If dust in the air reaches a high-enough level, it can also cause explosions — which are certainly harmful to health! We found several flame retardants, which are added to household and consumer products, but not at levels considered to be damaging to health. We also discovered that, in indoor environments, dust is a major contributor to human exposure to these flame retardants.
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Keeping fit ensures your lungs are healthy and it reduces the risk of developing respiratory disease. If you smoke, then it is time to quit. Smoking is one of the major causes of respiratory diseases such as COPD and lung cancer. Smoking causes the air passages to become narrow which in turn causes Breathing Problems.
It can lead to various other problems including damaging the tissues in your lungs. Quitting smoking can help you reduce the risk and save your lungs from damage. Another way to prevent respiratory disease is to minimize air pollution outdoors because sometimes the air pollution outdoors can cause respiratory problems. You can prevent infection from taking place in many ways. You should avoid going to places that are likely to be crowded, especially during the flu season.
You should stay away from other people when you are not feeling well so that others are protected. You should maintain good oral hygiene. Washing your hands often will protect you from infections. You should speak to your doctor about vaccinations that can help protect you from respiratory infections.
He will take a look at your history and then determine if that is the right course of action to be taken. You should keep away from irritants that can trigger respiratory problems in you. If there are specific types of chemicals that cause a response and cause respiratory problems then it is best to avoid them.
You can either have someone else handle them or you should look for safe alternative. It can help detect any problems in its initial stages which can help with treatment. Many believe that exercise is not a treatment option for people with lung disease.
But that is a myth. Exercise helps you manage lung disease better even when you have chronic lung disease. Exercise can help reduce any shortness of breath. The reason is that it helps improve muscles and your heart. Regular exercise helps you relax, increases your energy levels, improves your bone intensity, improves endurance, and helps improve your immune system.
This can be beneficial to your lungs and overall health because it helps you live a better life. Proper diet can help in the treatment of symptoms of respiratory diseases too. You need to choose healthy foods that help heal your body. This helps your body become better equipped to fight infections and maintain a healthy body weight.
You should eat three servings of whole-grain foods. You should increase the intake of vegetables and fruits as this can help improve your overall health. You should take care of how much you eat. Instead of taking seconds, you can replace that with a serving of fruit. Breathing techniques are one of breathing problem solutions. You have to be able to relax because stress can cause changes in your breathing pattern.
If you have a lung disease then it means that you are unable to relax. There are ways in which you can control the way in which you breathe so that you are relaxed and stress-free. Some of the techniques that you can try are visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, and diaphragmatic breathing. You can try to meditate for 10 minutes a day for relaxation too. It helps you better cope with the disease.
There are various aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation and your healthcare providers will help create the right plan for you. It includes breathing strategies, nutritional counselling, group support, and exercise training. PR also includes techniques that can help you save energy. You are given thorough knowledge about your disease and how you can manage it. Getting older and having breathing difficulties is normal according to many people.
Is this correct? Breathing difficulties, even when you perform a small task, may seem normal as you get older but it can be a sign of something bigger. You have to pay close attention to the signs of any type of respiratory problem that you are having. It is better to be safe than sorry because mild symptoms can mean you have a lung infection or disease too. Moreover, it will be easier to treat in the early stages if you do have a lung-related problem. What are the types of lung diseases?
The lung and respiratory diseases are categorized into three groups; airway diseases, lung circulation diseases, and lung tissue diseases. The airway diseases are the ones that are caused due to conditions that affect the airways. These include COPD, asthma, and bronchiectasis. An example of such conditions are pulmonary hypertension.
Lung tissue diseases affect the structure of the tissues found in the lungs and an example is sarcoidosis. I work in a hazardous environment. Do respirators offer protection? And when can they be used? Yes, the respirators offer protection when you are working in an environment that can cause damage to your respiratory system. There are various types of respirators such as approved filtering facepieces, loose-fitting powered-air-purifying respirators, half-face respirators, full-face respirators, and single-strap dust masks.
There are two factors that need to be considered when selecting respirators; the protection factor and the gases that you are exposed to. Training should be provided to you before use to ensure that you are able to use the respirator optimally. How can I eliminate irritants at home to ensure no one in my family suffers from respiratory disease? While it may not be possible to completely eliminate irritants, you can take some measures so that your home is free of irritants.
The following are some tips to help you get started. You should ensure there is proper air circulation in your home. You can do this by opening all the doors at your home. You should make sure the damper is open and the chimney is clean. If someone must smoke, then make sure they do so outside the home. You should clean your appliances periodically so that there is no accumulation of dust anywhere including air conditioner filters.
For many people, aerosol products can be major irritants. If that is the case, then look for an alternative. You should frequently clean your fans so that there is no dust accumulation on them. Similarly, make sure there are no pungent odours on your furniture as they can be irritants. What are the treatment options for respiratory diseases?
There are various treatment options available for people with lung and respiratory diseases. The treatment depends on the lung problem that you are suffering from. Chest Tube Thoracostomy is one of the treatments used to drain fluid, air or blood from the pleural space.
This is used in lung infection, breathing difficulty caused due to fluid buildup, a collapsed lung, lung cancer, or pneumonia. Another popular treatment is pulmonary lobectomy in which a lobe is removed. This can be due to lung cancer or COPD among other reasons.
Are there any medications that can be used for quick-relief? Anticholinergics help find relief from lung disease and they can be used for asthma. Oral steroids are given to treat lung disease symptoms and can help people with severe asthma.
Short-acting beta-agonists are used for relaxing the smooth muscles around the airways. Inhaled steroids are sometimes given to people. The trachea branches at the bottom to form two bronchial tubes. There are two main bronchial tubes, or bronchi singular, bronchus , called the right and left bronchi.
The bronchi carry air between the trachea and lungs. Each bronchus branches into smaller, secondary bronchi; and secondary bronchi branch into still smaller tertiary bronchi. The smallest bronchi branch into very small tubules called bronchioles. The tiniest bronchioles end in alveolar ducts, which terminate in clusters of minuscule air sacs, called alveoli singular, alveolus , in the lungs. The lungs are the largest organs of the respiratory tract. They are suspended within the pleural cavity of the thorax.
These are called lobes, and they are separated from each other by connective tissues. The right lung is larger and contains three lobes. The left lung is smaller and contains only two lobes. The smaller left lung allows room for the heart, which is just left of the center of the chest. These tiny air sacs are the functional units of the lungs where gas exchange takes place. The two lungs may contain as many as million alveoli, providing a huge total surface area for gas exchange to take place.
In fact, alveoli in the two lungs provide as much surface area as half a tennis court! Each time you breathe in, the alveoli fill with air, making the lungs expand. Oxygen in the air inside the alveoli is absorbed by the blood in the mesh-like network of tiny capillaries that surrounds each alveolus.
The blood in these capillaries also releases carbon dioxide into the air inside the alveoli. Each time you breathe out, air leaves the alveoli and rushes into the outside atmosphere, carrying waste gases with it.
The lungs receive blood from two major sources. They receive deoxygenated blood from the heart. This blood absorbs oxygen in the lungs and carries it back to the heart to be pumped to cells throughout the body. The lungs also receive oxygenated blood from the heart that provides oxygen to the cells of the lungs for cellular respiration.
You may be able to survive for weeks without food and for days without water, but you can survive without oxygen for only a matter of minutes except under exceptional circumstances. Therefore, protecting the respiratory system is vital. Fortunately, the respiratory system is well protected by the ribcage of the skeletal system.
However, the extensive surface area of the respiratory system is directly exposed to the outside world and all its potential dangers in inhaled air. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the respiratory system has a variety of ways to protect itself from harmful substances such as dust and pathogens in the air.
The main way the respiratory system protects itself is called the mucociliary escalator. From the nose through the bronchi, the respiratory tract is covered in the epithelium that contains mucus-secreting goblet cells. The mucus traps particles and pathogens in the incoming air. The cilia constantly move in a sweeping motion upward toward the throat, moving the mucus and trapped particles and pathogens away from the lungs and toward the outside of the body. What happens to the material that moves up the mucociliary escalator to the throat?
It is generally removed from the respiratory tract by clearing the throat or coughing. Coughing is a largely involuntary response of the respiratory system that occurs when nerves lining the airways are irritated. The response causes air to be expelled forcefully from the trachea, helping to remove mucus and any debris it contains called phlegm from the upper respiratory tract to the mouth.
The phlegm may spit out expectorated , or it may be swallowed and destroyed by stomach acids. Sneezing is a similar involuntary response that occurs when nerves lining the nasal passage are irritated. This explains why it is so important to sneeze into a sleeve rather than the air to help prevent the transmission of respiratory pathogens.
The amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood must be maintained within a limited range for the survival of the organism. Cells cannot survive for long without oxygen, and if there is too much carbon dioxide in the blood, the blood becomes dangerously acidic pH is too low. Conversely, if there is too little carbon dioxide in the blood, the blood becomes too basic pH is too high.
The respiratory system works hand-in-hand with the nervous and cardiovascular systems to maintain homeostasis in blood gases and pH. It is the level of carbon dioxide rather than the level of oxygen that is most closely monitored to maintain blood gas and pH homeostasis.
The level of carbon dioxide in the blood is detected by cells in the brain, which speed up or slow down the rate of breathing through the autonomic nervous system as needed to bring the carbon dioxide level within the normal range. Faster breathing lowers the carbon dioxide level and raises the oxygen level and pH ; slower breathing has the opposite effects.
In this way, the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen, as well as pH, are maintained within normal limits. The respiratory system also works closely with the cardiovascular system to maintain homeostasis. The respiratory system exchanges gases between the blood and the outside air, but it needs the cardiovascular system to carry them to and from body cells. Oxygen is absorbed by the blood in the lungs and then transported through a vast network of blood vessels to cells throughout the body where it is needed for aerobic cellular respiration.
The same system absorbs carbon dioxide from cells and carries it to the respiratory system for removal from the body. Choking is the mechanical obstruction of the flow of air from the atmosphere into the lungs.
It prevents breathing and may be partial or complete.
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