GABAY SA KALUSUGAN


EMPHYSEMA is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by loss of elasticity and dilatation of the lung tissue. In emphysema the lungs become less and less efficient because of progressive damage to the millions of alveoli, or air sacs, at the ends of the bronchioles in the lungs. Oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange takes place in the walls of the alveoli. Healthy lungs have an elastic, spongy texture, so they contract and expand fully. If the alveoli become stretched or ruptured, the elasticity of the lungs is gradually destroyed. A person with emphysema cannot exhale without great effort.

Most people who are diagnosed with emphysema are long-term cigarette smokers. Symptoms may not occur until middle age, when the individual’s ability to exercise or do heavy work begins to decline, and starts to experience productive cough. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) appears more frequently in some families, so there may be an inherited tendency. Working in an environment polluted with chemical fumes or non-hazardous dust may increase the risk of COPD. In rare cases, emphysema is due to a deficiency of a blood protein called antitrypsin. But the overwhelming majority of cases, however, are related to smoking. Smoking causes chronic low-level inflammation of the lungs, which increases the chance of developing this progressive disease in due time.
 
What are the symptoms?

The main symptom of emphysema is shortness of breath, which is likely to get worse gradually over a period of years. If you have emphysema, your chest may become distended into a barrel-like shape. If you also wheeze, cough, and bring up phlegm, these are symptoms of bronchitis and asthma, which frequently coexist with emphysema.

What are the risks?

Emphysema is much more common in men than women, and your chance of having it increase if you smoke and/or live in an area where the air is polluted. Some people are particularly susceptible to emphysema because of an inherited defect in a factor in the blood serum that protects the lung tissue in case of an infection. Without that factor infections that otherwise are successfully controlled by the body defenses cause a loss of the lung tissue. If your job requires exceptionally forceful use of lungs power, you may also be highly susceptible. Some examples of such professions are glass blowing and playing a wind musical instrument. If you have increasing shortness of breath, you risk death from eventual respiratory failure. Emphysema also makes you more susceptible to chest infections such as pneumonia that can be life threatening. There is also risk of a pneumothorax -- when air gets into the pleural space between the two layers of the pleura, a membrane that surrounds each lung.

What should be done?

If you are experiencing breathlessness, you should consult your physician. In mild cases, your physician may find nothing abnormal during physical examination except for a few wheezes heard through the stethoscope. Usually, the chest x-ray is also normal. Your physician may request you to undergo spirometry to measure forced expiratory volume to demonstrate airflow obstruction and to make the diagnosis. In a person who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the test shows reduced airflow during a forceful exhalation.

As the disease progresses, chest movement diminishes during breathing, and the neck and shoulder muscles participate in the person’s labored breathing. Breath sounds become harder to be heard through the stethoscope.

What is the treatment?

Self-help: Since cigarette smoking is the most important cause of emphysema, the main treatment is to stop smoking. Stopping cigarette smoking when the airflow obstruction is mild to moderate slows the development of disabling shortness of breath. The person should avoid exposure to other airborne irritants. Keep away always from people who have cough and colds. Exercise moderately but regularly in a fresh, clean air environment.

Professional help: Physician can relieve the symptoms and delay the progress of emphysema, but they cannot cure it. You may be advised to inhale bronchodilators to reduce muscle spasm; corticosteroids to lessen inflammation; to drink a lot of fluids to avoid dehydration and to prevent thick secretions; antibiotic therapy to control lung infections, which could aggravate emphysema, and long-term oxygen therapy.

Recommendations:

Avoid foods that require a great deal of chewing, such as meats and nuts.

Avoid any and all contact with tobacco. If you have emphysema and smoke, you must quit. Avoid areas where people smoke and do not allow smoking in your home, your car, or anywhere near you.

Eat a diet consisting of 50% raw foods. The other 50% should consist of soups, skinless chicken, fish and grain cereals.

Consume onions and garlic daily. (Onions are good expectorant and garlic is known for its antibacterial properties.)

Avoid perfume and anything containing fragrance.

Avoid letting furry and feathered animals into your home.

Rest and avoid stress.

Have a light to moderate regular exercise. Stationary bike, stair climbing and walking are the forms of physical activities.

Go on cleansing fast periodically, using carrots, celery, spinach and all green leafy vegetables and fresh fruit juices.

Avoid pollution. Leave the house during housecleaning to avoid allergens such as molds, dust, aerosol products, etc.

Avoid fried and greasy foods, salt and all foods that may cause excess mucus to be formed in the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, sinuses and nasal cavity. Foods that lead to the formation of mucus include meat, eggs, all diary products and cheese, processeds foods, tobacco, junk foods and white flour products.

Dr. Gary S.Sy, M.D. is the Medical Director of Life Extension Medical Center located at The Garden Plaza Hotel (formerly Swiss Inn Hotel), 1370 Gen. Luna St., Paco, Manila. He is a diplomate in gerontology and geriatrics, advocates diet-nutritional therapy, and conducts free seminar every Friday about age-related health problems.

For more details, please call tel. # 400-42-05, 522-48-35 loc 315. E-mail Address: lifeextension_drgarysy@yahoo .com

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