Smokers’ cough turns into chronic bronchitis, caused by the deteriorated cilia. Mucus thickens and becomes greater in amount, thickening the lining of the bronchioles, resulting in difficulty breathing. The bronchioles steadily lose their elasticity which prevents them from absorbing the pressure on the alveoli, causing the alveoli to rupture; smoking-induced emphysema. This progression results in a worsening cough, wheezing, difficult breathing, and fatigue. As these structural changes are occurring, there are also cellular or molecular changes taking place in the lungs.
Common symptoms include chest pain, shaking chills, fever, dry cough, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, rapid breathing and rapid heart rate. Symptoms that may indicate a medical emergency are bluish skin tone, labored breathing, high fever and confusion. Management and treatment of pneumonia involves a course of antibiotics. This patient is allergic to clindamycin and vancomycin, so he is being treated with tazobactam/piperacillin. The patient is also receiving multiple courses of respiratory treatment, including vest therapy, cough assistance and nebulizer treatments.
INTRODUCTION Respiratory failure is a sudden and life-threatening deterioration of the gas exchange function of the lung. It exists when the exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide in the lungs cannot keep up with the rate of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production by the cells of the body. DEFINITION Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is defined as a fall in arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) to less than 50 mm Hg (hypoxemia) and a rise in arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) to greater than 50 mm Hg (hypercapnia), with an arterial pH of less than 7.35. Respiratory failure is inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that levels of arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide or both cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. The normal reference values are: oxygen PaO2 greater than 80 mmHg (11 kPa), and carbon dioxide PaCO2 less than 45 mmHg (6.0 kPa).
The cardiovascular systems causes accumulation of fatty material in the heart muscle and arteries, and can contribute to high blood pressure. The respiratory system causes the lungs to have lower capacity for inhaling and exhaling air as the muscles that help to expand and contract the chest weakens. The digestive system weakens due to dietary practices and the aging process causing common problems like constipation. The genitourinary system causes urinary incontinence due to the decrease in the blood flow through kidney, and decreased efficiency to remove wastes from the blood as they age. The central nervous systems slower down the reaction time in elderly, and affects the perception and memory of elderly.
The short term effects are also known as the high and they include lack of coordination, increased appetite, increased heart rate and short term memory loss. Some long term effects include changes in brain, paranoia, respiratory problems and depression. Lack of coordination which tends to make a person become clumsy or unsteady is often due to increased amounts being injected or inhaled. People tend to not be able to function properly when using marijuana. Another short term side effect is increased heart rate.
Asthma vs. COPD Many clinicians have a hard time differentiating between the two diseases Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Asthma is a lung disease in which the airways within your lungs swell and become narrow. This results in difficulty breathing. Environmental and genetic factors are believed to be the main causes of Asthma. COPD is another disease of the lungs in which airflow is obstructed as you exhale.
You can still breathe with a partial airway obstruction, but it will be difficult. Complete airway obstructions do not allow any air to pass. You cannot breathe if you have a complete airway obstruction. Acute airway obstructions are blockages that occur quickly. An example of an acute airway obstruction is choking on a foreign object.
While asthma mostly consists of unexpected and abrupt attacks, it is still regarded as/to be a chronic conditions, which can rapidly lead to a decrease in lung function. The starting point of the inflammatory response, which ultimately goes over to asthma, has its origin in an injury to the airway caused by an irritant. The most common triggers of asthma are amongst others allergens, such as pet fur or house-dust mite droppings. Triggers, like traffic fumes or tobacco smoke have also great influence on asthmatics. For non-allergic asthma, however, the main causes are physical effort/exertion, stress, intolerance towards some medications, including aspirin (which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), or any respiratory infections such as a ‘normal’ cold.
An ischemic stroke is typically caused by excess buildup of plague on the blood vessel walls that narrows blood flow dramatically. A hemorrhagic stroke typically occurs when the blood vessel walls weaken over time, which leads to a bulge or rupture of the vessel. Aneurysm is the most common type of hemorrhagic strokes with a low survival rate. They also kill brain cells, which can never regenerate. The affect of strokes on the body can range between mild dizziness or slight numbness to impaired speech and loss of motor control.
When one of the diverticula become inflamed, this causes diverticulitis. In many people, some complain of nausea, diarrhea or constipation. Some complain of right-sided abdominal pain and some rectal bleeding. The most common symptom is abdominal pain, tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen. If an infection is the reason for the pain, there would be nausea, fever, vomiting, cramping and constipation.