Go Bears!! Does Watching Sports Help Breathing?

It might seem a bit ludicrous, but yes, being vocal at sports games, whether at home or at the game, breathing deep is good for you. That is why laughter is so good for you. For one thing, it releases endorphins, and the next thing is that it helps a person take deep breaths. Breathing deep helps in healing the body. It allows more oxygen into the system for your hemoglobin to circulate in the body. Good circulation and good oxygenation assist in healing. That is why when someone has surgery, shortly after surgery the Respiratory Therapist shows up with that Incentive Spirometer to make you take deep breaths. I helps prevent pneumonia and promotes healing. Breathing deeply also relieves stress. If you have ever heard anyone tell someone, "Calm down and take a deep breath". That is actually medically correct.





So cheering at those football games...yelling at the TV....you can now tell everyone that you are doing it for good health and better breathing!!

Life is good. Breathe Deep!!

Asthma Explained as Simply as Possible

Asthma is a disease of the airways in the lungs. It can make breathing very difficult in three different ways. First of all, the airways seem to tighten up. I have had many a patient say that "my lungs are tight", or "my chest feels tight". When listening to their breath sounds, one can hear wheezing or little air movement. Secondly, there is inflammation in the airways. This makes it very hard to exhale and again the sound that one hears is wheezing. The third way that asthma affects ones breathing is sensitive or over active airways. Things that do not affect people without asthma, can throw an asthmatic into a full blown asthma attack.

Things that can cause an Asthma Attack include the following, but are in no way limited to these few things:

1. Stress or other strong emotions
2. Smoking or second hand smoke.
3. Irritants such as strong perfumes, strong cleaning agents such as bleach or air pollutions.
4. Infections such as the flu, colds, sinus infections and the like.
5. Allergens. Allergy season is in full bloom right now. Pollens, molds, pet dander, etc...

The most common treatments to control asthma are for both the tightness and the inflammation of the airways. First of all, bronchodialators are generally prescribed.

Before I go any further, let me say this. If you or your child have asthma, please get treatment from a Pulmonologist. Go to a lung specialist. Your medical doctor I am sure is wonderful, but all the new medications out for asthma, all of the new treatments, well, the Pulmonologist studies them at length and knows which one is best for your asthma. The Pulmologist will do testing to determine exactly what will help your asthma symptoms and keep them under control and to a minimum. Asthma should always be taken seriously. The American Lung association says "When you can't breathe, nothing else matters". Go to a doctor who's speciality is your breathing. Take it seriously.

Bronchodilators that are commonly prescribed are the following: (this is in no way a complete list. This is a list of those that are most common.)

First of all, fast acting bronchodilators. These can be given via a nebulizer or an MDI (puffer).

Albuterol, Levealbuterol, Ipatroprium Bromide

Long Lasting Bronchodiators:

Spriva, Serevent

Anti inflammatory medications which are corticosteroids:

Flovent, Advair (also contains serevent), pulmicort etc.

It is very important to take this medication as your doctor orders. If you are beginning to need more of the fast acting bronchodilators, more of the rescue inhalers, you may need to call the doctor. If you feel that nothing is helping and your breathing is worse, do not hesitate to get yourself or your loved one to the hospital emergency room. Remember, when an illness, any illness, affects one's breathing, it is so very important to take it seriously.

I hope that I have explained this so that it can be understood. I wish you good breathing.

Harmful Effects of Smoking During Pregnancy

I don't care if my child has asthma. I don't care if my child develops slower than other children. I don't care if my child is under weight. What kind of Mother says this about her children....a woman who smokes when pregnant. Yes, that is right. Babies are born underweight when a Mother smokes. Babies have a tendency to have more respiratory problems than those who have Mom's who don't smoke. Those who smoke, well, there is a higher percentage of SIDS deaths among babies who have Mothers that smoke.

Carbon Monoxide attaches to the hemoglobin in the blood 200 times more than does Oxygen. So instead of sending oxygen enriched blood to your baby, you are sending poison through your blood, through the umbilical cord, to your little baby. Yes, there is carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke.





There are other toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke including the following:
nicotine, tar formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, fungicides and pesticides, cadmium, benzene, etc...

This is a very small and partial list of the poisons and carcinogens (cancer causing) that you are passing through your blood stream to your baby who doesn't have the choice not to smoke.

When I see a car with the windows up and people smoking and their are children inside, I have wanted to call and report the child abuse.

Love your child. Love the unborn baby inside you more than you love the very addicting cigarettes. Give your child a chance to live, to love, and to breathe. I do not exaggerate on the consequences of smoking.

Be a good, kind, and loving Mother. Please...for the love and protection of your baby....quit.

Aspergillosis - - The Curse of the Mummy

The Egyptian Curse Disease

Years and years ago some archaeologists came across a pyramid. Their find was so exciting. It appeared that no one had yet opened this tomb. They took great care and effort to find out all the information they could about this pyramid. One of things that they found out was a curse written above the door to the tomb. Whomever disturbs the sleep of this Pharaoh would die a slow death. The archaeologists knew that this was just to keep people out, I mean, who believes in curses? They got to work opening the tomb and causing the least damage. At last it was time to open the door. They were so excited. As they opened the door, they were greeting by a rush of warm air. The men laughed at the curse as they explored their great find. A few months later, they died. It would seem that the curse of the mummy came true. What had happened, however, was aspergilliosis. When the rush of warm air came out, the men automatically took a deep breath of the air...the air that was filled with 2000 year old grain. That would be grain covered with mold and fungus. Beware of the curse of the mummy. More importantly be careful with your lungs and take care of your lungs.

Aspergillosis has been described as having fungus balls in the lungs. People who develop this disease are usually those who have other lung problems such as Cystic Fibrosis. Those who are immunosuppressed such as those with HIV and Leukemia. Prevention is the key. Learn all that you can if you are in a high risk group for this disease.

Education is our best defense.

Ancient Egyptian Resource Center.

Ancient Egypt

What Is Impending Respiratory Failure?

Those words are scary words for anyone to hear about themselves or someone they love. "Your loved one is going into Respiratory Failure...". What does that mean? How does it happen? What is the outcome?

Respiratory failure happens when a person is no longer able to ventilate and/or oxygenate their body the way that it needs to be done in order to live. Impending respiratory failure means that their lungs haven't failed yet, but it looks like they are going to.

When blood tests are run, and it shows a person's Carbon Dioxide level in their arterial blood is climbing, it means that they are no longer able to get the bad air out. There are several reasons why this can happen, here are just a few.

1. Over sedated - If a person is taking some sort of sleeping aid, and they get too sleepy on the medication, sometimes a person will breath very shallow and gas exchange is hindered.

2. Lung Trauma - When some sort of insult happens to the lungs, or sometimes to the body, the lungs can go into shock. They become stiff and very difficult to breathe through. This can happen if the body has a massive infection (sepsis) or organ failure.

3. Lung Disease - COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CF (cystic fibrosis), pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome), O2 toxicity, lung cancer, Congestive Heart Failure, etc...
What happens is that the person is no longer able to get the good air in or the bad air out. The Carbon Dioxide begins to climb and the pH of the blood begins to drop and the person becomes confused and sleepy. The level of the oxygen in the body can also start to fall. This can be determined by blue fingernail beds, blue lips, or medical tests. Pulse oximetry and Arterial Blood Gases are two of the blood tests that will be done at a hospital to determine a person's breathing status.

Ok. Next we need to get the person breathing better. This can be done by providing support until the cause of the shortness of breath is found out. Bipap or ventilators (life support) can be used to "buy time" to make the patient breath adequately while the doctor figures out what is the problem.

The first thing that needs to be looked at is why is the patient beginning to have breathing problems. Do they have a pneumonia? What is different right now that was ok yesterday? What can we do to reverse the problem. This is a very serious issue and should be considered life threatening if not taken care of.

I hope that this answers some questions. Breathe Easy!

Congestive Heart Failure

I realize that this is a blog about breathing, but for those with Congestive Heart Failure, they know that it has to do with breathing. The heart and the lungs work hand in hand.

Congestive Heart failure or CHF is when the heart is not pumping like it should. It is not able to handle the volume of fluid that needs to circulate through the body. It is pumping, but not as effectively as is needed. What happens is the fluid begins to back up. People get swollen ankles and legs and other extremities. When the fluid continues to back up, it looks for a place to rest. Ahhhhh look at this nice squishy area, the lungs, and the fluid begins to fill the lungs. A person can actually drown in their own fluids if they do nothing to correct this situation.

A person needs to go to the Emergency room whenever they are having difficulty breathing. When the heart is not pumping like it should and the fluid is filling up the lungs, believe me, it is hard to breath. Upon arrival to the ER, they will probably put you on oxygen and start an IV. They might even call for a breathing treatment. Although bronchiodilators do not help CHF, sometimes they help the patient feel better. They will give you medicine to help you potty out the excess fluid. If all of this isn't fast enough to help a person breathe better, they might call the respiratory therapist to come and put you on BiPap. This is a very tight fitting mask that uses positive pressure to help push the fluid out of the lungs.

Hopefully the combination of medicine and positive pressure will help get the fluid excess under control. Remember, if you are having difficulty breathing, do not think "I'll just wait a little longer to see if things get better", Go Go Go to the hospital.

Breathe Easy!

Myths surrounding Asthma

One of the biggest myths surrounding asthma is that it is not a serious illness to have. People's airways may be more reactive than other people's airways, but whenever we are speaking of an illness that has to do with breathing, it is a serious illness. The American Lung Association says, "When you cannot breathe, nothing else matters...". Anyone who has ever had to fight for their next breath knows that this is very true. Asthma, no matter how "mild", should be taken seriously.

Another myth of Asthma is that any doctor is qualified to manage one's asthma. This is an illness that requires a specialist. A Pulmonolgist is a lung specialist. They should be aware of the treatments that are new and are working better and longer than the old treatments. Your family doctor is wonderful, but when you have Asthma, you should not trust your breathing to just any doctor.

There he was, swimming in Lake Michigan in Michigan City, IN. He began to feel that all too familiar tightness with his breathing. He got himself to the nearest sandbar to try and get his breathing under control. Like any good asthmatic, he carried his inhaler with him. He pulled it out of his trunks and took a couple of puffs. He had grabbed the wrong inhaler. He grabbed the long lasting one, not the rescue inhaler. When he arrived in our ER, he was in full respiratory arrest. That teenager died from an asthma attack.

This is a true story.

One more myth and then I will close: It is ok to smoke around people with Asthma, with reactive lung disease as long as I smoke outside.

This is as foolish as people who say I didn't know that my perfume was affecting her breathing, I put it on at home. It affects people the same way. The odor of the smoke, the retention of the nicotine, it will all affect your asthmatic.

Please do not take asthma lightly. Please do not think that asthma myths make asthma not important. Asthma can be deadly although it should never be deadly. Get help from the lung specialist, the Pulmologist.

I wish you good health and easy breathing.

Emphysema Explained Simply

"When you can't breathe, nothing else matters" - American Lung Association

The best way to explain emphysema as simple as possible is this. "I can inhale, but I cannot exhale." What I tell my patient's family members is to take a deep breath in. OK...now only blow out a little bit of that breath...now breathe on top of that. It is a very difficult thing to do for very long, but that is how people with COPD breathe. When Momma said, "In with the good air, out with the bad air," She was right. So there are a lot of things in the mechanics of breathing that is compromised when a person has emphysema.

1. They cannot exhale completely. Your Doctor might mention that your lungs are "hyperinflated."

One of the things that gets taught in Pulmonary Rehab is pursed lipped breathing. What this does is keep the airways open longer to allow just a little more "bad" air out. This is a very difficult thing to do when one is short of breath. So our Rehab patients are taught to do this before breathing becomes a crisis.

2. The air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) are not able to exchange oxygen (O2) with the blood vessels as well as they should, so the carbon dioxide (CO2) starts to build up in the system. As this happens, the body will try and compensate for it. If it happens too quickly, the person will become confused and very sleepy. It is essential to get this person to the hospital right away as they can eventually stop breathing.

Please note: If a person has home O2, do not keep turning up their Oxygen so that they can get more into their system. People with normal lungs, without COPD, breathe because our CO2 is climbing. This sends a signal to our brain that says, "take a breath". That signal becomes short circuited in people with Emphysema. The brain says that they need to take a breath because they need more oxygen. So the more that you turn up their O2, the less they feel the need to breathe until, eventually, they could stop breathing.

3. Because of the person not being able to exhale completely, the lungs become hyper-inflated and lose that ability to be elastic and spring back. It is like blowing up an balloon and deflating it and blowing it up again and deflating it...etc...eventually the balloon does not go back to it's original shape. That is the problem with the lungs also. It means that a person with emphysema has to depend on other muscles to help them breathe. You may see them doing a lot of "tummy breathing", or shoulder breathing.

When one comes to the hospital with a "COPD exacerbation" it means that they are in crisis. They feel that they cannot breathe. If they feel that they cannot breathe it is not up to family members or hospital staff to tell them to calm down. It is up to them to take action. Once a person gets to the hospital, they can do several things to help:

a. Oxygen - A lot of times a person with emphysema is already on oxygen. Again, do not turn the oxygen up too high on your loved one with this lung disease.

b. BiPap - This wonderful invention causes a positive pressure in the lungs keeping them open so that the COPDer can exhale, exchange gases, and blow off that ever rising CO2. It is a very uncomfortable, tight fitting mask that uses positive pressure to do it's work. Most people have a difficult time adjusting to it at first, but once they feel that they can finally breathe, some of our patients fall in love with it and it is difficult to make them take it off.

c. Medications - Contrary to popular belief, Albuterol will not cure everything. So what is given is some sort of nebulized medication that will open up the lungs such as Albuterol or Levalbuterol. Solumedrol to reduce the inflammation in the lungs, an inhaled corticosteroid such as pulmicort to also help reduce the inflammation. Something to calm. Believe me, if a person cannot breathe, they are going to be a bit anxious. It is a vicious cycle: Can't breathe-Anxiety-breathing worse-more anxiety-breathing worse-etc...

The thing that people say to these people who come into the ER is relax or calm down. I tell those well meaning people to put a pillow over their face until they can't breathe, but keep it there and try to stay calm...it is impossible. It is the fight or fight system in the body. One is not going to calm down until they can breathe...and the anxiety is making it harder for them to breathe, so medication is indicated.

The number one cause of emphysema is cigarette smoking. It can be first hand smoke or even worse, second hand smoke.

This is not a technical article, but one that does explain emphysema simply.
I hope that I was able to answer some questions.