Serious Symptoms Of Emphysema

Emphysema is a lung condition that causes patients to experience progressive shortness of breath. This condition causes damage to the small sacs in the lungs that fill with air, called alveoli. As the condition progresses, the alveoli inner walls become too weak and burst. Emphysema is caused by long term exposure to irritants in the air, including marijuana smoke, tobacco smoke, chemical fumes, air pollution, and chemical dust. Some individuals develop emphysema due to an inherited protein deficiency called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. Diagnosis of emphysema is made with a physical examination, x-rays, blood tests, CT scans, spirometry, and lung function tests. Treatment of an individual affected by emphysema may include inhaled steroids, antibiotics, bronchodilators, nutrition therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation, supplemental oxygen, lung volume reduction surgery, and lung transplant.

There are multiple serious symptoms of emphysema. Get the full details on each now.

Shortness Of Breath

Emphysema causes the alveoli in the lungs to rupture, which creates a larger space in the tissue that cannot be utilized and less surface area in the lung for the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen. As the disease progresses, these spaces in the lungs become larger and larger. The large space causes old oxygen-poor air to become trapped in the lungs, keeping it from expanding and filling with new air that is rich in oxygen. Shortness of breath is a term used to describe when an individual feels an intense chest tightening sensation, has problems breathing, is starved of air, or feels like they are being suffocated. It is also commonly referred to as dyspnea in the medical community. Healthy individuals usually only experience shortness of breath when they are engaging in very strenuous exercise, are morbidly obese, are in extreme temperatures, or are at a higher altitude. Emphysema patients experience shortness of breath because they have less surface area in the lungs to facilitate the transfer of oxygen into their blood.

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Blue Lips Or Fingernails

Cyanosis is a term used to describe a symptom where the skin of the lips and the skin underneath the fingernails turn blue. Blue lips and fingernails occur when the oxygen content of the blood is too low. The parts of the skin affected by low oxygen concentration have a different color of blood flowing through them than parts of the body with blood with a higher concentration of oxygen. Oxygen-rich blood is bright red and reflects light from under the skin as a pink or flesh color, where oxygen-poor blood is very dark red and reflects light from under the skin as a blue or grey color. The blue discoloration occurs because light reflects from the two colors of blood differently. An individual with emphysema has lungs that do not work as well as they should due to weakened alveoli. Oxygen-poor air fills into spaces where the alveoli have ruptured, not allowing oxygen-rich blood to enter the lung. As a result, the oxygen content of the blood is lower than normal in distant body parts like the fingertips and mucous membranes.

Get more details on the serious symptoms associated with emphysema now.