Emphysema: Does it Have to Be A Burden Forever?

Emphysema is a serious chronic lung disease of the category COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Unlike bronchitis or asthma, emphysema can develop silently over many years. Classic symptoms like shortness of breath do not appear until irreparable lung damage has occurred. More than 11 million Americans are known sufferers from COPD-class lung diseases, but there are millions more unknowingly in the early stages of emphysema.

• Emphysema affects two parts of the respiratory system:
1. The alveoli – the final branches into the lungs from the respiratory system which control the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A thin gas-blood barrier between the alveolar space and the pulmonary capillaries allows for rapid gas exchange. To reach the blood, oxygen diffuses through the alveolar epithelium, a thin space, and the capillary endothelium; CO2 passes through in reverse order.
2. The ends of the smallest bronchi – airways inside the lungs. Damage to these air sacs can result in permanent damage to lower lung tissue.
In emphysema, the lungs lose their elasticity. These two areas of the lungs become enlarged and less efficient at delivering oxygen to the blood. This causes difficulty breathing; in fact emphysema takes 20% more of a person’s energy. The shortness of breath from too little oxygen is the reason these sufferers must tote oxygen tanks and wear nasal tubes.

Other symptoms are fatigue, a chronic cough with or without phlegm, and loss of appetite due to the effort it takes to breathe while eating.
• What causes Emphysema?
  
  The greatest risk factor for emphysema, hands down, is smoking. Most smokers will first develop symptoms when they are in their 50’s and 60’s. Other risks are:
  • Long term exposure to second hand smoke
  • Working with chemical fumes
  • HIV-positive smokers are at higher risk for emphysema
  • Tissue disorders – premature aging diseases and organ diseases
  • Heredity – A rare inherited deficiency of a protein, alpha-1-antitrypsin, can cause emphysema, usually before age 50.
• Easing Emphysema – Lifestyle and Treatment
• Keep exercising, as hard as it may seem! Becoming sedentary is one of the worst things you can do. It may be hard at first, but breathing will become easier if you are physically working your muscles. Many emphysema medications tend to make people gain weight. Stay active.
• Consider complementary medicine. Currently, there is no prescription medicine with permanent effectiveness in stopping the decline of health associated with emphysema. But there IS natural and homeopathic help! Växa’s Lung Formula can help stop further damage by aiding the body in:
  • easing the cough
  • relaxing bronchial muscles
  • controlling the amount and consistency of phlegm
  • lessening lung congestions
  Lung Formula can be taken 2 hours apart from prescription medication without interfering with each other.
• Balanced diet and antioxidant vitamins can help. First, eat well even if you don’t feel like it. Next, antioxidants chase away “free radicals” – harmful atom particles which cling to our cells and cause damage. Växa’s Anti-Oxin+ contains these powerful protective agents. Dark green vegetables, and sweet potatoes which are very healthy and easy to digest, also contain great antioxidants.
• Get vaccines for pneumonia and influenza. The American Lung Association highly advises this, as sufferers from emphysema are very likely to contract contagious influenza or to develop pneumonia. Växa also offers a Flu Prevention Pac to provide nutritional support for the Immune System. It is especially geared to people with lowered Immune Systems from other bacterial and viral ailments like respiratory illnesses.
• Keep clean. Wash hands often and avoid hand contact whenever possible. This is how most viral infections are passed.
• Stop smoking. It is never too late to prevent even more damage.
• If you live with a smoker, show them this article and ask them to smoke outside the home for your safety as well as theirs.