Emphysema Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention

Medical specialist	Pulmonary specialist, internal medicine specialist
Symptoms	Shortness of breath, rapid breathing, fatigue, cough
risk factor	Smoking, exposure to cigarette smoke, exposure to dust, pollution
diagnosis	Physical examination, chest x-ray, spirometry test, blood gas analysis test
Treatment	Administration of drugs, oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation, nutritional therapy
Drug	Bronchodilators, corticosteroids, antibiotics
Complications	Pneumothorax, heart problems
When to see a doctor?	Shortness of breath, shortness of breath during activity, more intense coughing, phlegm turns dark color, gets tired quickly

Symptoms

The symptoms of emphysema include:

• Hard to breathe
• Quick and short breaths
• Easily tired with ordinary activities
• Cough

See a doctor if you complain of shortness of breath for several months with no known cause. Moreover, shortness of breath gets worse and interferes with daily activities.

Reason

The main cause of emphysema is smoking. Apart from smoking, exposure to cigarette smoke and industrial dust can also cause lung damage.

Risk Factors

Factors that increase your risk of developing emphysema include:

• Smoking

Emphysema is most likely to occur in smokers, both tobacco cigarettes, cigar smokers and e-cigarettes. The risk for tobacco, cigar, and electric smokers increases with the number of years and cigarettes smoked.

• Age

Lung damage from emphysema occurs gradually. Because of this, the majority of people with tobacco-induced emphysema begin to experience symptoms between the ages of 40 and 60.

• Often Exposed to Cigarette Smoke

Being around active smokers can also increase the risk of emphysema.

• Exposure to Dust and Smoke

Inhaling fumes from certain chemicals, such as cotton, sawdust, or mining products, also increases your risk of emphysema. The risk increases if you are a smoker.

• Exposure to Pollution

Breathing indoor and outdoor pollution, such as fumes from heaters and car exhausts, also increases your risk of emphysema.

Diagnosis

Examination of people with emphysema is carried out by means of medical interviews.

To find out if someone has emphysema, doctors usually ask the following: 

• Complaints of shortness of breath
• Easily tired
• There is a history of smoking or exposure to dust continuously
• Home and work environment conditions

If there is a suspicion of emphysema, the doctor will carry out a series of physical examinations including examining the shape of the chest, breath sounds, and fingertips.

After that, to diagnose emphysema, the doctor will carry out examinations and supporting tests, such as:

• Chest examination. People with emphysema generally have a barrel chest.
• Chest X-ray, done to see whether there are changes in the lungs that indicate emphysema
• A spirometry test performed to assess lung capacity in breathing
• A blood gas analysis test (AGD), is performed to check the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the lungs

Treatment

Lung damage or emphysema cannot be cured. However, prompt treatment can help relieve symptoms and prevent emphysema from getting worse.

Emphysema treatment can include drugs, therapy, and surgery. Medicines that are usually given include:

• Bronchodilators (breath relievers), more often use the inhaled or inhaled type
• Corticosteroids, to suppress the inflammatory process in the lungs
• Antibiotics are only given when there is an infection

The types of therapy performed are pulmonary rehabilitation, nutritional therapy, and oxygen. Depending on the severity of the emphysema, your doctor may suggest surgery, such as lung volume reduction surgery and lung transplantation.

A lung transplant will be done if you have severe emphysema and other options have failed.

In addition, people with emphysema must also change their lifestyle to be healthier. If you previously smoked, you should try to quit smoking.

If you continue to smoke, the lungs will experience more and more irritation that gets worse. Also, avoid cigarette smoke and other pollution that can irritate breathing.

Don’t forget, always eat nutritious food and exercise regularly to help improve lung function again.

Prevention

So that lung damage does not occur, here are ways to prevent emphysema that can be applied:

• Stop smoking
• Maintain humidity at home
• Exercise regularly
• Drink lots of water every day
• Avoid drinking alcohol
• Avoid cold air
• As a precaution, you can also get regular vaccinations, such as the influenza vaccine or the  pneumonia vaccine

Complications

Continuation of lung damage or emphysema that can occur is:

• Lung disorders, so that the lungs collapse and do not function at all. This condition is also called pneumothorax, which is a life-threatening emergency condition
• Heart problems due to lung damage
• Formation of a large hole in the lung (bulla). This hole will form an empty space in the lungs. They can be as large as half a lung, reducing the amount of space available for the lungs to expand

When to See a Doctor?

Immediately consult a doctor if you experience the following symptoms of emphysema:

• Coughs that are stronger, more frequent, or different than usual
• Difficulty or shortness of breath when doing things that could normally be done in daily life, such as walking or going up and down stairs
• The color of the phlegm changes from clear to a darker color
• Produces more phlegm than usual
• Being more tired than usual
• The oxygen level is lower than usual according to the pulse oximeter reading