Pulmonary diseases are also known as lung diseases. These are the third biggest cause of death in America. There are various kinds of pulmonary diseases that can vary greatly in severity. Major types of pulmonary diseases include: asthma, emphysema, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.
All these pulmonary diseases make lift extremely difficult and severe cases of pulmonary diseases can also result in death. The only thing that you can fight with pulmonary diseases is diagnosing them early and seeking immediate treatment.
Here is the brief overview about each pulmonary disease:
Asthma: Every year millions of Americans are affected with asthma and is the conditions that cause inflammation of airways near the lungs. Most dangerous symptoms of asthma that need urgent care include: chest pain, severe coughing, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and wheezing. There are several different causes for asthma such as second hand smoke, pet dander and dust mites.
Emphysema: Emphysema is the major cause of inability to stretch the cell walls between alveoli and air sacs within the lungs or loses the ability to recoil. People with emphysema often experience breakage in air sacs, which make it difficult for lungs to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide within the blood. Smoking is the number one cause of emphysema. Visiting your urgent care provider can suggest you various treatment options like antibiotics, steroids, lung surgery, breathing exercises, lung transplants, and bronchodilator drugs.
Tuberculosis: This disease can spread from person to person through the air. It is a bacterial infection of the lungs. Usually, you are prescribed with anti-tuberculosis drugs as they can kill bacteria very effectively. However, some strains of tuberculosis have developed a resistance to these drugs.
Pneumonia: The condition occurs when lungs become inflamed by bacteria, viruses or microorganisms. People with pneumonia often experience a cough, fever, and difficulty breathing. According to the studies, pneumonia is the number one killer of children around the world. Every year about 2 million children die because of pneumonia.
Lung cancer: Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer. Also exposure to second hand smoke, air pollution, asbestosis, arsenic and scarring from tuberculosis can all result in lung cancer. Every year, 160, 000 people in US die because of lung cancer.
