Why is emphysema called pink puffer

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Although both affect the lungs, they are different conditions and need different treatments. COPD often develops after age 40; asthma can start at any age, often during childhood. COPD is a long-lasting disease that usually gets worse over time; asthma attacks come and go.

COPD is often caused by smoking or long-term exposure to pollution or chemicals; asthma is caused by a sensitivity to food, pollen or some drugs, or because of a family history of asthma.

With the right diagnosis and treatment, most people with COPD can live a normal, active life. As a community-based health center, Hamakua-Kohala Health provides comprehensive primary and preventative healthcare to persons of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status.

Make an appointment today at one of our clinics. Phone: Emphysema is also treated by supporting the breathing with anticholinergics, bronchodilators and inhaled or oral steroid medication, and supplemental oxygen as required. Treating the patient's other conditions including gastric reflux and allergies may also improve lung function. Other medications are being researched. There are lightweight portable oxygen systems which allow patients increased mobility.

Patients fly, cruise, and work while using supplemental oxygen. Lung volume reduction surgery LVRS can improve the quality of life for certain carefully selected patients. It can be done by several different methods, some of which are minimally invasive. The only known "cure" for emphysema is a lung transplant , although few patients are strong enough physically to survive the surgery. The combination of a patient's age, oxygen deprivation and the side-effects of the medications used to treat emphysema cause damage to the kidneys , heart and other organs.

Transplants also require the patient to take an anti-rejection drug regime which suppresses the immune system possibly leading to microbial infection of the patient. Emphysema can be classified into two types: Primary and Secondary. Primary emphysema can be further subdivided into panacinary and centroacinary types. Panacinary emphysema is related to the destruction of alveoli, because of an inflammation or deficiency of alfaantitripsine.

This type of emphysema is found more in young adults that do not have chronic bronchitis. Centroacinary emphysema is related with destruction of terminal bronchioli muchosis, as a result of chronic bronchitis. This is found mostly in elderly people that with a long history of smoking. A study published by the European Respiratory Journal suggests that tretinoin commercially available as Accutane , an anti-acne drug derived from vitamin A can reverse the effects of emphysema in mice by returning elasticity and regenerating lung tissue through gene mediation to the alveoli.

A follow-up study done in found inconclusive results "no definitive clinical benefits" using Vitamin A retinoic acid in treatment of emphysema in humans and stated that further research is needed to reach conclusions on this treatment. Reynolds 67 , R. Reynolds Jr. Read what you need to know about our industry portal bionity. My watch list my. My watch list My saved searches My saved topics My newsletter Register free of charge.

Keep logged in. The differential diagnosis includes bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension, but pulmonary fibrosis, etc.

Plain chest radiography cannot reliably diagnose emphysema in life, but a new method measuring lung density from the computed tomographic CT scan allows location, quantitation, and diagnosis of emphysema defined by enlargement of distal air spaces in humans in life.

Antismoking measures are a major aim in management. A bronchodilator regimen combining a slow-release oral theophylline with an inhaled beta 2-agonist, ipratropium, and high-dose inhaled steroids is proposed because even modest improvement in obstruction can help these patients.