What is emphysema?

Answer 1

Lung Disease

Answer 2

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.


http://mayoclinic.com/health/emphysema/DS00296

Answer 3

Emphysema is a lung disease that involves damage to the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The air sacs are unable to completely deflate, and are therefore unable to fill with fresh air to ensure adequate oxygen supply to the body. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that cause swelling of the airways. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common forms of COPD.
Please see the web pages for more details on Emphysema and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Answer 4

Emphysema is believed to be caused from smoking or the inhaltion of gases over a period of time
IT is where the air sacs in the lungs loose their elasticity and they are unable to expel the air. The patient has to work very hard at explelling the air from thier lungs. Their lungs end up filling up with fluid.
MOST familys think that thier loved ones are gasping for air and want oxegen mask on and it turned on.
HOWEVER THIS CAN kill a patient with exphysema. THEY ARE ACTUALLY HAVING PROBLEMS EXPELLING THE AIR THAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR LUNGS.
Mostly an oxygen mask will be fitted and run on low o2.
THIS IS MORE to plactate the relatives if the sufferer.
It is the end stage of of lung abuse if you like. Smoking over the years will create emphysema.
Sorry to be so honest about it but you did ask

Answer 5

Scarring of the lungs, usually caused by pollutants. At one point it was determined that over 95% of all people with emphysema were smokers. Just about everyone else had been working in an environment that had severely toxic pollutants.
Smoking causes a temporary paralysis of the cilia in the lungs. Cilia are the fine, hair-like structures that are constantly in motion to move toxic particles out of the lungs. When the cilia are paralyzed, toxic particles can stay in one place and cause irritation. The irritation eventually turns to scar tissue and/or cancer. Smoking one cigarette can cause paralysis of the cilia for about an hour. It’s as though cigarettes were specifically designed to cause emphysema. They have the toxic stubstances and they have a method of keeping the substances in contact with the lungs.

Answer 6

Emphysema is were the small airways in the lung cannot transmit oxygen to the blood. This results in shortness of breath and eventually death. Emphysema is caused by smoking, pollutants, mining (silicosis), or can be hereditary.

Answer 7

It is a condition to do with your lungs and breathing. A friends mum has emphysema and can only breathe in half the amount of air as a regular person

Answer 8

Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive lung disease. It is often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke.
Emphysema is characterized by loss of elasticity of the lung tissue, destruction of structures supporting the alveoli, and destruction of capillaries feeding the alveoli. The result is that the small airways collapse during exhalation, leading to an obstructive form of lung disease (airflow is impeded and air is generally "trapped" in the lungs in obstructive lung diseases). Symptoms include shortness of breath on exertion (typically when climbing stairs or inclines, and later at rest), hyperventilation, and an expanded chest. As emphysema progresses, clubbing of the fingers may be observed, a feature of longstanding hypoxia.

Emphysema patients are sometimes referred to as "pink puffers". This is because emphysema sufferers may hyperventilate to maintain adequate blood oxygen levels. Hyperventilation explains why emphysema patients do not appear cyanotic as chronic bronchitis (another COPD disorder) sufferers often do; hence they are "pink puffers" (adequate oxygen levels in the blood) and not "blue bloaters" (cyanosis; inadequate oxygen in the blood).
Diagnosis is by spirometry (lung function testing), including diffusion testing. Other investigations might include X-rays, high resolution spiral chest CT-scan, bronchoscopy (when other lung disease is suspected, including malignancy), blood tests, pulse .
Emphysema is an irreversible degenerative condition. The most important measure that can be taken to slow the progression of emphysema is for the patient to stop smoking and avoid all exposure to cigarette smoke and lung irritants.
Pulmonary rehabilitation can be very helpful to optimize the patient's quality of life and teach the patient how to actively manage his or her care.
Emphysema is also treated by supporting the breathing with anticholinergics, bronchodilators and (inhaled or oral) steroid medication, and supplemental oxygen as required.
Treating the patient's other conditions including gastric reflux and allergies may also improve lung function. Supplemental oxygen used as prescribed (20+ hours/day) is the only non-surgical treatment which has been shown to prolong life in emphysema patients. Other medications are being researched.
There are lightweight portable oxygen systems which allow patients increased mobility. Patients fly, cruise, and work while using supplemental oxygen.

Answer 9

I am also waiting for the answers printed here.