What is Emphysema?

With all the lawsuits that have been filed against big tobacco companies, most people have at least heard of emphysema, but few understand the pain and torture or this disease. Imagine, having a constant cough, accompanied by having to struggle every time you need to exhale, and there is little they can do to treat long term symptoms.

Emphysema is a debilitating disease that causes the progressive deterioration of the lungs. Inside your lungs are tiny sacs. When you breathe in, these tiny sacs fill with air. They are made of elastic walls that allow oxygen to enter your body and carbon dioxide to leave it. With emphysema, the walls of your air sacs become inflamed, lose elasticity, and eventually break down. Small airs sacs combine to form larger, less efficient sacs.

When you breathe consciously, you use your muscles to force air out of your lungs; however, when you aren’t conscious of your breathing, the tiny air sacs in your lungs are responsible for getting rid of the excess carbon dioxide. When these sacs are larger and less elastic, they become unable to force the air out on their own and you must consciously breathe almost all of the time. This uses a lot of your energy.

While there are several symptoms associated with emphysema, patients with the early stages of this disease often experience no noticeable effects. Once you experience symptoms it may be too late to make a difference. There is simply too much damage that has already occurred. This is a great reason to get an annual physical. If emphysema is caught early it’s easier to treat.

Here are some of the symptoms of emphysema that you may notice:
* Fatigue
* Chronic cough
* Loss of appetite
* Weight loss

The most common cause of emphysema is smoking. When you inhale cigarette smoke, first or second hand, you paralyze the tiny hairs responsible for filtering toxins out of the air entering your lungs. This means all the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke actually make it to the air sacs, causing irritation and inflammation. Even if your emphysema is not caused by smoking, smoking can increase symptoms and worsen the progression of the disease. While smoking is the leading cause of this type of emphysema, it can also be cause by inhaling chemicals and pollutants.

Another, much more rare cause of emphysema is a protein deficiency. The lack of a specific protein keeps your air sac walls from being as elastic. This specific form of emphysema is hereditary, and must be passed on from both your parents. The symptoms from this type of emphysema usually develop in your 30’s or 40’s; while regular emphysema tends to develop in your 50’s and 60’s.

Currently, there is not cure for emphysema. Treatment options can make you more comfortable, but are usually only temporary. The key to treating emphysema is to prevent ever getting it in the first place. The best was to do this is by not smoking or inhaling second hand smoke.