COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) disease, is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. "Progressive" means the disease gets worse over time.
Regrettably, COPD is a principal cause of death and individuals with a long-term history of smoking are at high risk. The damage caused to your lungs by smoking cannot be undone once you start to suffer from COPD and is held responsible for the resultant difficulty in breathing.
This means that you have difficulty exhaling because the airways in your lungs can not deal with the air that you need because of one of the following:
The air sacs and airways in your lungs have lost some of their elastic value.
Your airways produce more mucus than normal, which will clog them.
The air sacs between the walls in your lungs are destroyed.
Your airway walls of your lungs are thick and inflamed
There are signs and symptoms of COPD but they can vary from one person to the next. Normally all people with COPD will have more than one of the following symptoms:
Shortness of breath
Chest tightness
Chronic cough
Wheezing
Many people who are diagnosed with COPD were earlier diagnosed with chronic asthmatic bronchitis or emphysema and some may even suffer from both of these diseases. Chronic asthmatic bronchitis is when a person has an increased mucus production, inflammation and narrowing of the airways which causes the person to cough and wheeze.
A person with emphysema has damaged alveoli (tiny air sacs), which reduces the amount of surface area on the lungs in which to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. The alveoli walls are also weaker which may cause them to collapse during exhalation, trapping the air inside. This trapping of air causes the symptom of shortness of breath.
The people most at risk from COPD are those who are exposed to excessive dust, chemical fumes, air pollution or tobacco smoke. Age has a lot to do with COPD, as the symptoms can start to appear about the age of 40. Genetics is thought to plan a role in COPD because researchers believe a rare genetic disorder known, as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency is a reason of some of the cases of COPD. .
People who are diagnosed with COPD are at risk to respiratory infections like pneumonia, which as we know, can do more damage to the lungs and make it even more difficult for them to breathe. Other difficulties for those with COPD can be are high blood pressure. If this is the case high blood pressure could put a strain on the right ventricle of the heart, which will then cause the legs and ankles to swell. COPD will also increases the risk to a person for heart disease, heart attack, and depression. People become depressed because of the difficulty in breathing, inability to be physically active or to do activities that they did in the past. This can make a person extremely sad about life and about their health.
There is no cure for COPD but there are treatments that can control the symptoms and improve breathing. Life style changes can help and the first of those is to maintain a positive attitude.
First off, if you are smoking, stop.
Go and see your doctor to get ongoing care.
Prepare for emergencies
Stay away from lung irritants
Learn how to manage the disease and its symptoms
Stay away from crowds and cold air
Eat a health diet
Keep in touch with your doctor on a regular basis
Build up your immune system by drinking Aloe Vera or some such.
Try using a Himalayan Salt Pipe
Become involved in a support group
Make sure that you are informed of new treatments
Treatment may include oxygen therapy, antibiotics to control infections, bronchodilators and inhaled steroids. Surgery may be necessary for those with severe emphysema when medications alone are not enough to control symptoms. In cases of severe emphysema when nothing else helps, a lung transplant is the last resort.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
What causes asthma:
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma is also long term and cannot be cured. It well affect people of all ages and is mainly found in women, although there are many men who suffer from the disease, as well. There are also different degrees of asthma; some people can have very severe symptoms and others may only have a minor wheeze.
The characteristic symptoms are wheeze, cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Even through it cannot be cured, asthma is not a death sentence and most people learn how to control it and live long and fruitful lives.
There are many theories in the medical world about origin and causes of the disease, but the general causes are thought to be mainly 2 reasons that are given and they are environmental and genetic issues.
The thing that starts of an attack of asthma is called a “trigger”. This trigger is something that irritates the airways, then the muscles proximate to the airways start to swell and tighten up and the effect of this is; constricted airways and this makes breathing difficult. These triggers are not necessarily the same in one person as another. What causes an attack in one individual may have no effect whatsoever in another.
If the asthma attack if rigorous enough, then maybe the person will need to be admitted to hospital, happily however most people can control their asthma attacks via preventative measures or medication they keep with them at all times in case of attacks. Unfortunately a person who suffers from long term severe asthma may find they have permanently narrowed airways which makes breathing a chronic problem for them.
The number of people with asthma has been rising in recent years, and researchers are not sure why, this is despite vast improvements in air quality in many major cites and the fast going out of fashion habit of cigarette smoking. Much more alarmingly the number of children suffering from asthma has increased in the last ten years. (just ask any teacher how many inhalers they keep in their desk draw). This raise in children suffering from asthma might well be linked to overweight problems. In the States 1 in 12 people are reported to have asthma.
The medical world doesn't really know what causes asthma but what they are sure of is the fact that it does tend to run in families, in other words if one of your parents has asthma then the probability of you or your siblings developing it are higher than if they didn't. If you have asthma as a child then there is a possibility that the symptoms will disappear as you grow older but might will reappear in later life.
If you are somebody who is an asthmatic, the first thing to do is to find out what starts it for you. In other words what are your “triggers”, it is in your own best interest to do this and avoid them as much as possible.
Common triggers tend to include.
* Pollen, especially in the spring and summer when its most plentiful.
* Cigarette smoke, smoking should especially be avoided if you're an asthmatic, fumes from chemicals, cars, etc can also act as a trigger. .
* Acute cold air.
* Chest ailments and infections
* Animal fur including cats, dogs and farm animals etc. * Excessive exercise
* Emotion, laughing and crying can be a trigger for some people.
Prevention, as we all know is better then cure ensuring your condition is controlled and treated should be your main concern as if left unattended your condition may worsen over time.
Do not become anxious because anxiety is not going to help you and is only the fruit of unanswered questions. Do not let questions go unanswered just because you are afraid to ask or afraid of the answered. If you allow yourself to live in the pale light of insufficient knowledge of how to manage you asthma this could quickly lead you to despair. Asthma is, after all, part of life and can be controlled allowing you to get on with the process of living and becoming the person that you are meant to be.
There are many theories in the medical world about origin and causes of the disease, but the general causes are thought to be mainly 2 reasons that are given and they are environmental and genetic issues.
The thing that starts of an attack of asthma is called a “trigger”. This trigger is something that irritates the airways, then the muscles proximate to the airways start to swell and tighten up and the effect of this is; constricted airways and this makes breathing difficult. These triggers are not necessarily the same in one person as another. What causes an attack in one individual may have no effect whatsoever in another.
If the asthma attack if rigorous enough, then maybe the person will need to be admitted to hospital, happily however most people can control their asthma attacks via preventative measures or medication they keep with them at all times in case of attacks. Unfortunately a person who suffers from long term severe asthma may find they have permanently narrowed airways which makes breathing a chronic problem for them.
The number of people with asthma has been rising in recent years, and researchers are not sure why, this is despite vast improvements in air quality in many major cites and the fast going out of fashion habit of cigarette smoking. Much more alarmingly the number of children suffering from asthma has increased in the last ten years. (just ask any teacher how many inhalers they keep in their desk draw). This raise in children suffering from asthma might well be linked to overweight problems. In the States 1 in 12 people are reported to have asthma.
The medical world doesn't really know what causes asthma but what they are sure of is the fact that it does tend to run in families, in other words if one of your parents has asthma then the probability of you or your siblings developing it are higher than if they didn't. If you have asthma as a child then there is a possibility that the symptoms will disappear as you grow older but might will reappear in later life.
If you are somebody who is an asthmatic, the first thing to do is to find out what starts it for you. In other words what are your “triggers”, it is in your own best interest to do this and avoid them as much as possible.
Common triggers tend to include.
* Pollen, especially in the spring and summer when its most plentiful.
* Cigarette smoke, smoking should especially be avoided if you're an asthmatic, fumes from chemicals, cars, etc can also act as a trigger. .
* Acute cold air.
* Chest ailments and infections
* Animal fur including cats, dogs and farm animals etc. * Excessive exercise
* Emotion, laughing and crying can be a trigger for some people.
Prevention, as we all know is better then cure ensuring your condition is controlled and treated should be your main concern as if left unattended your condition may worsen over time.
Do not become anxious because anxiety is not going to help you and is only the fruit of unanswered questions. Do not let questions go unanswered just because you are afraid to ask or afraid of the answered. If you allow yourself to live in the pale light of insufficient knowledge of how to manage you asthma this could quickly lead you to despair. Asthma is, after all, part of life and can be controlled allowing you to get on with the process of living and becoming the person that you are meant to be.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Drugs used for asthma treatment
Finding out that you have asthma is not the end of the world or a life sentence. What you have to do is find out everything that you can about asthma and learn to control it. Doing this will enable you to life a normal life like everybody else.
The first thing to do to control your asthma is to avoid things that start your asthma off. These are called “triggers” and the only way to find out what yours are is to keep a notebook and write down things that set you off. It is then a good idea to discuss this with your health care worker to find ways to avoid the “triggers”.
There are quite a few treatments for asthma and they are dived into two main areas. One is a quick relief drugs that are used during an asthma attack and the other is preventing drugs that are used to control and prevent asthma attacks. Asthmatics must never make the mistake of discontinuing control drugs just because they do not have attackes. It is the control medication that is most important.
Quick relief or rescue medications can be taken when you start coughing, wheezing or has tightness in your chest. These medications are normally very effective and in most cases (as long as they are taken quickly enough) will prevent a full scale asthma attack.
Short-acting beta-agonists are the most general quick-relief drugs for treating asthma attacks. It is a good idea to use beta-agonists just before exercising to help prevent asthma symptoms that are caused by exercise. They work by soothing the muscles of your airways, and this lets you breathe better then you normally would during an attack.
It is very important to tell your doctor if you start to use quick-relief medicines twice a week or more to control your asthma symptoms. The reason for this is that you may not have your asthma under control, and your doctor may need to change your dose of daily control drugs.
Here are the names of the most common quick-relief asthma drugs: .
1 Albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin) 2 Metaproterenol (Alupent, Metaprel) 3 Pirbuterol (Maxair) 4 Terbutaline (Brethine, Brethaire, and Bricanyl) 5 Bitolterol (Tornalate) 6 Levalbuterol (Xopenex) .
It must be remembered that quick-relief asthma drugs may cause some side effects:
1 Anxiety 2 Tremor (your hand or another part of your body is shaking) 3 Restlessness 4 Headaches 5 Fast and irregular heartbeats. Tell your doctor right away if you have this side effect, especially if you have heart problems. You may be at a higher risk for sudden death from heart problems.
To find out if any of the side effects affect you, it is best to keep a note in you book when you are using any of the quick-relief drugs. In doing this you will know which ones to avoid or what you can expect when you do use them.
What every you do: do not run out of your medication and if you travel it is very important that you carry a good supply with you in case it is needed.
Moderate asthma sufferers, usually use inhalers, but if the symptoms and attacks are fairly severe then medication such as steroids can be taken orally. Common control drugs taken via inhaler include Pulmicort, Azmacort, Vanceril, AeroBid and Flovent.
Treatment with asthma control drugs work by concentrating on making sure that you manage your asthma effectively on a long-term basis so there is no reduction in quality of life. They work well because they prevent the airways becoming inflamed and swollen, they are also known as anti inflammatory drugs.
There are more natural ways of controlling your asthma and it might be worth you well looking into them. I will mention a few here:
Himalayan Salt Pipescan be a very simple way to make a real difference to your health. The Salt Pipe is a dry Himalayan salt inhaler that uses the ancient salt therapy to help maintain an optimum respiratory function, which will help you to breath easier. The Himalayan Salt helps by making your immune system stronger by cleansing the lungs allowing them to absorb more oxygen. The Salt Pipe is not a “quick relief “ method but more of a natural long-term way of helping you manager your asthma.
Asthma that is caused by external factors rather than emotion-related problems, are often linked to food allergy. It is worth looking up what foods are best to eat for combating asthma; a few of them are garlic, onions and sorrel (which makes a very good soup)
Aloe Vera extract can help treat asthma, but needs to be taken for at least 6 months or more before you can tell whether is is effective. It works in much the same way as the Salt Pipe, by building up your immune system.
It is very important imperative that if you suffer from asthma that you take the drugs as prescribed to ensure your symptoms and asthma attacks are kept as low as possible.
Asthma is regrettable and as already been stated it does not have to be a life sentence, many asthma sufferers lead a full and productive life and find their asthma is only a minor nuisance most times.
The first thing to do to control your asthma is to avoid things that start your asthma off. These are called “triggers” and the only way to find out what yours are is to keep a notebook and write down things that set you off. It is then a good idea to discuss this with your health care worker to find ways to avoid the “triggers”.
There are quite a few treatments for asthma and they are dived into two main areas. One is a quick relief drugs that are used during an asthma attack and the other is preventing drugs that are used to control and prevent asthma attacks. Asthmatics must never make the mistake of discontinuing control drugs just because they do not have attackes. It is the control medication that is most important.
Quick relief or rescue medications can be taken when you start coughing, wheezing or has tightness in your chest. These medications are normally very effective and in most cases (as long as they are taken quickly enough) will prevent a full scale asthma attack.
Short-acting beta-agonists are the most general quick-relief drugs for treating asthma attacks. It is a good idea to use beta-agonists just before exercising to help prevent asthma symptoms that are caused by exercise. They work by soothing the muscles of your airways, and this lets you breathe better then you normally would during an attack.
It is very important to tell your doctor if you start to use quick-relief medicines twice a week or more to control your asthma symptoms. The reason for this is that you may not have your asthma under control, and your doctor may need to change your dose of daily control drugs.
Here are the names of the most common quick-relief asthma drugs: .
1 Albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin) 2 Metaproterenol (Alupent, Metaprel) 3 Pirbuterol (Maxair) 4 Terbutaline (Brethine, Brethaire, and Bricanyl) 5 Bitolterol (Tornalate) 6 Levalbuterol (Xopenex) .
It must be remembered that quick-relief asthma drugs may cause some side effects:
1 Anxiety 2 Tremor (your hand or another part of your body is shaking) 3 Restlessness 4 Headaches 5 Fast and irregular heartbeats. Tell your doctor right away if you have this side effect, especially if you have heart problems. You may be at a higher risk for sudden death from heart problems.
To find out if any of the side effects affect you, it is best to keep a note in you book when you are using any of the quick-relief drugs. In doing this you will know which ones to avoid or what you can expect when you do use them.
What every you do: do not run out of your medication and if you travel it is very important that you carry a good supply with you in case it is needed.
Moderate asthma sufferers, usually use inhalers, but if the symptoms and attacks are fairly severe then medication such as steroids can be taken orally. Common control drugs taken via inhaler include Pulmicort, Azmacort, Vanceril, AeroBid and Flovent.
Treatment with asthma control drugs work by concentrating on making sure that you manage your asthma effectively on a long-term basis so there is no reduction in quality of life. They work well because they prevent the airways becoming inflamed and swollen, they are also known as anti inflammatory drugs.
There are more natural ways of controlling your asthma and it might be worth you well looking into them. I will mention a few here:
Himalayan Salt Pipescan be a very simple way to make a real difference to your health. The Salt Pipe is a dry Himalayan salt inhaler that uses the ancient salt therapy to help maintain an optimum respiratory function, which will help you to breath easier. The Himalayan Salt helps by making your immune system stronger by cleansing the lungs allowing them to absorb more oxygen. The Salt Pipe is not a “quick relief “ method but more of a natural long-term way of helping you manager your asthma.
Asthma that is caused by external factors rather than emotion-related problems, are often linked to food allergy. It is worth looking up what foods are best to eat for combating asthma; a few of them are garlic, onions and sorrel (which makes a very good soup)
Aloe Vera extract can help treat asthma, but needs to be taken for at least 6 months or more before you can tell whether is is effective. It works in much the same way as the Salt Pipe, by building up your immune system.
It is very important imperative that if you suffer from asthma that you take the drugs as prescribed to ensure your symptoms and asthma attacks are kept as low as possible.
Asthma is regrettable and as already been stated it does not have to be a life sentence, many asthma sufferers lead a full and productive life and find their asthma is only a minor nuisance most times.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Asthma: 10 hints to help you live with it.
Having "twitchy airways" is propbly the best way to describe asthma. What this means is that your bronchial airways will contract and you will experience tightness in your chest and a shortness of breath, which will make you cough and wheeze.
For 90% of younger peoples asthma is thought to be set off by allergies of some kind or another. By younger people, I mean any body under 40. These allergies can be animal fluff, pollen, dust mites, any kind of mould, city pollution or bad air that can be found in stuffy rooms or such.
In general, people over 40 who have asthma, it is more then likely caused by diseases, like Emphysema, for instance.
If you have asthma the first thing that you have to do is see your doctor. After your diagnoses the doctor will give a some form of medication to help you and really the rest is commonsense. Once you know what triggers your asthma; avoid it as much as possible.
• Some people who have asthma find the open fireplaces and wood smoke will bring on an attach by aggravating your breathing. If you can avoid such places or at the very least try and make sure that the room is ventilated.
• Smoking is really fast becoming a very unsociable habit, but it does still goes on. Stay well away from people who smoke and areas where smoking happens. It is not good for anybodies health particular asthmas suffers and children who are very open to health problems.
• Always wear a scarf across your mouth in cold weather because cold air is one of the worst triggers for asthma. Wearing the scarf will ensure that the air that your breath in is warm.
• People who have asthma are told (like everybody else) to lay off the salt because there appears to be a deified link between how much salt you take and asthma. But what is food without salt? If you must take, salt then at least use salt that is not “common salt”. Use Himalayan salt that is pure and straight out of the primeval sea.
• Try and stay out of the kitchen when there are strong smelling foods being cooked, also avoid the kitchen if frying is being done, as this can also bring on asthma.
• If you are have acid reflux after eating, then it is best not to eat too late at night. Using two pillows and taking an antacid before going to bed may help you sleep better.
• Cars,nowadays, are nearly always fitted with air conditioning. This is not really a good thing for asthma suffers. The reason is that the system will draw in air from the outside which, if you are in town traffic, will be full of pollen and fuel fumes; just the sort of environment that you do not want.
• It is a well know fact that many food additives have a big impact on your asthma, practically if you are a child. There are so many of these additives it is impossible to list them all here. Metabisulphite is the main culprit. Always check the food labels before buying and try and stay with the purest foods you can.
• As an asthma sufferer it is best to avoid the use of aspirin as a painkiller because asthma makes people very sensitive to the pill. The use of aspirin by people with asthma has been known to bring death on more then one occasion.
Make sure that you use your inhaler correctly. Learn the specific technique to using an inhaler by somebody who knows what he or she is about. Many people find great relief from asthma by using a Himalayan Salt Pipe on a daily basis. The Himalayan salt is pure and natural.
Asthma is not a life sentence; learn all you can about how to managed it and you can live a normal productive life like everybody else.
For 90% of younger peoples asthma is thought to be set off by allergies of some kind or another. By younger people, I mean any body under 40. These allergies can be animal fluff, pollen, dust mites, any kind of mould, city pollution or bad air that can be found in stuffy rooms or such.
In general, people over 40 who have asthma, it is more then likely caused by diseases, like Emphysema, for instance.
If you have asthma the first thing that you have to do is see your doctor. After your diagnoses the doctor will give a some form of medication to help you and really the rest is commonsense. Once you know what triggers your asthma; avoid it as much as possible.
• Some people who have asthma find the open fireplaces and wood smoke will bring on an attach by aggravating your breathing. If you can avoid such places or at the very least try and make sure that the room is ventilated.
• Smoking is really fast becoming a very unsociable habit, but it does still goes on. Stay well away from people who smoke and areas where smoking happens. It is not good for anybodies health particular asthmas suffers and children who are very open to health problems.
• Always wear a scarf across your mouth in cold weather because cold air is one of the worst triggers for asthma. Wearing the scarf will ensure that the air that your breath in is warm.
• People who have asthma are told (like everybody else) to lay off the salt because there appears to be a deified link between how much salt you take and asthma. But what is food without salt? If you must take, salt then at least use salt that is not “common salt”. Use Himalayan salt that is pure and straight out of the primeval sea.
• Try and stay out of the kitchen when there are strong smelling foods being cooked, also avoid the kitchen if frying is being done, as this can also bring on asthma.
• If you are have acid reflux after eating, then it is best not to eat too late at night. Using two pillows and taking an antacid before going to bed may help you sleep better.
• Cars,nowadays, are nearly always fitted with air conditioning. This is not really a good thing for asthma suffers. The reason is that the system will draw in air from the outside which, if you are in town traffic, will be full of pollen and fuel fumes; just the sort of environment that you do not want.
• It is a well know fact that many food additives have a big impact on your asthma, practically if you are a child. There are so many of these additives it is impossible to list them all here. Metabisulphite is the main culprit. Always check the food labels before buying and try and stay with the purest foods you can.
• As an asthma sufferer it is best to avoid the use of aspirin as a painkiller because asthma makes people very sensitive to the pill. The use of aspirin by people with asthma has been known to bring death on more then one occasion.
Make sure that you use your inhaler correctly. Learn the specific technique to using an inhaler by somebody who knows what he or she is about. Many people find great relief from asthma by using a Himalayan Salt Pipe on a daily basis. The Himalayan salt is pure and natural.
Asthma is not a life sentence; learn all you can about how to managed it and you can live a normal productive life like everybody else.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Salt and your blood pressure
We all know that too much salt can upset our blood pressure.But what is our blood pressure?
Before you find out if you have high blood pressure or not, you need to know what the right blood pressure is. Most people think that the right blood pressure is only based on people’s idea of what it should be. But there is a very reliable way of finding out just what is a good blood pressure. A doctor or nurse can take a pressure reading and find out if you have a high or low blood pressure, there is no guesswork evolved.
Read the full article here
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Salt and your blood pressure
If you are one of those people who has high blood pressure, then you know that you are in danger of many mishaps like the risk of stroke, kidney failure, heart disease and heart attack, to name but a few.
Every body likes bit of salt, but salt is not good for you because it helps your body retain water and that extra water that is stored in you body raises your blood pressure.
So what can you do? Eat less salt is the answer to that one.
Common salt is not good for you and one of the first things you should do is stop buying it and try a more natural salt. You will use less of it because the taste is much stronger.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Himalayan Salt
Our Himalayan Salt is a whole food salt that comes to you straight from the earth's crust: it was deposited hundreds of millions of years ago when huge oceans dried up, before there was any pollution; so this pristine, ancient salt needs no refining and is also guaranteed additive-free.
The Himalayan Salt is one of the finest organic salts in the world, it contains naturally occurring minerals which make it compatible with your body's needs and also give it the rosy-pink hues for which it is famous. Its minerals are a perfect match for those, which our bodies need, since we have a saline fluid base very like that of the seawater from which this salt originated. .
Do your self a favour and stop taking “common salt” switch now to the real stuff.
The Himalayan Salt is one of the finest organic salts in the world, it contains naturally occurring minerals which make it compatible with your body's needs and also give it the rosy-pink hues for which it is famous. Its minerals are a perfect match for those, which our bodies need, since we have a saline fluid base very like that of the seawater from which this salt originated. .
Do your self a favour and stop taking “common salt” switch now to the real stuff.
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