Essay On Obstructive Lung Disease

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Lung conditions can be classified as obstructive lung disease or restrictive lung disease. Obstructive lung diseases include conditions that make it hard to exhale all the air in the lungs. People with restrictive lung disease have difficulty fully expanding their lungs with air. Obstructive and restrictive lung disease shares the same main symptom shortness of breath with exertion.
People with obstructive lung disease have shortness of breath because it is difficult for the person to fully exhale all the air from the lungs. This can be because of damage to the lungs or narrowing of the airways inside the lungs. With obstruction exhaled air comes out more slowly than normal. At the end of a full exhalation, there may still be high amount of air lingering in the lungs. Obstructive lung disease makes it harder to breathe, especially during increased activity or exertion. As the rate of breathing increases, there is less time to breathe all the air out before the next inhalation. Treatments for obstructive lung disease work by opening up the narrow airway. Airways may be narrowed by constriction of involuntary muscles that surround the airways. …show more content…

Restrictive diseases are associated with a decreased TLC. Some conditions causing restrictive lung disease are, interstitial lung disease, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, obesity, scoliosis, and neuromuscular disease, such as muscular dystrophy or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Stiffness of the chest wall, weak muscles, or damaged nerves may cause the restriction in lung expansion. People with restrictive lung disease cannot fully fill their lungs with air. Their lungs are restricted from fully expanding. Restrictive lung disease most often results from a condition causing stiffness in the lungs

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