloration of skin and mucus membrane. It is seen in atelectasis and respiratory distress syndrome.

WHEEZING: A wheeze is another common indicator of a lung disease. A high pitched whistling sound caused when the air tries to pass through a narrow or blocked pathway is called wheezing. The air passage is blocked either with mucus or any foreign body causes a wheeze. Wheezing is commonly found in lung diseases like asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, emphysema, bronchitis and lung cancer.

PLEURITIC PAIN: Any infection in the lung causes a sharp pain called as pleuritic pain. The pain is felt at every breath especially while exhaling. This symptom is more common in pneumonia, pleural effusion and pleurisy.

HEMOPTISIS: Coughing out blood in sputum is called hemLung disease has become a common problem world wide. Smoking, air pollution and increasing population has been the cause for many lung disease. Anybody can have a disease due to these three reasons because they are inter-related to each other. For example, a non-smoker becomes a second hand smoker if the person with whom he/she is living is a smoker, he is also polluting the air and the people around. Yes, you may be a non-smoker and have no bad habits but can still be at risk. Check out whether you have any signs of lung disease from the checklist below.

FEVER WITH CHILLS: When there is any infection the first presenting symptom is fever and chills. Any lung infection will also present with those symptom. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, emphysema are characterized with such symptoms.

EDEMA: Conditions like pulmonary edema present with swelling of the arms, legs and ankles. This is usually associated with heart disease.

CLUBBING OF NAILS: Clubbing of nails is another classical sign of lung disease. Emphysema, COPD, certain lung cancers and empyema are featured by these symptoms.

FATIGUE: This is an important sign of lung disease. They are associated with shortness of breath. Severe exhaustion occurs when the lung capacity decreases and the heart tries to pump blood more effectively to meet the body's demands. It's seen in lung diseases like emphysema, COPD and pulmonary edema.

ANOREXIA AND WEIGHT LOSS: These are not the major symptoms but an associated symptom of lung disease. Increasing shortness of breath and tiredness inhibits normal food intake thereby causing weight loss. Also productive cough brings out the protein content of the body and leads to muscle wasting. They are seen in tuberculosis and COPD.

These are the major signs of lung disease. If you experience any of these symptoms, don't delay to make an appointment with your doctor. A stitch in time saves nine, so get yourself treated when it is treatable. This occurs from the airway and lungs when it is traumatised or when a tumor ruptured or a sore bleeds after an infection. Tuberculosis, bronchitis, bronchiectasis, pneumonia, bronchial carcinoma, bronchial adenoma, respiratory tract hemangioma, and metastatic cancer to the lungs usually present with this symptom.

These are the major signs of lung disease. If you experience any of these symptoms, don't delay to make an appointment with your doctor. A stitch in time saves nine, so get yourself treated when it is treatable.

Smoking and heart

Smoking is one of the strongest risk factors for heart diseases. It contributes to the development and increase in severity of the heart diseases. Both active smokers and passive smokers (those who do not smoke but indirectly smoke by inhaling the cigarette smoke of smokers) are affected by smoking. It is proved that the number of cigarettes smoked is directly proportional to the possibility of acquiring a heart disease and cessation of smoking decreases the risk of heart disease by 50%. Smoking affects the heart, lungs, kidneys and all the blood vessels of our body. In this article, we will see how smoking affects the heart in particular.

There are three main ways of how smoking affects the heart. First, the inhalation of smoke increases the blood carbon monoxide (CO) level. The oxygen carrying component of blood called hemoglobin readily combines with carbon monoxide more than it does with oxygen. So the oxygen carrying capacity of blood drops very low. Thus, the oxygen that has to be supplied to the heart is severely impacted, which makes the heart to work much harder to produce the same amount of energy. This causes a lot of strain to the heart to pump a lot of blood.

Secondly, cigarettes (tobacco product) contain a chemical substance called nicotine (or nicotinic acid) which stimulates the sympathetic nervous system to release catecholamine which constricts the blood vessels and causes an increase in the heart rate and blood pressure. Hence the blood flow and subsequent oxygenation are compromised. Since the blood vessels constrict, heart has to pump harder to keep the blood flowing through these constricted veins thereby increasing the workload of the heart.

Also smoking increases the chance of the blood to clot by increasing the aggregation of platelets. So clots can easily form in blood vessels and can block blood flow to vital organs including heart, causing irreparable damages to heart and other important organs.

Smoking causes buildup of fatty substances in the arteries thereby narrowing the arteries which supply blood to the heart and so the heart is starved of oxygen. This narrowing of arteries causes chest pain as heart has to put on extra effort to pump blood through these narrow arteries. The problem is magnified especially during increased physical activity. When one or more arteries supplying blood to the heart get blocked completely, heart attack occurs. Smoking also decreases high density lipids which is good for the body. Cigarette smoke also can lead to a stroke.

Thus smoking can cause severe damage to heart in multiple ways.

Dental hygiene

Dental hygiene is taken for granted because many of us do not know the facts about it. A good oral health is required for a good general health. There are a number of infections that are caused by poor dental hygiene, which involves not only the mouth but also respiratory, cardiac and gastrointestinal systems.

Facts about dental hygiene:

1. A complete dental hygiene can be achieved by spending about 3-5 minutes every morning and night. A complete dental hygiene means brushing the teeth, cleaning the tongue and gums, flossing and gargling.

2. It is proved that a good and healthy teeth can be maintained by using soft bristle tooth brush with fluoride paste. Teeth mush be brushed very gently in rotatory motion to avoid destruction of enamel and for the removal of food particles between the teeth.

3. Surveys state that only 35% of the American population know the exact technique of brushing and floss everyday which is the main cause of poor oral health.

4. Dental caries/decay, dental plaque, gingivitis, trench mouth, gingivostomatitis and periodentitis are some of the dental conditions that can be prevented by good dental hygiene.

5. Tooth decay is common in children due to their desire for chocolates and sweets which can be prevented by just making them brush or atleast rinse their mouth after they take them. This can even prevent them from losing their permanent tooth in later days.

6. About 90% of any dental infections can be prevented by just brushing the teeth before going to bed.

7. Choosing food is also very important for good oral hygiene. Fermentable carbohydrates and bacteria produces certain acids which dissolves the tooth enamel, thereby causing dental problems. Placing extremely cold foods like ice creams over the teeth or drinking cold sodas also has bad affects on the teeth.

8. Poor dental hygiene is the root cause for certain infections of the throat such as infective tonsilitis, many upper respiratory tract infections and also for cardiac conditions like rheumatic endocarditis/fever.

9. Dental hygiene shows the general health status. A dry and coated tongue indicates dehydration, bad breath indicates some infection of the throat or chest, sores in the tongue or buccal cavity indicate fever, vitamin deficiency and decreased immunity, white coated tongue may indicate candidiasis.

10. Poor dental hygiene not only indicates the problems of our body but also complicates many conditions like diabetes, pregnancy (by producing low birth weight and pre-term babies), worsens respiratory diseases, increases the risk of heart disease, causes strokes and heart attacks.

11. Visiting a dentist regularly is not going to do any good for your tooth unless you take good care of your teeth. But regular check ups will definitely spot the problems at an early stage and prevent complications.

12. Smoking, chewing tobacco and alcoholism causes poor oral hygiene and cancers of the oral cavity.

13. Smoking tobacco is one of the reasons for the tooth to fall at an early age because it destroys the supporting tissue that connects the teeth to the bone.

14. Milk and milk products not only give Calcium and potassium to mineralize the teeth but also increase the pH of saliva which protects the teeth from direct exposure to acids.

15. Chewing gums reduces bad breath and also cleans the gaps between the teeth.

Preventing burns at home

Approximately 2.5 million people experience burn injuries in the United states each year. Of this group, 200,000 require outpatient treatment and 100,000 are hospitalized. About 12,000 people die from burns and related inhalation injuries annually. About 40% of burn injuries happens at home. Having awareness and knowledge about prevention of fires and burns can reduce the number of accidents.

Young children and elderly persons are at high risk for burns. Among young children, infants (between age 1 and 3) are more prone for burns at home. This happens because toddlers are very curious and cannot identify the dangers around them. Elderly are prone because of their forgetfulness and poor eye sight. Cooking, heating, or using electrical appliances are usually involved. 75% of the burns that happen at home are because of the victim's own action.

Some of the common burns accident that happens at home are
1. Spilling hot water causing scalds in toddlers.
2. Playing with matches and fireworks in school age.
3. Electrical injury in adolescent males and chemical injury (suicidal attempt) in adolescent females.
4. Drug, alcohol and cigarette use in adults.

Here are some of the concepts through which you can prevent burns and ensure safety at home:

1. If you have an infant, do not carry him or her when you are drinking anything hot or while smoking because the child may turn and get hurt anytime.
2. Do not keep anything hot in their reach. For example: Hot soups, hot pans, hot iron etc
3. Do not let the children play with hair dryers, heating pads, microwave oven or toaster.
4. Never let the children handle stove (both electric or gas).
5. Lock all electric outlets with child safety outlets.
6. Never entertain children to play with match sticks or candles. Do not leave them unattended while they burst fire works or crackers. Make sure they are wearing goggles and shoes while enjoying fire works.
7. Teach them to stop, drop and role when their clothes catch fire.
8. Do not keep any cleaning solutions or any chemicals in their reach.
9. New moms should be careful heating bottles and feeding their newborn. Make sure the liquid is warm to drink. Heating it too high may burn the child's mouth.
10. Double check the gas stove whether they are turned off before going to bed.
11. Set the water heater at 120F, so that it is safe for you and the children at home. Check the temperature of water each time before giving bath for the children.
12. Check whether the smoke detectors are in working condition and change batteries at least once in every 6 months.
13. Build the house with the fire escape plan and learn the fire escape exits if you are living in an apartment.
14. Keep a fire extinguisher and learn how to use them.
15. Avoid smoking in bed.