Emphysema Stages

Posted by holotrop029 on Mar 9, 2019 in Health | 0 comments

Emphysema is a serious lung condition commonly caused by smoking. With emphysema, your air sacs, commonly known as alveoli weakens and they are unable to contract after expansion. Also, air is trapped in alveoli, and this causes some to break. The condition makes breathing difficult and severely reduce the amount of oxygen absorbed in your blood stream. Nevertheless, there’s a better chance of survival if one gets to contact a specialist before it reaches the worst stage.

Emphysema occurs slowly and in stages. 80% of victims happens due to many years of smoking tobacco. It may also develop due to air pollution, marijuana smoking, chemical fumes or secondhand smoking. Once the condition occurs, it can’t be reversed.

Symptoms of emphysema

Most victims don’t feel the symptoms until there is 50% or more damage to lung tissues. The symptoms usually appear gradually. They include.

Coughing

Chest tightness

Wheezing

Shortness of breath

More mucus production

Other symptoms include weight loss and poor appetite.

4 Emphysema stages

There are four stages of emphysema. The doctor determines the stages depending on your symptoms and breathing tests results. They include

At-risk
Your breathing test is okay. However, you have some mild symptoms like increased mucus production and ongoing coughing.

Early or mild stage
Your breathing test shows that there is a tender airflow blockage. You also have symptoms such as non-stop coughs and more mucus production. At these stages, you can’t feel the effects of air flow reduction.

Moderate
Moderate is the stage where most people now realize they have a serious lung condition. Here, you feel a decline or reduction of airflow. Main symptoms include shortness of breath, especially after physical activity.

Very severe
This is the final stage of emphysema. Breathing test shows that there is severely limited air flow.

The severity of emphysema depends on how early it’s treated. The earlier you get treated, the better the outcomes. If left untreated, the condition may lead to serious complications such as holes in the lungs, collapsed lungs and heart problem. Although the condition is irreversible, treatment is better to slow progression and quality of your life.