Subscribe to Canada Free Press for FREE

Respiratory System and Health

Lung disease, emphysema

A Better Way To Treat "COLD "

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

May 30, 1999

Have you ever tried sucking up a thick milkshake through a small straw? It's not easy. Today millions of people in North America are desperately trying to get air in and out of their lungs. They're suffering from "COLD". Not the common cold. But from chronic obstructive lung disease. Now there's new hope for patients with chronic respiratory problems.

Chronic obstructive lung disease is a general term that's associated with common lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.

Chronic bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi, the major breathing tubes leading into each lung. The typical symptom is a continuing cough. Patients complain of coughing up thick greenish©yellow sputum.

Some patients with chronic bronchitis cough frequently for several months of the year. But it becomes progressively worse, until it's a constant companion.

Most people are aware of the typical emphysema patient. He or she is barrel©chested and seems to be always "air©hungry". The hard work of breathing requires the use of all available muscles in the chest, abdomen and neck especially when exhaling.

Emphysematous lungs look as if they've been blown up by a bicycle pump. In this disorder the lung's elasticity has been destroyed making it difficult to push air out of the lungs.

Asthmatics have "twitchy airways". One moment they're breathing without trouble. The next moment they're struggling for air due to spasm of the bronchial tubes.

An asthmatic attack may be triggered by an allergic reaction, air©pollution, respiratory infection, changes in temperature, exercise and animal dander. According to The World Health Organization chronic obstructive lung disease is the second greatest cause of sickness worldwide and the fifth leading cause of death. It's predicted that it will increase three times during the next decade.

Long term smoking is the most frequent cause of emphysema. A smoker is 10 times more likely to get this disease than a nonªsmoker. But heredity, exposure to second©hand smoke, air pollution at work and in the environment and a history of childhood infections play a role. Ô 0*0*0* Emphysema is an extremely debilitating disease. It can prevent people from doing simple everyday tasks. As the disease progresses walking across a room may become exhausting. And it requires every bit of energy to eat or brush the teeth.

Emphysema usually occurs in the fifth and sixth decades of life. It's estimated that 75 percent of North Americans with chronic obstructive lung disease are not diagnosed.

To diagnose the type of COLD, doctors use a spirometer machine. This test measures the amount of air exhaled in one second. It's vitally important that this test be performed if there's a suspicion of chronic obstructive lung disease.

Why? Because if the test shows early emphysema it's imperative to stop smoking immediately. Throwing away cigarettes is the primary way to slow the progression of emphysema. Unlike asthma once emphysema is present it cannot be reversed. And doctors must repeat that warning over and over again to smokers. Patients pay a terrible price later on by failing to heed this advice.

Obviously patients with chronic bronchitis and asthma should also stop smoking. You would have to be living on Mars not to realize that diseased lungs of any kind are not helped by smoke.

Lifestyle changes can be helpful for all types of COLD. It's advisable to avoid exposure to dust, fumes, air pollution, excessive heat and cold and high altitudes. And humidifiers can be useful in dry homes.

COLD patients should attempt to keep away from those with respiratory infections. They should all have a once in a lifetime pneumococcal shot and annual flu shots.

Antibiotics may be required if there's a flareup of COLD. And corticosteroids can at times he useful in reducing the exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease.

Bronchodilators, known as beta agonists, have been used for years to relax muscles in constricted airways. Older therapies have provided some relief, but have to be taken frequently which restricts patient activities.

A new drug Serevent, is a long©acting inhaled bronchodilator. It's inhaled twice a day, morning and evening, enabling patients to get a good night's sleep and a decrease in breathlessness.

Patients who achieve this feeling of being less breathless after exercise and exertion such as eating and climbing stairs may also be more encouraged to remain more active.

Serevent is generally well tolerated. The most frequently reported adverse reactions are headache, fine tremors and palpitations.


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod