Emphysema is a lung disease. Emphysema occurs as a result of years of damage to the lung. Emphysema treatment is done to alleviate the symptoms in the patient. What is emphysema? How is emphysema treated? You can find the answers to all these questions in the following sections of the article.
What is Emphysema?
Emphysema is a lung disease in which the alveoli in the lung are damaged. Alveoli, also known as air sacs, are structures through which oxygen from breathing passes into the blood. Therefore, damage to the alveoli and their destruction as a result of damage cause air exchange in the lungs to be interrupted. People with pulmonary emphysema have difficulty breathing, especially during exercise. Emphysema also causes the lungs to lose their elasticity.
In emphysema, there is irreversible damage to the lungs. Therefore, the main goal of treatment is to stop the progression of the disease and control the symptoms.
What are the Causes of Emphysema?
1) Smoking: The probability of developing emphysema in smokers is about 6 times higher than in non-smokers.
2) Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Deficiency: AAT is a protein found in the blood of healthy people. The main task of this protein is to prevent white blood cells from damaging the body's own tissues. White blood cells are cells that prevent the development of infection in the body. Some people have less of the protein called AAT, due to genetic factors. In the case of AAT deficiency, white blood cells become capable of damaging the body's own tissues. Therefore, damage to the lung tissue by these cells leads to the development of emphysema. People with both AAT deficiency and smokers have a significantly increased risk of emphysema. In addition to emphysema, liver-related problems can also be seen in people with AAT deficiency.
3) Passive Smoking: Being near smokers or smoking environments also poses a risk for lung diseases. Scientific studies have shown that the risk of developing emphysema increases in passive smokers.
4) Air Pollution: It is thought that irritants inhaled due to air pollution will also contribute to the development of emphysema.&nb sp;
What are the Symptoms of Emphysema?
In emphysema patients, the muscles that help respiration have to work harder. Therefore, they tire more quickly. As a result, emphysema patients experience breathing difficulties even as a result of light activity. The onset of emphysema in smokers is usually between the ages of 45-60. In fact, the lung damage in the person started earlier. Between the ages of 45-60, symptoms related to lung damage occur. Even healthy people experience a decrease in lung capacity with age. People with emphysema may also experience a more serious reduction due to both aging and emphysema.
Generally, the only symptom of emphysema in the early period is shortness of breath. As emphysema progresses, the patient may:
- Wheezing
- Continuous cough
- Symptoms of chest tightness or pain may occur.
- Loss of appetite
- Depression
- Sleep problems
- Blues on lips, nail beds
- Fatigue
- Recurrent lung infections
- Headaches
- Weight loss
Is Emphysema Lethal?
Emphysema is an important disease that affects the lungs. Unfortunately, emphysematous change in the lung is irreversible. In emphysema patients, quality of life decreases due to reasons such as shortness of breath that increases with movement and continuous coughing. However, with appropriate treatment, the decrease in life expectancy can be prevented.
In order to prevent serious complications and loss of life due to emphysema, the patient must strictly comply with the treatment. It is vital for smokers to quit smoking for successful treatment. Behaviors such as the patient's regular use of the prescribed drugs and regular visits to the doctor's controls are also important for the success of the treatment. Life expectancy in emphysema varies according to the general health status of the patient, the severity of the disease, whether he smokes or not, and his compliance with treatment.
Patients who were diagnosed with emphysema late, did not comply with its treatment, and did not quit smoking; may lose his life.
How to Treat Emphysema?
Emphysema and emphysema are a part of COPD, which is a subtype, is a disease that cannot be completely cured. The main goal of treatment in these diseases is to stop the progression of lung damage and to reduce the patient's symptoms.
Some therapies can be applied to facilitate breathing in emphysema patients. These therapies are:
Lung Rehabilitation: In this program, the patient is taught breathing techniques, and exercises are done to help the patient get used to the correct technique.
Nutrition Therapy: It is a necessary therapy for the proper nutrition of patients. In the early stages of emphysema, many patients are overweight. For this reason, most patients need to lose weight. In the advanced stage of emphysema, many patients experience serious weight loss. With nutritional therapy, these patients are tried to be kept within the ideal weight range.
Oxygen Support: In the advanced emphysema stage, the blood oxygen levels of some patients are seriously low. These patients should receive oxygen support. Many patients require 24-hour oxygen support. These patients are given various oxygen devices that they can use at home.
Depending on the severity of emphysema, doctors may offer some patients the option of surgery.
The Basic Principle of Surgical Treatment is the removal of damaged tissue in the lung. In this way, it is ensured that the remaining lung tissue participates in respiration more effectively. Lung transplantation should be an option in cases where the damage to the lung is very serious and other treatment options are not successful. These applications are:
Smoking: Quitting smoking both contributes to the general health of the patient and stops the progression of emphysema. There are many groups available to help quit smoking. By joining these groups, patients can overcome the smoking cessation process more easily.
Exercise regularly: Even if problems such as shortness of breath make it difficult to exercise, movement should not be given up. Because exercising is a condition that increases lung capacity. Therefore, emphysema patients breathing in cold weather becomes more difficult. For this reason, emphysema patients should wear protective equipment such as scarves and masks before going out in cold weather.
Getting Vaccinated: Lung infections in emphysema patients can cause serious problems. For this reason, patients should have pneumonia vaccine (pneumococcal vaccine) and flu vaccine at regular intervals.
Protection from Infections: Emphysema patients; If there is someone who has flu or cold in their environment, they should not come into contact with these people and should not be in the same environment with these people. Patients should wear a mask before entering crowded groups, especially during the flu season.
Emphysema is a disease that can cause serious health problems. However, early detection of the disease and initiation of appropriate treatment have a positive effect on the course of the disease. For this reason, it would be beneficial for people who are in the risk group for emphysema (for example, smokers) to go to a doctor's control at regular intervals and have the necessary controls done.
Read: 29
