Respiratory Diseases

Okay, these should all sound pretty familiar to you, and there's only four of them to know, so here goes...

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD)

• Exemplified by chronic bronchitis and obstructive emphysema (blocked alveoli), labored breathing, coughing, many respiratory infections.
• People with COPD tend to develop respiratory failure.

Asthma

• Characterized by dyspnea (painful breathing), wheezing, and chest tightness.

Tuberculosis (TB)

• An infectious disease caused by the bacterium: mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• Symptoms: fever, night sweats, weight loss, racking cough, BAD headaches
• Requires a 12-month treatment of antibiotics.

Lung Cancer

• Accounts for 1/3 of all cancer deaths in the U.S.A.
• 90% of all lung cancer patients were smokers.

Links!

COPD:

• http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35020

Asthma:

• http://www.whatsasthma.org/flash/hasthmav.html

Tuberculosis in Prisions:

• http://www.who.int/tb/dots/prisons/story_1/en/

Lung Cancer Videos:

• http://cancernews.healthology.com/focus_index.asp?f=lungcancer