Emphysema

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) takes its toll on the sufferer and all those around them. It is a terrible disease, that sacks your energy, makes you gasp for each breath, and makes the long night not one of sleepfulness, but coughing.

Coughing up mucus is often the first sign of COPD; although lung changes which occur are probably happening earlier.

Your airways branch out inside your lungs like an upside-down tree. At the end of each branch are small, balloon-like air sacs. In healthy people, both the airways and air sacs are springy and elastic. When you breathe in, each air sac fills with air like a small balloon. The balloon deflates when you exhale. In COPD, your airways and air sacs lose their shape and become floppy, like a stretched-out rubber band.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe. In COPD, the airways—the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs—are partly obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out.

Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers.

The airways branch out like an upside-down tree, and at the end of each branch are many small, balloon-like air sacs called alveoli (al-VEE-uhl-EYE). In healthy people, each airway is clear and open. The air sacs are small and dainty, and both the airways and air sacs are elastic and springy. When you breathe in, each air sac fills up with air like a small balloon; when you breathe out, the balloon deflates and the air goes out. In COPD, the airways and air sacs lose their shape and become floppy.

Air pollution, the culprit which is causing global warming, may now change the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China. For several years, we have seen the United States ‘pull back’ on signing the Kyoto treaty as Asia, especially China, was not in accord.

We may have acted very smug with those reports, insisting that America do its bit, despite pollution in China. After all, how much worse could China’s pollution be?

First responders such as Paramedics, should know that people with MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (and to some extent people with asthma and emphysema) need special treatment. Here are tips from Dr. Ann McCampbell. These tips are primarily aimed at educating paramedics and other first responders about the limitations and liabilities of dealing with people with chemical sensitivities. MCS patients might consider printing these tips out and having them available to give first responders when they arrive.

Air quality has a big impact on many physical (not to mention emotional and psychological) conditions. For various reasons, people may totally uproot themselves and relocate just to get clean air. But where should you go? Find out by perusing the American Lung Association's State of the Air 2006 report.

The District of Columbia City Council passed a law that will make indoor work sites, bars and restaurants smoke-free by January. The notable exception is Congress, where tobacco leaves dot the frescoes, and knee-high ashtrays stand sentry outside the House chamber.

The American Lung Association provides detailed air pollution reports by zip code for each state to allow you to find out just how polluted your environment is. Only if you are informed can you act to