Respiratory Impairment and Respiratory Diseases

High Altitudes At high altitudes, there is less air. Hypoxia is the altitude sickness you develop when going from low to high altitudes. You breathe faster to compensate. Eventually your body produces more RBCs to keep more oxygen in your body and you breathe normally again.

Drowning 10% of drownings are from a laryngospasm, a closing of the larynx. Fresh water drownings occur when the water washes away the coating of the alveoli, causing them to collapse. Salt water drownings cause a hypertonic environment for the alveoli and therefore fluid enters the lungs which prevents oxygen from entering the bloodstream.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, high density gas. It is the result of incomplete combustion in a improperly working furnace. It binds to your RBCs 200x better than Oxygen. Can be fatal if not treated immediately.

Smoking Issues include: 1.Damage to cilia 2.Tar and other foreign particles building up in lungs 3.Toxic chemicals inhaled and put into your bloodstream 4.Leading cause of cancer known to man

Respiratory Diseases Classified in many ways, based on the organ(s) involved, the symptoms or the cause. I.e. Upper Respiratory Tract Infections affect the pharynx, larynx and trachea like the common cold or laryngitis.

Asthma It is a chronic lung disease. Airflow obstruction caused by bronchial inflammation due to an allergy or environmental stimulus. Shortness of breath is the common symptom. Treated by an inhaler that causes the narrow bronchial tubes to go back to their normal size.

Bronchitis Can be chronic or acute. Similar to asthma in that it is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes. Wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing are the symptoms. Treated with antibiotics if acute and caused by a bacterial infection.

Emphysema A chronic, obstructive, pulmonary disorder (COPD) Loss of elasticity of lung tissue causing bronchioles to collapse which prevents air from leaving the lungs. Can be fatal if the cause is not removed. Caused primarily by smoking

Lung Cancer Build up of a cancerous mass in your lungs. This mass prevents gas exchange from occurring, which limits breathing. 90% of the cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking. Surgery can remove the mass, but usually it is too late and the cancer has spread to other organs or is too embedded in the lung tissue.