Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung blockage that causes persistent breathing issues and limited airflow. The illness is progressively worsening over time. When the airway is blocked, breathing and coughing are constant. Since smoking causes the lungs to function abnormally, it directly contributes to the condition. Respiratory problems are brought on by the lungs’ effort to remove the gases and particles that are breathed (O’Donnell et al., 2014). The only method for curing COPD is to stop smoking, even though early diagnosis and treatment are essential for COPD patients. Less exposure to tobacco and counselling to those already into smoking would reduce the progression and contact of the disease.

Discussion 2

Restrictive and obstructive pulmonary diseases

Pulmonary lung diseases could be either restrictive or obstructive. Restrictive diseases include interstitial lung disease, scoliosis, and sarcoidosis among others while obstructive diseases include COPD, asthma and Cystic fibrosis among others (Navaneethan et al., 2016). Though restrictive and obstructive pulmonary diseases share most symptoms, there are differences between the two types. For instance;

1. Restrictive diseases are as a result of the lungs not being filled with air and failing to fully expand while obstructive diseases are as a result of failure to exhale air from the lungs.

2. In restrictive diseases, the volumes in the lungs are smaller due to limited inspiration while in obstructive diseases the volumes are high due to limited exhalation.

3. In obstructive diseases, the formation of mucus increases while in restrictive diseases the mucus levels remain normal.

4. Restrictive diseases result from a long period of scarring while no scarring happens in obstructive diseases.

References

Navaneethan, S. D., Mandayam, S., Arrigain, S., Rahman, M., Winkelmayer, W. C., & Schold, J. D. (2016). Obstructive and Restrictive Lung Function Measures and CKD: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2012. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 68(3), 414-421.

O’Donnell, D. E., Laveneziana, P., Webb, K., & Neder, J. A. (2014). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Clinics in chest medicine, 35(1), 51-69.