People suffering from pneumonia, postoperative partial or complete collapse of the lungs, chronic respiratory conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Cystic Fibrosis etc as well as people suffering from neuromuscular diseases can get partial relief by respiratory physiotherapy. If a person is suffering from retained secretions, increased effort to breathe or volume loss, he or she may be referred to Respiratory Physiotherapy.

Respiratory Assessment Of The Patient

A Respiratory Physiotherapist will assess the condition of the patient with the help of Respiratory Assessment or Respiratory Examination. It includes:

Auscultation and review chest X-Ray

Interpreting arterial blood gasses test and blood tests

History of present illness

History of past illnesses

Details of cough, breathlessness, sputum, chest pain  

Other symptoms like headache, fever, CO2 retention, heart failure, peripheral oedema, shivering, palpitations, weight loss, Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease, vomiting and nausea etc.

Respiratory Physiotherapy Techniques -

After the Respiratory Assessment the doctor may prescribe the following:

Breathing Exercises

Exercises like Active Cycle Of Breathing Techniques can help in clearing phlegm. Since people in respiratory distress often produce more phlegm than normal, it is essential that this excess phlegm be removed. This can help the person breathe more freely. Removing the phlegm can also help prevent infections in the chest and reduce coughing. It is a set of exercises that together help in establishing breathing control, huffing and deep breathing.

Mobilisation

Early mobilization is one of the most important aspects of chest physiotherapy. It includes positioning, active and passive turning, cycling pedals, standing, stepping etc. 

Manual Techniques

The Physiotherapist may apply pressure on the chest to facilitate airway clearance while keeping the patient in gravity assisted phlegm drainage position. 

IPPB

It employs a device that helps patients take a deep breath, cough and clear lungs. The device offers short-term and intermittent mechanical ventilation of a positive pressure set by a physiotherapist. The device pushes a mixture of oxygen through a facemask.

Suction

Here too the physiotherapist uses a device to suck out excess mucus from the chest and facilitate breathing. Here the cough is stimulated by a catheter and phlegm is sucked out using another catheter.

MHI

It is the acronym for Manual Hyperinflation. This procedure is carried out by a Respiratory Physiotherapist to give volume to partially or completely collapsed lungs.

BiPAP or CPAP

The device delivers pressurized air into the patient's airways through a facemask. The pressure of air prevents collapse of the throat muscles and reduces airway obstructions. In essence, they allow patients to breathe more freely and regularly. 

Conclusion

Right Respiratory Assessment or Respiratory Examination is crucial to applying the right physiotherapy techniques. Right techniques may help patients breathe more freely and avoid respiratory infections. 

Know More About Respiratory Examination!

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease in which granulomas, or clumps of inflammatory cells, form in various organs. This causes organ inflammation. Sarcoidosis may be triggered by your body s immune system responding to foreign substances, such as viruses, bacteria, or chemicals.

The areas of the body commonly affected by sarcoidosis include:

lymph nodes
lungs
eyes
skin
liver
heart
spleen
brain
Causes:

The exact cause of sarcoidosis is unknown. However, gender, race, and genetics can increase the risk of developing the condition:

Sarcoidosis is more common in women than in men.
People of African-American descent are more likely to develop the condition.
People with a family history of sarcoidosis have a significantly higher risk of getting the disease.
Sarcoidosis rarely occurs in children. Symptoms usually appear in people between the ages of 20 and 40.
Symptoms:

The people with sarcoidosis don t have any symptoms. However, general symptoms may include:

fatigue
fever
weight loss
joint pain
dry mouth
nosebleeds
abdominal swelling
Symptoms vary depending on the part of your body that s affected by the disease. Sarcoidosis can occur in any organ, but it most commonly affects the lungs. Lung symptoms can include:

a dry cough
shortness of breath
wheezing
chest pain around your breastbone
Skin symptoms can include:

skin rashes
skin sores
hair loss
raised scars
Nervous system symptoms can include:

seizures
hearing loss
headaches
Eye symptoms can include:

dry eyes
itchy eyes
eye pain
vision loss
a burning sensation in your eyes
Diagnosis:

Chest X-rays to look for cloudiness (pulmonary infiltrates) or swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy).
CT scan to provide an even more detailed look at the lungs and lymph nodes than provided by a chest X-ray.
Pulmonary function (breathing) tests to measure how well the lungs are working.
Bronchoscopy to inspect the bronchial tubes and to extract a biopsy (a small tissue sample) to look for granulomas and to obtain material to rule out infection. Bronchoscopy involves passing a small tube (bronchoscope) down the trachea (windpipe) and into the bronchial tubes Airway of the lungs.
Role of Homeopathy In Sarcoidosis:

Welling Clinic offers specially formulated Homeopathy treatment of Sarcoidosis. The treatment protocol has been developed after an exhaustive in-house research. Our clinics consult for more than 200 patients of Sarcoidosis globally, every year. You too can be benefitted by our expertise in the treatment of Sarcoidosis.

Diet And Non-Diet:

Here are the top three rules:

Eat power(means contains powerful nutrients)
Stop sugar spikes
Stop skin (and health) sabotage

What Is Sarcoidosis?

If you are experiencing difficulty in breathing or rapid breathing, shortness of breath and low blood pressure, you might have been affected with acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS. This is a fatal lung condition in which the supply of oxygen to the lungs and into the blood gets prevented. The symptoms of this syndrome develop within two days of the illness. Here are 10 important facts about ARDS you should know about:
Because of the low level of oxygen in the blood, the organs of the body may not function properly. The kidneys and brain require constant oxygen-rich blood supply and there are chances of organ failure due to ARDS.
Commonly, people who get ARDS are already in hospital for some other health problem. People who are not hospitalised may get ARDS because of conditions such as pneumonia.
In ARDS, the tiny blood vessels of the lungs leak more fluid than usual into the air sacs of the lungs. This happens because of infections, injuries or some other condition. The lungs cannot get filled up with air and sufficient oxygen is prevented from getting pumped into the bloodstream.
Several factors also lead to ARDS. These include sepsis, severe bleeding due to any injury on the head or chest, breathing in harmful smoke, or inhaling vomited content of the stomach from the mouth.
People who are prone to ARDS have some condition that may injure their lungs directly or indirectly.
The initial symptoms of ARDS include a feeling of not getting sufficient air in the lungs, low oxygen levels in the blood and rapid breathing. The diagnosis of ARDS depends on your medical history and the results from several tests and physical examinations.
The treatment of ARDS is undertaken by oxygen therapy, medicines and fluids. A patient with ARDS is likely to develop some other health condition while in the hospital, such as lung scarring, blood clots, infections and pneumothorax.
Many people recover from ARDS completely while others keep on facing certain health problems, such as shortness of breath, muscle weakness, depression and fatigue. Problems related to memory and clear thinking are also indicated.
By improving your quality of life, you can recover from ARDS. You need the support and encouragement of your family and friends. You must avoid smoking and keep away from any kind of lung irritant.
The treatment for ARDS has showed progress in the recent years. Hence, more people are recovering from this condition. New treatment procedures are being researched on.


10 Facts About Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

The lungs are highly prone to chronic problems. Be it asthma, bronchitis or COPD, these problems require chronic treatment and the patient is always on alert. Homeopathy believes that these are just symptoms of an underlying, deep-rooted cause and addressing the root cause can help in complete cure of symptoms. By working on the underlying problem, homeopathy attempts to:

Prevent further damage to the organs; so disease progression is arrested
Reduce dependency on steroids and bronchodilators, which is very common among most people with chronic respiratory disorders
Natural and holistic treatment with minimal side effects
It is to be noted that different clinical presentations are treated with different compounds, and there are more than 25 compounds that can be used in people with chronic respiratory disorders. The doctor would choose the right compound depending on the presenting symptoms. Some of the commonly used compounds are listed below:

Bryonia: In people with dry hacking cough and rusty sputum, this is useful. The symptoms are aggravated by any sort of motion and warm temperatures.
Rumex: In people with dry/stringy cough, which is increased in cold temperatures and by talking, this medicine proves useful.
Kali Bichromicum: Where the patient has yellow, sticky mucous which is worse in the morning, this compound is effective.
Aconite: It is very useful in treating bronchitis, where there is frequent sneezing, restlessness, coryza-like symptoms or excessive perspiration. Its uniqueness is that it prevents development of a full-fledged bronchitis.
Belladonna: This is useful in patients with bronchitis who have violent fever and distressing cough that is worse with lying down and at night. The coughing spells are dry and short with irregular breathing. There is also fullness in the chest with no pain, though children might cry with this fullness. There is increased drowsiness where patients sometimes doze off into a semiconscious state.
Sulphur: It is very useful in people with chronic bronchitis, where the patient has significant rales (sounds due to air movement within the bronchi). This is accompanied by mucous that is thick and can contain pus. The patient could also suffer from bouts of suffocation.
Bacillinum: It is widely used in people who tend to catch cold easily. The mucous membranes are highly irritated and the patient feels very congested.
Other useful compounds include Phosphorus, Mercurius, Antimonium tartaricum, Rumex, Puslatilla, Ipea, Chelidonium and Sulphur. As noted, with homeopathic compounds, the right compound is determined by multiple factors including the stage at which the infection is at the time of presentation, nature of the cough, type of mucus, aggravating or relieving factors, presence of a cold, overall health status, habits, etc. The doctor will identify the right compound for you after checking these, so you are advised not to self medicate.

How To Treat Chronic Respiratory Problems With Homeopathy?

When you suffer from dry, chronic cough along with shortness of breath, it is normal to get worried and annoyed. You will want to know the cause and the cure. Note that it might be due to a condition called the interstitial lung disease.

Including almost more than 200 different lung conditions, interstitial lung disease refers to the inflammation and scarring caused in the lungs, which leads to less oxygen entering the blood. Mainly affecting the interstitial part of the anatomic structure of the lungs, which is responsible for the oxygen flow into the blood, interstitial lung disease can damage other parts of the lungs too, such as the lung lining, the airways or the blood vessels. The following is a brief account of the types, causes, symptoms, and treatment of ILD.

Types
Interstitial lung disease can be of various kinds, though all of them leads to the thickening of the lung s interstitial part. Some of the types of ILD are 

Nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Acute interstitial pneumonitis
 Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Asbestosis
Sarcoidosis
Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia or COP, etc. 
While some of the ILD types are short lived, some are irreversible and chronic.

The primary causes of interstitial lung disease are viruses, fungi, and bacteria. Regular exposure to inhalable irritants such as talc, silica dust, asbestos, coal dust or any other kind of metal dust, bird proteins of pigeons, chickens or any exotic birds, grain dust, etc. can also cause interstitial lung disease. Though rare, sometimes it is the intake of particular drugs that may cause ILD. For the majority of interstitial lung diseases, the exact cause is not always known.

Both men and women of any age can develop this disease, and it is more common in people with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, and autoimmune disease. Some of the primary symptoms and signs of interstitial lung disease are nonproductive dry cough, shortness of breath, and considerable weight loss. While for some types of ILDs the symptoms develop slowly and gradually over months, for others, such as the acute interstitial pneumonitis or interstitial pneumonia, the symptoms develop more rapidly, within days or a few hours.

For identifying the presence of ILD, doctors usually rely upon chest X-ray, CT scan or computed tomography, pulmonary function testing, high-resolution CT scan, and lung biopsy. In case no apparent cause behind the disease is found from the tests, a patient's history of being exposed to certain chemical environments is then taken into consideration.

Depending on the type and severity of the disease the treatment options vary from one to another. While for some taking prescribed drugs can offer a solution to prevent the lungs from deteriorating further, for some a complete lung transplant may become the only solution. Treatments like pulmonary rehabilitation and oxygen therapy can also be ideal, based on the condition of the lungs.

Thus, if one is constantly exposed to lung irritants and experiences the symptoms of interstitial lung disease for more than eight weeks, he/she must seek the advice of a pulmonologist without delay as the condition may lead to severe complications when left untreated.

Interstitial Lung Disease - Understanding Its Types!

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is a group of progressive lung diseases. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common lung diseases. Emphysema gradually ruins the air sacs in your lungs, which are interfered with exhalation. The inflammation and swelling of airways in the lungs is called bronchitis, which further allows production of mucus, which leads to increased difficulty in breathing.

COPD is a case which makes it harder to breathe. The symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath are light at first. With passage of time, these symptoms worsen and make it increasingly difficult for the patient to breathe.

The patient may experience wheezing and feel heavy on the chest. Some patients suffering from COPD experience flare-ups of severe symptoms or exacerbations.
The main cause of COPD is cigarette smoking and therefore, people who are used to smoking for a longer time may suffer from this diesease. It is a disease that takes time to build up inside one s body. COPD can further cause heart problems and worsen respiratory diseases.

Severe symptoms of COPD include:

Occasional shortness of breath
Mild and reoccurring cough with mucus
Constant need to clear your throat
Noisy breathing
Frequent cold and cough
Loss of energy or feeling fatigued
Swelling of ankles, legs or feet
Sudden weight loss
Treatment of COPD
The treatment of COPD can ease its symptoms and avoid further complications. To treat COPD, one needs a skillful and experienced pulmonologist and respiratory therapist.

The medications which are preferred by the doctor are bronchodilators, which soothe the muscles of bronchial tubes, making it easier for the patient to breathe. This medicine is basically taken from inhalers. To reduce the inflammation, Glucocortico steroids are added.
Oxygen therapy is undertaken to provide oxygen to the patient through an oxygen mask or nasal prongs to ease the breathing process of the patient. A portable unit is advised, if the patient is cured at home.
Surgery is an option for severe COPD patients, which is undertaken if and only all other medications have already failed to control COPD, which can be the case in emphysema. Bullectomy is a kind of surgery in which the doctors eliminate the large bullae (air sacs) from the lungs. Volume reduction surgery is the last option for the doctor to cure a COPD patient. In this process, the damaged lung tissue is removed. The doctors go for a lung transplant in some rare cases of COPD.
The treatment for many diseases is a healthy and disciplined lifestyle. One should quit smoking and get the nutrition that their body needs. People should consult a dietician and get a healthy diet plan, and ask a doctor about the extent of exercise they should perform daily.

COPD - Can Oxygen Therapy Help Treat It?

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