Persuasive Essay On Emphysema

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Emphysema
Have you ever wonder what it feels like for someone with emphysema? If yes, try this grab a plastic bag and pull it over your head. Make a small hole for you to breath through. Now just breath at your normal pace. You'll notice you are breathing faster and it's becoming harder to breath . It will get worse, fear and panic will set in. Take the bag off your head. Now you know what it feels like but people emphysema can't just take the bag off.
Pathophysiology
Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease where the alveoli weaken and lose their ability expanding. Air stays trapped inside the lungs because the damaged lung sacs can't empty causing some to break. This can make breathing difficult and ultimately …show more content…

The first thing to do if you smoke, it's best to stop to slow the progression. Other than quitting smoking the treatment that a pulmonologist would suggest depending on the severity of the disease include medication, breathing retraining, and surgery. “Bronchodilators, can help by relaxing constricted airways. Corticosteroid drugs reduce inflammation and may help relieve shortness of breath. If you have a bacterial infection, like acute bronchitis or pneumonia, antibiotics are appropriate. A pulmonary rehabilitation program can teach you breathing exercises and techniques. Supplemental oxygen can help If you have severe emphysema with low blood oxygen levels, using oxygen regularly at home and when you exercise may provide some relief. Depending on the severity of your emphysema, your doctor may suggest one or more different types of surgery. Lung volume reduction surgery, In this procedure, surgeons remove small wedges of damaged lung tissue. Lung transplantation is an option if you have severe lung damage and other options have failed.” (Mayo Clinic, 2017). When you are diagnosed with this disease since it’s a systemic disease that causes wasting of the muscles and bones certain physical exercises can help improve quality of life. When you are exercising you don't have to go vigorously with the exercise because it's hard to get a …show more content…

It will affect your normal daily activities, things you are usually able to do become harder and harder to do. That can restricts social life and hobbies, even simple household chores can cause shortness of breath. “This is the way having emphysema makes me feel. Take a deep breath, blow out 20%, now walk around holding the rest in forever. Do you like to shop for new clothes? For me it is like running track while getting dressed, only you have to stop 3 or 4 times before you finish. It changes your whole life, nothing remains the same!” (Jan Costilow , n.d). The importance of cigarette smoking as a risk factor for developing emphysema cannot be stressed enough also weight and overall health are important factors when preventing emphysema ,you should maintain a healthy body weight with a proper diet and regular exercise. Cigarette smoke contributes to this disease process in two ways, it causes irritation and inflammation and destroys lung tissue that can only get worse. Those who smoke put themselves and others around them increasingly at risk every pack of cigarette they smoke. Emphysema is not a death sentence. Rather, it is a medical condition that should be a push to manage and live life to your highest

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