Our lungs supply the body with oxygen and dispose of the decomposition product carbon dioxide. But environmental toxins such as particulate matter, tobacco smoke and pollen make it difficult for the lungs to do their job. The lungs are located in the chest cavity, which is separated from the abdominal cavity by the diaphragm. They supply our body with oxygen. The air flows through the canal system of the bronchi into the alveoli. These are separated from the blood only by a delicate wall, so oxygen can easily enter the blood.
Oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide output
When we breathe in, new air with plenty of oxygen enters the lungs; when we breathe out, the used air is carried out again with carbon dioxide as a decomposition product. A distinction is made between chest and abdominal breathing. Correct breathing promotes oxygen intake – the body is supplied with more oxygen and feels better. The situation is different when flying or on high mountains – here the low oxygen content of the air can make a person feel unwell.
Shortness of breath and noise when breathing
In the case of rhinitis or hay fever, it is common for the bronchi to also become diseased – for example, coughing indicates bronchial involvement. In this case, the initial irritating cough usually develops after a few days into a productive cough with sputum or a typical coughing sound as in whooping cough. Noises on inhalation or exhalation indicate an obstruction in the airflow pathway – in the case of an inhalation noise, this could mean laryngitis or pseudocroup; on exhalation, humming noises or a whistling sound are typical of asthma. The feeling of not being able to breathe can have many causes. In a child, one should always remember that he or she may have swallowed a foreign body (emergency!). In an adult, a pulmonary embolism or pulmonary edema may be blocking the path between the airflow and the blood, or a narrowing of the bronchial tubes, as occurs in asthma, may be causing acute shortness of breath.
What does pain on breathing mean?
Pain when breathing occurs when there is inflammation of the bronchial tubes, lungs and lung pleura or when the ribs are fractured – in this case, every breath can be so painful that you only breathe in very carefully. This is particularly good for infectious agents, because they like little oxygen and can thus spread more easily. If you breathe too quickly, you will eventually feel dizzy. This type of breathing is called hyperventilation.
What tests does the doctor do?
If there are problems with the lungs, the doctor has several options for examining them:
- Anamnesis (inquire about medical history): all complaints can be further narrowed down by asking specific questions. Especially in the case of new-onset asthmatic complaints, references to a pet or a new home are important to clarify an allergic component.
- Inspection (viewing), percussion (tapping) and auscultation (listening): when tapping, an altered tapping sound at the lower edge of the lung indicates an accumulation of fluid (pleural effusion) – this often occurs concomitantly with pneumonia. Listening to the lungs makes it easier to identify many breathing sounds. Whether bronchitis, asthma or water in the lungs – as can occur in heart failure – each disease reveals itself through its own sounds.
- Pulmonary function test: This checks whether the lungs can move air in and out well. In asthma, COPD or emphysema, the ability to breathe in and out quickly is limited. A swab or sputum sample is performed if an infection is suspected in the bronchial tubes and lungs.
- Allergy diagnostics: in asthma, various skin and blood tests are used to clarify to which substances the affected person is allergic. However: there are also forms of asthma in which even cold air or cigarette smoke as a stimulus is enough to provoke an asthma attack.
- X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): who has not seen an X-ray of his lungs? X-ray chest is one of the standard examinations before surgery, suspected pneumonia, heart failure or unclear cough. If the examiner is unsure whether an inflammation or even lung cancer is located in the poorly visible area behind the heart, a computed tomography or magnetic resonance image is also taken.
Asthma, hay fever, pneumonia.
The bronchoscope is used to look inside the bronchi when bronchial carcinoma is suspected. The bronchi, as the pulmonary duct system, are equipped with a sensitive mucosa. This can react allergically to foreign substances that are transported into the lungs with the breathing air. Examples include:
- Pollen
- Animal hair
- Fine dust
- Nicotine
- Ozone
Immunoglobulin E, which is present in the mucosa, reacts on contact with these allergenic foreign substances and leads to the release of histamine and other substances that cause itching, swelling of the mucous membranes and constriction of the bronchi. This is how allergic asthma develops. In hay fever, which often progresses to asthma, this mechanism takes place in the nose. Children can also be affected. A spread cold can develop into bronchitis and even pneumonia – some aggressive germs such as influenza viruses, pneumococci, the triggers of Legionnaires’ disease or fungi immediately attack the lung tissue.
Infectious diseases such as bronchitis and tuberculosis.
The lungs can be affected by a wide variety of infectious diseases:
- In bronchitis, a distinction is made between an acute form that occurs with a cold and a chronic form that is at risk of becoming chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD.
- Another infectious disease that affects the lungs is tuberculosis, which has made a career in literature and opera as consumption and, unfortunately, is still the most common infectious disease today.
- COVID-19, SARS and avian flu are lung diseases that make headlines around the world because there is no vaccine against them, so preventing the spread of the disease has a special role.
- In the case of congenital immunodeficiency or cystic fibrosis, an infection of the lungs is extremely dangerous for the affected person – both the defective immune system and the tough mucus lead to severe courses of the disease.
- Chronic bronchitis severely affects the lungs in the long term, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD, which often occurs in smokers, or a lack of alpha-1-antitrypsin, an important protective protein of the lungs, can greatly shorten life.
- Pulmonary embolism and pulmonary edema are diseases in which the heart is also always affected. In this case, the change in blood pressure situation in the lungs leads to heart failure.
8 exercises to train breathing
Treatment and therapy
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in Germany, along with colon cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer – and unfortunately there is no good early detection measure against it. In the case of allergies, hay fever and asthma, avoidance of the allergen is the first therapeutic measure. Inhalation of various asthma medications – including cortisone – is usually necessary in acute disease flare-ups. Hyposensitization against the strongest allergen is carried out in the symptom-free interval and can weaken the manifestation of the disease. A stay in the pollen-free high mountains or in a health resort by the sea is extremely helpful for allergy sufferers. Inhaling essential vapors provides relief for cold sniffles. With chronic bronchitis, COPD or lung cancer nicotine renouncement is all uppermost order. In addition to many tips on how to give up smoking, there is a hotline for tobacco cessation for cancer patients who smoke. Of course, there is a special procedure for each disease with medication or surgery – more details can be found at the respective disease.
Precaution: preventive measures
Breathing – and breathing deeply, consciously and correctly – is part of Maznadan teachings, yoga exercises and many other movement teachings. Exercise helps even with asthma – patients feel fitter and less at the mercy of the disease. Prevention is very important for many lung diseases – stopping smoking during pregnancy, in the company of children or even in crowds should be a matter of course. Vaccinations against influenza or pneumococci provide effective protection against aggressive pneumonia during the cold season. Zinc-rich foods are helpful for both allergies and tuberculosis – zinc deficiency makes allergies break out faster and tuberculosis drugs work worse.
