I just found out my dad has Emphysema (he went into hospital after collapsing today). I'm not sure about this condition but I know it's to do with your lungs and he's smoked for many years (he's nearly 70). I just want to know if it's curable, if it's life threatening or terminal? The doctors are assessing him for a few days and I didn't get a chance to ask many questions. I would appreciate any professional advice even if it's bad news. Thanks. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a general term for a group of diseases that cause progressive damage to your lungs. These diseases include chronic bronchitis, asthma and emphysema. Of the more than 16 million Americans with COPD, nearly 3 million have symptomatic emphysema and millions more are in the early stages of the disease before signs and symptoms appear.
Unlike asthma, which occurs when the muscles in your airways tighten, emphysema causes a loss of elasticity in the walls of the small air sacs in your lungs. Eventually, the walls stretch and break, creating larger, less efficient air sacs that aren't able to handle the normal exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
When emphysema is advanced, you must work so hard to expel air from your lungs that breathing can consume up to 20 percent of your resting energy. Unfortunately, because emphysema develops gradually over many years, you may not experience symptoms such as shortness of breath until irreversible damage has already occurred. Treatments focus on relieving symptoms and avoiding complications.
reduced capacity for physical activity, both of which are likely to become worse as the disease progresses. In time, you may have trouble breathing even when lying down, and it may be especially hard to breathe during and after respiratory infections, such as colds or the flu.
Other signs and symptoms of emphysema include:
Chronic, mild cough. You may produce sputum or phlegm when you cough.
Loss of appetite and weight loss. It's a vicious cycle. Emphysema can make eating more difficult, and the act of eating can rob you of your breath. The result is that you simply may not feel like eating much of the time.
Fatigue. You're likely to feel tired both because it's more difficult to breathe and because your body is getting less oxygenWhen you inhale, air travels to your lungs through two major airways called bronchi. Inside your lungs, the bronchi subdivide like the roots of a tree into a million smaller airways (bronchioles) that finally end in clusters of tiny air sacs (alveoli). You have about 300 million air sacs in each lung. Within the walls of the air sacs are tiny blood vessels (capillaries) where oxygen is added to your blood and carbon dioxide 鈥?a waste product of metabolism 鈥?is removed. The air sac walls also contain elastic fibers that help them expand and contract like small balloons when you breathe.
What happens in emphysema
In emphysema, inflammation destroys these fragile walls of the air sacs, causing them to lose their elasticity. As a result, the bronchioles collapse, and air becomes trapped in the air sacs, which overstretches them and interferes with your ability to exhale (hyperinflation).
In time, this overstretching may cause several air sacs to rupture, forming one larger air space instead of many small ones. Because the larger, less-elastic sacs aren't able to force air completely out of your lungs when you exhale, you have to breathe harder to take in enough oxygen and to eliminate carbon dioxide.
The process works something like this: Normally, you exhale in two ways, actively and passively. When you exert yourself and need more oxygen, your chest muscles contract, forcing air out rapidly. On the other hand, when you sit quietly, your diaphragm contracts and your chest muscles expand to take air in, but your muscles don't actively contract to let the air out. Instead, the elastic tissue around your air sacs contracts, and your lungs passively shrink.
But if you have emphysema, many of these elastic fibers have been destroyed, and you must consciously force air out of your lungs. The forced exhalation compresses many of your small airways, making expelling air even more difficult.
Most common cause is smoking
Cigarette smoke is by far the most common cause of emphysema. The damage begins when tobacco smoke temporarily paralyzes the microscopic hairs (cilia) that line your bronchial tubes. Normally, these hairs sweep irritants and germs out of your airways. But when smoke interferes with this sweeping movement, irritants remain in your bronchial tubes and infiltrate the alveoli, inflaming the tissue and eventually breaking down elastic fibers.
Protein deficiency plays a role
In a small percentage of people, emphysema results from low levels of a protein called alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAt), which protects the elastic structures in your lungs from the destructive effects of certain enzymes. A lack of AAt can lead to progressive lung damage that eventually results in emphysema.
AAt deficiency is a hereditary condition that occurs when you inherit two defective genes, one from each parent. Although severe AAt deficiency is rare, millions of people carry a single defective AAt gene. Some of these people have mild to moderate symptoms; others have no symptoms at all. Carriers are at increased risk of lung and liver problems and can pass the defect to their children.
People with two defective genes have a high likelihood of developing emphysema, usually between the ages of 30 and 40. The progression and severity of the disease are greatly exacerbated by smoking.
Experts recommend that people with early-onset emphysema 鈥?especially those who don't smoke or have other risk factors for the disease or who have a family history of AAt deficiency 鈥?be tested for the defective gene. People who are found to have a genetic predisposition for AAt deficiency may want to consider having close family members tested as well. It's in a book called The Medical Dictionary. Here's the basics from the Lung Association:
Emphysema is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that can get worse over time. It's usually caused by smoking. Having emphysema means some of the air sacs in your lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe.
Emphysema is part of a lung disease known as COPD. We offer lots of information on COPD, including emphysema, in our COPD section.
1. Healthy alveolus 2. Alveolus with emphysema
1. Healthy alveolus
2. Alveolus with emphysema
What causes emphysema?
Emphysema can be caused by one or a combination of these things:
* Cigarette smoking: Most cases of emphsyema are caused by cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoke reaches deep into the lungs and causes permanent damage. If you have emphysema from cigarettes, the best way to stop your lung damage is to quit smoking as soon as possible. It's never too late to quit smoking.
* Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency: Some people have emphsyema because of a rare genetic disorder called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. People with Alpha-1 are missing an enzyme that protects their lungs. Some people with Alpha-1 deficiency get emphysema without ever having smoked. Other people get emphsyema from the combination of smoking and having Alpha-1 deficiency.
* Air pollution: There is some evidence that air pollution can contribute to people getting emphysema, especially if the person also smokes.
Signs and symptoms of emphysema
* Shortness of breath- feeling like you can't get your breath out
* A barrel-shaped chest
* Wheezing
* Feeling tired (fatigue)
* Losing weight without trying
People might think that feeling short of breath is a normal sign of aging- but it's not. If you have these signs and symptoms, see your doctor. Ask for spirometry, a simple test that measures how much air you move out of your lungs.
These signs and symptoms will not go away over time- they will get worse. The sooner you see the doctor, the sooner you can find out how to feel better.
How is emphysema diagnosed?
To figure out if you have emphysema, your doctor many do some of these tests:
* Physical exam, including listening to your lungs & breathing sounds
* Spirometry- this test measures how much air you can move out of your lungs
* Chest x-ray
* Blood tests
Read more about tests to diagnose emphysema (COPD).
Treatment for emphysema
There is no cure for emphysema, but it is possible to slow down the disease and make it easier to live with the symptoms.
The number one treatment for emphysema is to quit smoking and stay away from smoky places. By quitting smoking, you can slow down emphysema. Find out more about how to quit smoking.
There are other treatments for emphysema, including medications, supplemental oxygen, and more. Emphysema is part of a lung disease known as COPD. Read more about treating COPD (including emphysema).
What can I expect with emphysema?
People with emphysema can live for a long time after they are diagnosed. If you have emphysema, how long you'll live depends on many things:
* What age you were diagnosed at
* How bad your lung damage is
* Whether you keep smoking, cut back or quit (cutting back is a start, quitting is the best!)
* What kind of medical care and treatment you get
* What other health problems you might have
People with emphysema eventually die from it, or from a complication of it.
Complications of emphysema:
* Recurring chest infections, including pneumonia, the flu, cold, etc.
* Pulmonary hypertension: abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs
* Cor pulmonale: enlargement and strain on the right side of the heart
* Increased blood count
If you have emphysema and you smoke, it's important to quit smoking. See your doctor to get proper treatment, so that you'll live as long and as comfortable a life as possible. Lots of people with emphysema/COPD find ways to enjoy a happy and productive life despite their disease.
It's also important to talk to your doctor and family about what kind of care you will need in future years, and what you can do now to get ready for the future.
Why quitting smoking helps improve emphysema symptoms
Emphysema gets worse over time if you continue to smoke or breathe dirty air. The damage doesn't stop until you stop smoking and stop breathing dirty air. By quitting smoking now, you can't undo the damage that's already done, but you can protect your lungs from any more damage.
Where can I get more information, help and support?
If you or someone you love has emphysema/COPD, you can get free advice and support through the Lung Association's BreathWorks program. A nurse respiratory therapist with expert knowledge of emphysema/COPD will answer your questions by phone or e-mail. You can call the free BreathWorks COPD Helpline at 1-866-717-2673. Sorry for your dad, hope he feels better soon.. Anyway, if you click this link, it gives you a good explanation of what it is, I sure hope it helps xx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emphysema To my knowledge there is no cure and is ultimately terminal, it's just a question of how he responds to treatments as to how long he'll survive with it. He's in for a bad stretch, good luck.
I would also ask about how you could get checked if you lived around him alot and/or smoke so you can get a jump on treatment for yourself. Hi - i am not a professional, but my dad had emphysema, so I'd like to give you as much support as I can. It is basically to do with not getting enough oxygen supply to the lungs - it is usually caused by smoking - eventually the oxygen supply gets gradually cut off, and the lungs get less rubbery and flexible, so it is harder to breathe - often sufferers get asthma like symptoms. There is no easy way to say this - it can be terminal - or sufferers can live with it for some time - alot depends on how far advanced it is. The crucial thing for your dad, no matter what his age, is that he has to give up smoking - which is never easy. My dad died of emphysema at the age of 70, after suffering it for about 15 years - but because he never gave up smoking, he got progressively worse. There is alot of support out there, and I am sure your dad will be just fine if he gets time in hospital to get his breathing pattern more regular (they judge it by the percentage of oxygen in the blood), - he may need medication to thin his blood for a while - and by sticking to the treatment plan - and crucially not smoking - I can't stress that enough. God bless, and the very best of luck - I am sure you'll all be fine - take time to speak to the doctors and get as much support as you can for your dad to get off the ciggies. Emphysema is a disease of the lungs caused by air trapped in the lung. It means that the air is not refreshed- your dad is effectively operating on less air then someone without emphysema. Try searching the web for answers, or ask a registered doctor. One thing I would say is this- its a debilitating condition, but it is also a condition that many people live with.
Im not a doctor, and I wouldnt panic until youve had a chance to chat to one and find out the info for yourself. Best wishes to your father, and I hope hes back at home soon. Hi sorry only am not a professional but my mother and my older sister have it I do believe it is one of the problems connected to long term smokers with my mum her's is very bad shortness of breath she is on inhalers and also on a nebulizer my sister is not that bad and she has an inhaler please don't be too alarmed I was so I know how worried you are they will do as much as they can for him moreso if he has stopped smoking they have nurses called COPD nurses who will call and see him when he is at home if he is bad it really depends in how bad he is best advice I can give to you is with answers you get and things you may wish to ask write them down and ask also if you are not happy with the answers you are given stand your ground at the end of the day to the doctors he is another patient but he is your dad so make sure you get your answers I had to with mum will watch your question good luck and hope its not too bad take care there is no cure. its scaring of the lungs can be fatal it is a breathing problem a lot of retired miners have it due to inhaling coal dust usually it gets worse over time sorry for your dad's illness Oh how my thoughts arewith you, i lost my mum to this awful condition, and it was heartbreaking, watching her struggle for every breath, and yes it was all caused by smoking, Nag your dad to give up smoking, dont give up telling him to stop, mum was in hospital for 4 months with this before she passed, and she never had a ciggie in that time but the damage was done,,,,,she had Emphysemia for several years,each year when it turned cold and she got a slight cold it would go straight to her chest and then the breathing worsened and she would end up back in hospital,
i hope your dear old dad gets well soon, and doesnt flirt with the nurses while his in hospital , all the best to you and your family |
