Preview

Bronchitis: Asthma and Lungs Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
614 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bronchitis: Asthma and Lungs Essay Example
Bronchitis is caused when the main air passages to the lungs become inflated. This respiratory disorder may be a short-lived disorder, or in some cases a long-lived, chronic, disorder.
In most cases, short-lived, or acute Bronchitis follows a viral respiratory infection of some kind, and usually will go away on its own within a week. The order in which this disorder spreads through your body is as follows, your nose, sinuses, throat, and then spreads to the lungs. In other cases, there is a possibility you may get second bacterial infection in your airways. Some people that are at a higher risk for acute Bronchitis are, smokers, the elderly, young children, infants, and those with a heart or lung disease.
On the other hand, chronic Bronchitis is a different story. As you may have already guessed chronic Bronchitis is a long term disorder. Some signs that you may have chronic Bronchitis would be if you have a cough that produces excessive mucus that last somewhere around three months.
Some things that can make Bronchitis worse are air pollution, allergies, or any other kind of infection. One thing that you should take into consideration is your job. Some occupations would make you more prone to Bronchitis. Some of the jobs may be, but are not limited to; coal mining, textile manufacturing, or grain handling.
Some of the symptoms of either kind of Bronchitis are chest discomfort, excessive mucus coming from a cough, low fever, becoming tired, shortness of breath, or wheezing. For acute Bronchitis, even after you have been cleared of the disorder, you may have a dry couch that lasts for several weeks.
There are also symptoms that only apply to those with chronic Bronchitis would be ankle, feet, or leg swelling. Another thing to look for would be blue colored lips from the lack of oxygen in them. If you have had frequent cases of the flu or a cold that can also be a symptom of chronic Bronchitis.
You can go to the doctor to get checked out, and to have tests

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Chronic bronchitis B. Bronchial Asthma * Recurrent and reversible shortness of breath * Occurs when the airways of the lungs become narrow as a result of: * Bronchospasms * Inflammation of the bronchial mucosa * Edema of the bronchial mucosa * Production of viscid mucus * Alveolar ducts/alveoli remain open, but airflow to them is obstructed * Symptoms * Wheezing * Difficulty breathing C. Asthma *…

    • 5705 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is composed of two related diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. He is likely to have a chronic or recurrent productive cough that is over three months to two successive years. He will experience shortness of breath on exertion, sputum production and frequently develop hypoxemia, which could lead to cyanosis.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Case Study

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chronic bronchitis, also known as type B COPD or “blue bloater” in most cases (90%) is caused by cigarette smoking with the typical patient being overweight. It is symptomatically diagnosed with a conformation of chest radiography showing increased bronchial vascular markings, congested lung fields, enlarged horizontal cardiac silhouette and evidence of previous pulmonary infection (this is why RS’s right lower lobe is thought to be consistent with pneumonia). As well pulmonary function tests show normal total lung capacity, increased residual volume, and decreased FEV. Arterial blood gas evaluation may show elevated PaCO2 and decreased PaO2 (often below 65mm Hg). Secondary polycythemia related to continuous or nocturnal hypoxemia is common, which leads to a compensatory production of red blood cells in an attempt to carry more oxygen to the body tissues.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pneumonia is an infection in one’s lungs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, and, in rare cases, fungi. In this case, this pneumonia is caused by the rhinovirus, which is also known as Enterovirus Human rhinovirus C. Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are known to commonly cause upper respiratory infections (URIs). The reasons why I am led to believe that this is the result is because in some cases a URI, if not treated, can lead to pneumonia. Sore throat and nasal dryness are some of the first common initial symptoms of a rhinovirus (RV) infection. The patient’s symptoms began with a sore throat and a dry cough. With the most recent symptoms, the doctor decides to perform a physical examination, which reveals a mild fever, slight…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unit 202 Element 1.2

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After about two weeks, coughing bouts start. These are exhausting and make it difficult to breathe.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An isolated community of the struggling longshoremen living under the exploitation of the corrupted union is introduced in one of Elia Kazan’s brilliant works in filmmaking, “On the Waterfront”. The viewers are moderately convinced, by looking at the mere world of brute force and injustice, that someone has to play the heroic role in order to return justice and hope to the working class on this dock. Edie Doyle seems to stand out among the rest as a candidate with her superior quality possessed from her strong Christian values. Likewise, someone like Terry Malloy who being seen as “a bum” by everyone, also manages to lead the longshoremen out of the ruthless dominance of Johnny Friendly in the end therefore earn his statue of a hero. However, as the viewers follow the development of the film, it is realized that Kazan’s notion of heroism is likely to exist as a fulfillment of self-interest and the victory only stops at a level of personal achievement.…

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Whooping Cough

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The signs and symptoms are usually cold-like symptoms, mild cough and/or fever. Unlike the common cold,…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    paper

    • 570 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Two primary disease processes that contribute to COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The main difference between emphysema and chronic bronchitis is that in emphysema damage is to the walls of the air sacs in the lungs and in chronic bronchitis the damage is to the lining in the airways. Both conditions are generally caused by long term exposure to lung irritants, the most common of which is cigarette smoke. Other typical lung irritants contributing to COPD are air pollution, chemical fumes, and dust. The lung irritants cause inflammation; when inflammation is chronic, it causes scar tissue. Scar tissue in the airways decreases elasticity, air sacs are destroyed, walls of airways become thick and inflamed, and mucous production increases. The end result of damaged airways and excess mucous is decreased gas exchange and reduced lung capacity causing the symptoms of COPD (National Institutes of Health, 2013).…

    • 570 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    nursing diagnoses

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Bronchospasm, which occurs in many pulmonary diseases, reduces the caliber of the small bronchi and may cause dyspnea, static secretions and infections. Bronchospasm can sometimes be detected by stethoscope when wheezing or diminished breath sounds are heard. Increase mucous production along with decrease mucous ciliary’s action, contributes to further reduction in the caliber of the bronchi and results in decrease air flow and decrease gas exchange.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. This condition leads to excessive production and accumulation of thick persistent mucus in the tracheobronchial tree. The mucous instead of normally being thin and slippery becomes so stiff and rigorous that adequate mucociliary clearance becomes almost impossible. Leading to mucus plugging in the bronchi and bronchioles. The cystic fibrosis foundations says:…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some respiratory signs include thick salty mucus clogging the tubes that carry air in and out of our lungs. This can cause, a persistent cough that produces mucus, wheezing, breathlessness, and repeated lung infections. Respiratory complications include, bronchiectasis, chronic infections, nasal polyps, pneumothorax, collapsed lung, respiratory failure and coughing up…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reactive airway disease, also known as asthma, is characterized by a constricting of the airway that carries oxygen to our lungs. This is caused by the air passages inflaming. Although, there are many treatments for asthma, it is still a very severe and hazardous disease that causes almost 2 million emergencies a year and affects nearly 26 million Americans (What 1). There are many aspects to this disease that are very important including; the 3 main features, the types of asthmas along with the signs and symptoms, who it happens to, treatments, and other important facts.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Senior Living

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The primary symptoms of COPD include a chronic cough with frequent infections, fatigue, wheezing, and shortness of…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Copd

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It is called COPD or in other terms chronic bronchitis or emphysema because firstly ; Chronic means determined/continuous, Bronchitis the inflammation of the lungs (bronchi), emphysema is the damage of the alveoli and small airways connected and pulmonary meaning it affects the lungs in some kind of way. The knowledge of COPD dates back 400 years; however it has always existed but was called many different names. It was in 1769 Giovanni Battista Morgagni, an Italian anatomist, described 19 cases of ‘turgid’ lungs that supposedly thought came from air. Matthew Baillie, a Scottish physician and pathologist, illustrated a lung that has suffered emphysema and describing its conditions and how it gradually gets worse. René Laennec, who invented the stethoscope, first came up with the term “emphysema” in his book about diseases in the lungs. He described how when he opened up a lung in an autopsy it was immediately clear to him how the lung did not collapse but stayed fully inflated. He later found out that this was caused by mucus blocking the airways keeping air stuck in the blocked airways. Finally in 1959 the term COPD was defined as emphysema and chronic bronchitis and was first used by William Briscoe in 1965. Slowly COPD is becoming the established term for the disease.…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Personal Impact Paper

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is a Chronic and progressive illness that affects a person’s ability to breath. The affects to breathing occur due to obstructive airways caused by production of mucous from continuous inflammation and by constrictive airways caused by the narrowing of the bronchial tubes from spasms, scar tissue, reactive airways, infections of the lung, and the continuous response to irritating substances within the environment. Pollution, smoking, and other irritating substances cause the negative and damaging cascade of events that follow.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays