Emphysema: How You Get It, and How to Fight It

Relieving Symptoms

To relieve symptoms, one or more of the following treatments may be used:

• Bronchodilator medications, which can be inhaled or taken orally to help relax the lungs' airways. In addition to improving quality of life through relief of symptoms, anticholinergic medications (tiotropium) may possibly reduce the rate of decline in lung function if started fairly early in the course of emphysema. New treatments that can similarly slow the progression of this disease are likely to emerge within the next few years.
• Antibiotics , to help fight infections that may become more prevalent in a patient with emphysema.
• Breathing exercises and a physical conditioning program, to help improve lung capacity and general overall physical condition.
• Anti-inflammatory medications (corticosteroids) may be prescribed in efforts to heal the linings of air passageways.
• Oxygen therapy, in the form of supplemental oxygen, may be used for patients with severely impaired lung function.
• Administration of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (also called alpha 1 antitrypsin (AAT)), in those extremely rare cases where emphysema is caused by an inherited deficiency.

In recent years, three types of surgery have been performed to treat patients with severe COPD, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. These include:

• Bullectomy: removal of blebs on the lungs, sometimes performed via laser
• Lung transplant
• Lung volume reduction surgery, where seriously damaged portions of the lungs are removed, allowing the less diseased and healthy portions to expand and work more efficiently

Surgical treatment of emphysema can be of value in highly selected persons with severe disease but may not be available except in large centers or those participating in research concerning these surgical procedures. Lung transplantation is often used when all other treatments fail. Lung reduction surgery may delay the need for lung transplantation and can significantly improve quality of life in some individuals.

Stop Smoking

The treatments noted above can only help limit and relieve the symptoms of emphysema. To slow its progression, the agent causing emphysema must be removed. And since long-term smoking of cigarettes or other tobacco products causes the overwhelming number of cases of emphysema, the only effective way to slow the progression of emphysema is to quit smoking.

Prevention

To prevent the onset (or worsening) of emphysema, you should take the following steps:

• If you smoke, quit . Or seek assistance to help you quit. Insurance plans will pay for most smoking cessation programs.
• Avoid workplace and environmental pollutants.
• Take measures to avoid colds and the flu (including a yearly flu vaccination).
• Seek treatment at the earliest sign of any pulmonary (lung) infection or if you have trouble breathing.
• Drink plenty of liquids.
• Exercise regularly and eat a healthful diet to help strengthen your immune system.
• Avoid extremes of temperature and altitude.

As noted, emphysema does not suddenly occur. It develops over a long period of time. Unfortunately, many sufferers ignore their condition until it becomes serious, at which point treatment options are less effective. Therefore, at the first sign of any of the symptoms listed above, it is imperative that you consult your healthcare provider.