Did you know that lung diseases are among the most common medical conditions worldwide? That’s really not surprising considering how important our lungs are. If they’re not healthy we certainly suffer, and there are many people who’s lives are affected by a chronic respiratory condition.

Lung diseases can be categorized into three main types as described below.

Airway Diseases

Airway diseases affect the airways or tubes that carry oxygen into our lungs. The airways become narrow or blocked, making it difficult to breathe. The common symptoms include a chronic cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, excess mucus production, and frequent respiratory infections. Continue reading →

Have you ever thought about how much air your lungs hold? Perhaps when you have blown up a balloon you have taken a look to see how big you can get it in one blow. If you are competitive, perhaps you have compared it to others and tried to make yours the biggest! Well, our lung capacity varies from person to person, but on average, our lungs can hold around 6 liters of air.

However, as we age, it’s not only our skin that loses its elasticity, our lungs do too, reducing how much air they can hold and weakening their function.

While it’s natural for our lungs to decline a little over time, other factors can also affect their capacity. These include a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and chronic lung diseases like asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). There are other factors too, but these are the main ones. Continue reading →