Many people don’t know what the disease emphysema is and whether it is serious or not. Below I will introduce to you: Is emphysema serious? How long can one live with emphysema?

Is emphysema serious?

Emphysema is a serious disease.

Although the early symptoms of emphysema are not obvious, or some may only feel short of breath and fatigue during labor or exercise, if not treated in time, the lung lesions will gradually worsen and the ventilation function will gradually lose , eventually developing into spontaneous pneumothorax, respiratory failure, chronic pulmonary heart disease, and sleep disordered breathing, seriously affecting the normal functions of the respiratory system, nervous system, and circulatory system, leading to a variety of refractory complications that can sometimes be fatal. In addition, emphysema patients are prone to mental disorders, insomnia, depression, anxiety, irritability and other symptoms, so active treatment is the key and fundamental.

Emphysema is generally not fatal, but when complicated by certain diseases, it can lead to death. Emphysema is mainly characterized by restricted breathing and reduced quality of life. If emphysema is caused by bullae, it can be complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax, which can be fatal if not treated in time. Chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema can cause acute respiratory failure under certain triggers (infection, surgical stress, etc.). In addition, the long-term development of chronic obstructive emphysema can also seriously affect respiratory function and lead to chronic respiratory failure. At the same time, it may be complicated by pulmonary heart disease and right heart failure. These conditions can lead to death. Of course, the above diseases can be prevented or controlled through active treatment. It is generally not fatal. If it is senile emphysema, it is even more normal.

How long can one live with emphysema

As long as complications do not occur - especially heart failure, even if only a quarter of the lungs of emphysema patients are normal, It will not affect the basic life span.

Attention should be paid to the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis, lung tumors and occupational lung diseases. In addition, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma and obstructive emphysema are all chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and both chronic bronchitis and bronchial asthma can be complicated by obstructive emphysema. However, the three are both related and different, and cannot be equated. Before chronic bronchitis is complicated by emphysema, the lesions are mainly limited to the bronchi. There may be obstructive ventilation disorders, but the degree is mild, and the diffusion function is generally normal. Bronchial asthma attacks are characterized by obstructive ventilation disorders and lung hyperinflation, and gas distribution can be severely uneven. However, the above changes are relatively reversible and respond well to inhaled bronchodilators. Diffuse dysfunction was also not apparent. Moreover, bronchial asthma is characterized by significantly increased airway reactivity and large diurnal fluctuations in lung function.

In fact, the most important thing after getting sick is active treatment. Active treatment is the best way to solve the patient's distress. In addition, I tell you that you should also pay attention to daily care, exercise habits and lifestyle. Good care is also of great benefit to the patient's recovery.

Dietary taboos for emphysema

1. Avoid eating irritating foods. Avoid eating spicy and irritating foods such as peppers, onions, garlic, and wine, as they can irritate the tracheal mucosa, aggravate symptoms such as coughing, asthma, and heart palpitations, and induce asthma.

2. Avoid eating fishy and greasy seafood. Fish cooked using non-steaming methods can easily cause internal heat due to the excessive amount of oil used. In addition, people with allergies and people with high blood uric acid (such as gout patients) should also eat less oily yellow croaker, hairtail, shrimp, crab and fatty meat to avoid fueling fire and producing phlegm.

3. Avoid eating gas-producing foods. Such as sweet potatoes, leeks, etc., because they are not good for the lung qi, so you should eat more alkaline foods.

4. Foods that cause flatulence. These foods bloat the abdomen and affect breathing. Excess mucus in the colon should be cleared to reduce gas.

5. No smoking. Smoking is one of the root causes of bronchitis and is extremely detrimental to asthmatic bronchitis and should be absolutely prohibited.

6. Avoid nourishing medicines. Do not take any nourishing Chinese medicines, such as ginseng, Codonopsis pilosula, Rehmannia glutinosa, Ophiopogon japonicus, etc., otherwise it will inhibit the body's normal ability to eliminate phlegm.

Little knowledge about emphysema

1. Pathological changes of emphysema

Emphysema is the abnormal expansion of alveoli and alveolar ducts caused by various reasons. and damage to the alveolar walls, resulting in an increase in residual air volume in the lungs. According to the extent of the affected alveoli, it is divided into centrilobular emphysema (often located at the apex of the lung), panlobular emphysema (often located at the base of the lung) and distal emphysema. Lobular emphysema. Panlobular and centrilobular emphysema are related to smoking. These two types of emphysema often coexist and are evenly distributed in the upper or lower lobes of the lungs. When emphysema is severe, airway obstruction also develops. Recurrent bronchiolar inflammation causes tracheal obstruction, pulmonary interstitial destruction, loss of mechanical support of the trachea, collapse and tracheal obstruction, thereby causing an increase in air in the lungs and the formation of air cavities.

2. Pathophysiology of emphysema

The function of respiratory muscles has obvious changes in patients with emphysema, and other respiratory auxiliary muscles and intercostal muscles cannot be at normal length - Work on the tension curve. The bulge of the diaphragm is reduced, so that it cannot form enough intrathoracic negative pressure during contraction. When the diaphragm becomes flat, it pulls the lower rib cage downward during contraction, squeezing the lungs, which has a reverse effect on the breathing effect, causing the diaphragm to become flat. When contracting, the chest becomes larger causing the function of inhalation to be switched to exhalation. The destruction of the alveolar wall structure reduces the pulmonary capillary bed, and the destruction of the pulmonary microcirculation increases the pulmonary vascular resistance. The pulmonary blood flow resistance of patients with emphysema is inversely related to the CO diffusion capacity of the lungs. Therefore, in patients with emphysema, Pulmonary hypertension must be preceded by severe impairment of gas exchange function.