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Articles by Paul Boyce
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is when the walls of your bronchi, the tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs, become thickened and damaged. This makes it harder to breathe. You could have flare-ups of severe breathing problems (your doctor may call them exacerbations) from time to time. Bronchiectasis is a long-term (or chronic) disease that gets worse over time. There’s no cure, but you can live with it for a long time. Coughing and shortness of breath are common symptoms of bronchiectasis.
What Is Cystic Lung Disease?
If your doctor tells you that you have cystic lung disease, it means you have one of a group of conditions that cause lung cysts -- sacs of tissue filled with air or fluid. Treatments can help, but your options depend on which type you have. The symptoms are similar, so your doctor may suggest you get an imaging test called high-definition computed tomography (CT) to figure out which cystic lung disease you have. If that doesn't work, you may need to get a lung biopsy.
Should You Test Your Lung Function at Home?
If you have asthma, COPD, or other problems with your lungs, your doctor will likely check your breathing at every checkup. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, means you have one of three lung diseases that makes it harder to breathe and gets worse over time: Chronic bronchitis Emphysema Chronic obstructive asthma An office breathing test typically means you blow into a machine that measures how much air your lungs can take in and how quickly and forcefully you can blow it out.
Home Oxygen Therapy: What to Know
Your body can’t live without the oxygen you breathe in from the air. But if you have lung disease or other medical conditions, you may not get enough of it. That can leave you short of breath and cause problems with your heart, brain, and other parts of your body. Oxygen therapy can help. It’s a way to get extra oxygen for you to breathe. Oxygen is a prescription medication.
Common Lung Diagnostic Tests
If you have trouble breathing, your doctor may recommend a few tests to figure out what’s causing it. Some measure how much air you breathe in or out or how much oxygen is going from your lungs to the rest of your body, while others can show if you have an infection or another problem that’s keeping you from breathing well. Spirometry. This is the simplest and most common lung test.
What to Know About COPD and Cough
An ongoing cough is a common symptom of COPD, especially when it comes with mucus. It isn’t pleasant, but there are ways to manage it. Here’s what you need to know to breathe easier. COPD causes your lungs to make extra mucus. This often leads to a cough that won’t go away. It’s your body’s way of trying to clear your lungs. But if you aren’t coughing the right way, it can make things worse. Your airways might narrow and start to spasm, or contract. This can trap mucus and trigger an ongoing cycle.
Everyday Tips for Living With COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a challenge, but it isn’t one that needs to get in the way of a regular life. With a good diet, the right care, and some patience, you can live with it. You’ve probably noticed that exercising is harder. You may get more infections. You might even wake up some mornings gasping for air. But you have many ways to manage these challenges.
Hyperventilation: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
You breathe without thinking because your body does it for you automatically. But things can change your breathing pattern and make you feel short of breath, anxious, or ready to faint. Sometimes when this happens, it’s called hyperventilation, or overbreathing. That’s when you inhale much deeper and take much faster breaths than normal. This deep, quick breathing changes the gas exchange in your lungs. Normally, you breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.
What Are Chest Retractions?
Breathe in. In that one simple motion, your diaphragm tightened up and moved down. This made your chest cavity bigger. Your intercostal muscles between your ribs tightened up, too. This made your rib cage move up and out. Now breathe out. Your diaphragm loosened up and moved back up into your chest cavity. Your intercostal muscles relaxed as well, making your chest cavity smaller. Sometimes it's not this simple.
10 Tips for Eating When You Have Breathing Problems
You probably never gave this a thought. But to eat, you need to breathe. Chewing and digesting food -- like anything else you do with your body -- use oxygen. That means you need to work harder to breathe in enough of it while you eat. At the same time, the food in your stomach crowds your lungs and diaphragm, which makes their job harder. And conditions like COPD or asthma may make your lungs bigger, leaving less room in your chest. Your breathing problems also may leave you too tired to eat.
COPD vs. Pulmonary Fibrosis: Differences and Similarities
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis (also called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF) are both serious lifelong diseases that make it hard for you to breathe. They’re separate conditions that can damage your lungs in opposite ways and for different reasons. But symptoms of COPD and pulmonary fibrosis can be so alike that it can be tricky for doctors to tell them apart. Some experts believe you can have both diseases at the same time.
Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention & More
Pneumoconiosis is a lung disease that affects miners, builders, and other workers who breathe in certain kinds of dust on the job. Over time, the dust gathers in your lungs, and you may find it hard to get enough air. You may hear other people call pneumoconiosis "black lung disease" or "popcorn lung." There's no cure, but treatments can make it easier for you to breathe and go about your regular activities. Pneumoconiosis doesn't show up overnight.
Stage 2 (Moderate) Emphysema
Emphysema happens when smoke from tobacco or other pollutants slowly damage the tiny air sacs in your lungs called alveoli. Normally, some 300 million alveoli help bring oxygen into your body and get rid of carbon dioxide. As the alveoli break down, your bronchial tubes can start to collapse, too. That can trap air in your lungs and overfill them. You may need more effort to breathe in and out, which leaves you feeling short of breath.
Stage I (Early Stage) COPD
When chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) first starts to creep in, you won't even notice it. It's the kind of disease that sneaks up on you, taking years to show itself. If you're not paying close attention, the first stage can be easy to miss. By the time clear symptoms show up, it may have already damaged your lungs. So if you have a higher risk for COPD, you'll want keep an eye out for the early signs. People who smoke now or used to are most likely to get it.
Types of Pneumonia
If you get pneumonia, it means you have an infection in your lungs caused by bacteria, viruses, and other germs. Learning which type you have will help your doctor suggest a treatment. Doctors describe the type of pneumonia you have based on where you got the infection. You may hear health professionals use these terms: Hospital-acquired pneumonia. You catch this type during a stay in a hospital. It can be serious because the bacteria causing the pneumonia can be resistant to antibiotics.
Pneumonia: Reducing Your Risk
SOURCES: Peter B. Angood, MD, vice president, chief patient safety officer, The Joint Commission, Oakbridge Terrace, Ill.; co-director, International Center for Patient Safety. Dale Bratzler, DO, MPH, medical director, Hospital Interventions Quality Improvement Organization Support Center (QIOSC), Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, Oklahoma City.
Outdoor Air Quality and Air Pollution
Unlike states or countries, outdoor air pollution has no boundaries. Bad outdoor air quality can have far-reaching health effects for you and your loved ones. From wildfires, to exhaust fumes from cars or factories, to dust, mold spores, and pollen, many things can pollute and affect outdoor air quality. Research shows that if outdoor air has too many pollutants, especially human-made toxic substances, long-term exposure to it can cause a range of diseases and hurt your body in several ways.
What Is Pneumonitis?
Pneumonitis is when your lungs are irritated, or inflamed. Almost anything can cause it, including germs, medication, and allergies. Breathing in harsh chemicals, like bleach, can also bring on the condition. Typically, when your doctor says pneumonitis, they mean something has irritated your lungs rather than infected them. It happens when tiny air sacs in your lungs, called alveoli, get inflamed and swollen.
Lung Granuloma: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Granulomas are small lumps of immune cells that form in your body in areas where there is infection or inflammation. They’re most commonly found in your lungs, but they can also be in other areas of your head and body. Doctors believe that they block the spread of organisms such as bacteria and fungi through your body. Granulomas are usually accidentally found through X-rays or other tests when doctors look for other health issues.
Tuberculosis Prevention: What to Know
It may sound like a disease of the past, but tuberculosis, or TB, is still a real concern today. And as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, the best way to be well is to avoid getting sick in the first place. A person who has the active disease in their lungs can spread it through the air. “Active” means the TB germs are multiplying and spreading in your body. If you’re in close contact with someone who has it, you can get it.
Types of Lung Diseases & Their Causes
Lung diseases are some of the most common medical conditions in the world. Tens of millions of people have lung disease in the U.S. alone. Smoking, infections, and genes cause most lung diseases. Your lungs are part of a complex system, expanding and relaxing thousands of times each day to bring in oxygen and send out carbon dioxide. Lung disease can happen when there are problems in any part of this system.
What Is Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis?
You may not think it's a big deal when you breathe in dust, but for some people, it could bring on a lung disease called hypersensitivity pneumonitis. It's an allergic reaction to particles in the dust, and it can cause symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath. You can get things back to normal if you get treated early and avoid breathing the stuff you're allergic to.
Arterial Blood Gas Test (ABG)
An arterial blood gas (ABG) test measures oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood. It also measures your body’s acid-base (pH) level, which is usually in balance when you’re healthy. You may get this test if you’re in the hospital or if you have a serious injury or illness. The test gives your doctor clues about how well your lungs, heart, and kidneys are working. You’ll probably get other tests along with it. Every cell in your body needs oxygen to live.
Pulmonary Function Tests
Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are lung tests. They show how well your lungs work. They’re noninvasive, which means that the doctor doesn’t cut you or put any tools inside your body.
What Is Black Lung Disease?
When it comes to black lung disease, here’s the good news: Most people don’t have to worry about it. It isn’t genetic and it isn’t contagious. But the millions of people who work (or used to work) in coal mines around the world may be at risk. Black lung disease is considered a job-related illness. You get it when you inhale coal dust over a long period of time. Because it mainly affects coal miners, it’s also known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP).
Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention
Silicosis is a lung disease. It usually happens in jobs where you breathe in dust that contains silica. That’s a tiny crystal found in sand, rock, or mineral ores like quartz. Over time, silica can build up in your lungs and breathing passages. This leads to scarring that makes it hard to breathe. There are three types: Acute: Symptoms happen a few weeks up to 2 years after exposure to a large amount of silica.
Chemical Pneumonia
Chemical pneumonia is an unusual type of lung irritation. Pneumonia usually is caused by a bacteria or virus. In chemical pneumonia, inflammation of lung tissue is from poisons or toxins. Only a small percentage of pneumonias are caused by chemicals. Many substances can cause chemical pneumonia, including liquids, gases, and small particles, such as dust or fumes, also called particulate matter.
What Is a Nasal Cannula?
A nasal cannula is a medical device that provides supplemental oxygen therapy to people who have lower oxygen levels. There are two types of nasal cannulas: low flow and high flow. The device has two prongs and sits below the nose. The two prongs deliver oxygen directly into your nostrils. HFNC is the medical abbreviation for a high-flow nasal cannula. These devices blow humidified, heated oxygen into the nostrils. They can deliver up to 60 liters of oxygen per minute.
What Is Lung Diffusion Testing?
If your doctor needs to figure out why you're having trouble breathing or to check for other lung problems, they may suggest lung diffusion testing. It measures how well your lungs are working. Lung diffusion is your ability to pass oxygen into the blood from the air sacs of the lungs and pass carbon dioxide (CO2) back into the lungs from the blood. Lung diffusion testing measures how well your lungs do this back-and-forth exchange.
COPD Bloating: Why It Happens and What You Can Do
If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you've likely talked with your doctor about how to manage common symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath. But you may not know that some people with this condition may also get stomach problems like too much gas and bloating. Your stomach might feel tight or stick out, which can be very uncomfortable. It can also make it more difficult for you to eat and get the nutrition that you need.
Pulmonary Edema
Pulmonary edema is a buildup of fluid in your lungs. That can make it hard for you to breathe. When you take a breath, your lungs should fill with air. If you have pulmonary edema, they fill with fluid instead. When that happens, oxygen from the air can’t get from your lungs into your blood, where it’s needed. Acute pulmonary edema comes on suddenly and can be life-threatening.
Stridor
Stridor is a high-pitched sound you make when you breathe through a narrow or partly blocked airway. Air can’t flow through your lungs smoothly, so it’s harder to breathe. Stridor is usually loudest when you breathe in. Stridor isn’t a condition, but a symptom of something else. It can start suddenly or develop over time. The type depends on the cause and where it is in your body. They include: Inspiratory stridor. The sound happens when you inhale or breathe in.
What You Must Do if You Have TB
If you think you’ve been exposed to someone with tuberculosis, call your doctor. You may have the disease. If you don’t have a doctor, call your local health department. They’ll give you a TB skin test or special blood test to find out whether you have it. If the results show that you do have TB, you’ll have to get treatment. Exactly what that involves will depend on whether you have latent TB infection (LTBI) or active TB disease.
What Is a Pulmonologist?
SOURCES: American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology: "Asthma Overview." American Cancer Society: "Thoracoscopy." American College of Pulmonology: "Pulmonary Disease." American Lung Association: "Emphysema," "Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)," "Know Your Providers: What Does A Pulmonologist Do?" "Lung Volume Reduction Surgery," "Spirometry," “Pneumonia Symptoms and Diagnosis,” “Lung Procedures, Tests & Treatments.” Cancer Research UK: "Cryotherapy." CDC: "Basic TB Facts." COPD Foundation:...
Paul Boyce on how to shake-up architectural education
Rising living costs are outrunning architects’ salaries, leaving many feeling discouraged. At current, there are few viable alternatives other than to leave the profession altogether. In order to maintain interest and commitment to the profession, systemic change is needed across all levels of the industry, starting at university.
A primer for the practice of reflexivity in conservation science
1 INTRODUCTION Scientific practice requires transparency throughout the research process, including developing research questions, methodological considerations, data gathering, and analysis. Evidence of scientific rigor is generally required for research and publication (Meffe et al., 1998; Sullivan et al., 2006), providing the scientific community and nonacademic research partners with context for the inferences derived from research.
What Is Aspergillosis?
Aspergillosis is an infection caused by a type of mold called aspergillus. It usually affects your lungs. The mold that causes it, aspergillus, is quite common. You can find it everywhere, indoors and out. It’s in soil and rotted plants. It’s even in a lot of home insulation, carpeting, air conditioning ducts, and dust. You’ll also find it in certain foods, like dried fish, as well as in marijuana. Tiny bits of the mold, called spores, float in the air.
Is Lung Cancer Genetic?
Smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer, but many people who get this cancer never smoked. That includes about 20% of people who die from lung cancer each year in the U.S. Apart from smoking, things in your environment and your genes can also raise your risk. If you have a parent, brother, or sister who's had lung cancer, you're two or three times more likely to get this cancer than someone without a family history of the condition. But you need to put that risk in perspective.
Treatments for Moderate to Severe COPD Original
There’s no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But there are things you can do to stay active, breathe easier, and live longer -- even if your condition is more advanced. Ask your doctor about all of your treatment choices. You might need medicine, pulmonary rehab, oxygen therapy, or lifestyle changes. Your health care team will work with you to figure out what’s best. What Lifestyle Changes Should I Make? If you smoke, quit.
Types of Lung Cancer
Lung cancers are broadly classified into two types: small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). This classification is based upon the microscopic appearance of the tumor cells. These two types of cancers grow, spread, and are treated in different ways, so making a distinction between these two types is important. SCLC comprises about 10%-15% of lung cancers. This type of lung cancer is the most aggressive and rapidly growing of all the types.
Starting Immunotherapy: What to Expect
Lung cancer has long been considered one of the most challenging cancers to treat because it has usually spread by the time you’re diagnosed. When it spreads to other body parts, doctors refer to it as metastatic. The newest field of cancer medicine, called immunotherapy, is an effective treatment option for metastatic lung cancer. Getting Started This type of treatment helps your immune system better find and destroy cancer cells.
What’s the Link Between Lung Cancer and Shoulder Pain?
Is pain in your shoulder a sign of lung cancer? Probably not. Cancer is rarely a cause of shoulder pain -- arthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis are much more likely reasons for it. But here’s why shoulder pain could have a link to some types of lung cancer. Shoulder pain is the most common symptom of a type of cancer called Pancoast tumor. These tumors are rare. They only make up 3%-5% of lung cancer cases.
What Are the Stages of Lung Cancer?
It’s important to know the stage of your lung cancer. It tells you: Where a tumor or cancer cells are located in your lungs How large your tumor is now If your cancer’s in one spot or has spread There are two main types of lung cancer: small cell and non-small cell. Each is staged differently. Knowing the stage helps your doctor choose the right treatments for you. It may also help them gauge your chances of success with that treatment.
Stage I (Early-Stage) Lung Cancer
Almost 9 out of 10 people with lung cancer have non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Photo Credit: Science Photo Library/Getty Images Stage I lung cancer is the second-earliest stage of the disease. It means that abnormal cells in your airways have turned into cancer. But the tumor is only in your lungs and hasn't spread to your lymph nodes. Stage I is also called early-stage lung cancer. It often can be cured, and most people can expect to live 5 years or longer.
ECMO: What You Need to Know
ECMO stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. An ECMO machine takes blood from your veins, pumps it outside the body (extracorporeal), removes carbon dioxide, adds oxygen (oxygenation), and returns it to your body. This process takes some of the workload off your heart or lungs or both. There are two main types of ECMO treatments. Both remove oxygen-starved blood from your veins: Venovenous (VV) ECMO returns oxygenated blood back to the veins, where it passes through your lungs.
What Is Popcorn Lung?
"Popcorn lung" is the nickname for bronchiolitis obliterans. That's a condition that damages your lungs' smallest airways and makes you cough and feel short of breath. It's sometimes caused by breathing in a chemical used to flavor microwave popcorn. But other chemicals or lung illnesses can also cause popcorn lung. Your lungs are where your blood picks up oxygen before carrying it to cells in the rest of your body. When you breathe in, air flows into your lungs through your windpipe or trachea.
Keeping Track of Your Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
If you have pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it’s possible to lead an active, productive life. The key is to work closely with a specialist, usually a lung doctor (pulmonologist) or a heart doctor (cardiologist). “The cardiologists who do this have an appreciation for the effect on the lungs, and the pulmonologists who do it have an appreciation for the impact on the heart.
Signs Your PAH Treatment Isn't Working Original
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a form of pulmonary hypertension that causes the small arteries of your lungs to thicken and narrow. This can lead to high blood pressure in your lungs. While there’s no cure for PAH, there are many treatment options that can help control your symptoms. It’s important to work closely with the doctor to ensure your PAH treatment continues to work. “Treatments range from medication all the way up to transplantation,” says Richard N.
Exercising When You Have Pulmonary Hypertension Original
Because pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) often causes shortness of breath, swelling, and fatigue, exercise may seem like the last thing you should do. But the right kind -- with your doctor’s OK -- can help symptoms and boost quality of life. How Exercise Helps Almost any way you slice it, exercise is good medicine.
Inhaled Steroids for COPD
If you have COPD, your doctor may prescribe inhaled corticosteroids as part of your treatment. Steroids can help control inflammation and swelling in your airways. If you have problems with shortness of breath or wheezing, they can ease these symptoms, too. You can breathe in steroids a couple of different ways: Inhaler: A handheld device that sprays the medication directly into your mouth while you breathe in. Nebulizer: A machine that turns the medicine into a fine mist that you breathe in.
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