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Respiratory diseases are on the increase. Asthma and COPD are the most important respiratory diseases and both can be lethal! It is imperative to get an early diagnosis of both because this improves drastically the prognosis of these diseases.
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Smoking is responsible for more than 90% of COPD cases.
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Other important respiratory diseases include Cystic Fibrosis (mucoviscidosis), Pulmonary Hypertension, sleeping disorders, infections and lung tumors.
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Symptoms of respiratory disease typically include coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness and chest pain.
If you experience any of these symptoms for a prolonged period of time you should consult your physician.
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Probably the most important thing in (respiratory) medicine is an early diagnosis of the disease. As the most important respiratory diseases (asthma and COPD) can not be cured with current day medical knowledge, an early diagnosis and treatment drastically improves the outcome of these diseases.
Spirometry is getting more important in first line medicine and more and more general practitioners are equipped with a spirometer. This is a device that measures the capacity of the lungs so they can be compared with the predicted values for that patient. If these are deviant, the general practitioner will refer the patient to a specialist for more tests.
The specialist will typically do a test in a 'body box'. Like a spirometer this device will give information on lung capacities and function.
Treatment of respiratory diseases will depend on the cause.
Medication used in asthma are among others: beta2-agonists, anticholinergic agents and corticosteroids.
Treatment of COPD will typically consist in smoking cessation, bronchodilator drugs, corticosteroids and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Surgical treatment, such as resection of a part of the lungs and lungtransplantation, may be performed in severe cases.
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