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Tell-Tale Signs of Chronic Bronchitis

Bronchitis is defined as a disease with acute inflammation of the respiratory tract. The term is basically coined from the Greek words bronchos, which means windpipe, and itis, meaning inflammation. Bronchitis takes place when the trachea or windpipe and the bronchi (both small and large) become inflamed which is likely caused by an infection or other factors.

Bronchitis has two types, acute and chronic. Acute bronchitis is mainly caused by viral or bacterial infections and from the acute word itself, it is only for a short period of time, but that is another story.

Chronic bronchitis, on the other hand, is a long term bronchial inflammation consequently followed by a raise in the production of mucus. It is also a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a group of respiratory diseases that hampers with normal breathing.

Chronic bronchitis can be caused by no specific factor but cigarette smoking is believed to be the major culprit of the illness. Following smoking, other causes may include environmental pollution (especially air pollution) and bacterial or viral infections.

To be considered as chronic bronchitis, the patient must experience cough and expectorations (meaning with phlegm or sputum) for no less than 3 months in a year for two successive years. Furthermore, other factors that may cause symptoms such as TB (tuberculosis) or other respiratory health problems must be excluded.

As a category of COPD, primary symptoms of chronic bronchitis are mucus expectoration, cough, and dyspnea or labored breathing during physical exertion. These symptoms commonly deteriorate over time. Persistent cough and mucus expectoration usually come first years before the development of aberrations in the airflow of the respiratory tract.

Dyspnea or labored breathing, due to its severity, more often than not causes interference in the patient’s day to day activities. Loss of weight is fairly not uncommon since eating needs a certain amount of physical exertion and the sometimes only breathing itself can be energy consuming for the patient.

There will come a time when the patient will find it difficult to even participate in mild exercise because of dyspnea. As bronchitis progresses, labored breathing will be experienced by the patient even at rest. Then the patient will become in danger of acquiring more respiratory infections and respiratory insufficiency, which consequently raises the danger for both chronic and acute respiratory failure.

Other warning signs of chronic bronchitis may include swelling of the feet, abnormal lung signs, heart failure, and bluish discoloration of the lips and skin.
Symptoms may be similar to other respiratory problems; therefore it is advisable that the patient should consult a physician. This is due to the fact that chronic bronchitis is frequently associated with other diseases of the respiratory system such as asthma, tuberculosis, sinusitis, pulmonary emphysema, and other upper respiratory infections.

Moreover, there are numerous examinations that are utilized by the medical professionals to identify chronic bronchitis. These tests or examinations may include the following:

  • Pulmonary function tests, which assist in calculating the lungs’ capacity to appropriately exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide through use of a spirometry and peak flow monitoring (PFM). Spirometry is an apparatus that is used by the doctor to evaluate the function of the lungs. PFM is a tool that is utilized to determine the greatest speed in which an individual can exhale or blow air out of the lungs. PFM helps in assessing how the malady is being controlled
  • Pulse Oximetry. This is a small apparatus that measures the quantity of oxygen in blood.
  • Chest X-ray. This fairly common diagnostic test is used to create images of the internal tissues, organs, and bones unto a film.
  • Arterial Blood Gas or ABG. This is a blood test that is employed to assess the lungs’ capacity to supply with oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide. This also helps in measuring the acidity of the blood.
  • CT Scan or Computed Tomography. This is an amalgamation of x-rays and computer technology to produce sectional imagery of the body. This imaging device illustrates a comprehensive picture of any part of the body.

Although once a person acquires chronic bronchitis, which usually lasts a lifetime, this illness can be controlled. Treatments are utilized mainly to alleviate the symptoms. Nevertheless, the patient can still live a comfortable life if provided with a proper management of the symptoms. It may not be curable but it is manageable.

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Clinical Depression is in a Class by Itself When it Comes to Depression

When you hear the term Clinical Depression, what comes to mind?  Clinical Depression is a serious illness.  This illness can affect the way you feel, the way you act and the way you think.  Like other conditions it is a disease and doesn’t make you a loser.  It is a condition that must be addressed.  Functioning like you did in the past will not be easy.  Activities that you once used to find entertaining may fail to interest you anymore.  Clinical Depression results in long term hopelessness and feelings of remorse.  Unlike a cold this isn’t a short term condition.  You won’t feel sad for a few days and then just get over it.  Clinical Depression is long term.  Clinical Depression is a mental disorder characterized by a pervasive low mood and loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The general term depression is better used to describe a temporary depressed or sad mood. By contrast, major depression is a serious and often disabling condition that can significantly affect a person’s work, family and school life, sleeping and eating habits, and general health. In Western countries, around 3.4% of people with major depression eventually commit suicide, and up to 60% of all people who commit suicide have depression or another mood disorder. Depressed individuals have a shorter life expectancy than those without depression, being more susceptible to medical conditions such as heart disease. However, depression may be overdiagnosed, and current diagnostic trends arguably have the effect of medicalizing sadness.

Every part of your normal life can be impacted by Clinical Depression.  A change in thought patterns and confusion are common.  Your will is no longer your own as this condition affects your very behaviors and moods.  It will affect your sleep patterns and eating habits, turning your life onto its head.  It’s possible that instead of being able to do your work or to focus on a task like school, you’ll wonder how it was ever possible.  Clinical Depression will target the way you deal with people.  You’ll become a stranger even to yourself.

The understanding of the nature and causes of depression has evolved over the centuries; nevertheless, many aspects of depression are still not fully understood, and are the subject of debate and research. Both psychological and biological causes have been proposed; the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine have been implicated, and most antidepressants work to increase their active levels in the brain. The question of whether there are two separate conditions, or a continuum of a single disorder has been researched since the 1920s. These two sub-groups have shown identical clinical courses, and in 1980 the term major depressive disorder was coined for the combined continuum, and has become widely used.

Common Symptoms of Clinical Depression

There are different forms of clinical depression with different combinations of the following symptoms:

Physical:

* Sleep disturbances-insomnia, oversleeping, waking much earlier than usual
* Changes in appetite or eating: much more or much less
* Decreased energy, fatigue
* Headaches, stomachaches, digestive problems or other physical symptoms that are not explained by other physical conditions or do not respond to treatment

Behavioral/Attitude:

* Loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed, such as going out with friends, hobbies, sports, sex, etc.
* Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
* Neglecting responsibilities or personal appearance

Emotional:

* Persistent sad or “empty” mood, lasting two or more weeks
* Crying “for no reason”
* Feeling hopeless, helpless, guilty or worthless
* Feeling irritable, agitated or anxious
* Thoughts of death or suicide

Treatment for depression depends on many factors, including the severity of the condition, the persistence of the symptoms, and the person’s personal history with the illness. For many forms of depression, a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medications can be an effective treatment. Antidepressant medications can relieve symptoms of depression, while psychotherapy may help you cope with ongoing problems that may trigger or contribute to depression. Most patients are treated in the community with antidepressant medication and supportive counselling, including various forms of psychotherapy; admission to hospital may be necessary in cases associated with self-neglect or a significant risk of harm to self or others. A minority with severe illness may be treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), under a short-acting general anaesthetic.

For the more serious cases of clinical depression, electroconvulsive therapy can be helpful for people who haven’t responded to other treatments or who can’t tolerate antidepressants for other reasons. During electroconvulsive therapy, an electric current is passed through the brain to induce controlled seizures. Experts aren’t sure how electroconvulsive therapy relieves the symptoms of depression. However, it’s believed the procedure may affect levels of neurotransmitters in your brain.

Depression may also be caused in part by an overactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) that is similar to the neuro-endocrine response to stress. These HPA axis abnormalities participate in the development of depressive symptoms, and antidepressants serve to regulate HPA axis function.

Depression may be connected to sleep abnormalities, or variations in the circadian rhythm. The REM stage of sleep, in which dreaming occurs, tends to be especially quick to arrive, and especially intense, in depressed people. Although the precise relationship between sleep and depression is mysterious, the relationship appears to be particularly strong among those whose depressive episodes are not precipitated by stress. In such cases, patients may be especially unaffected by therapeutic intervention.

As mentioned earlier Clinical Depression is not a personal defect.  It is not an illness that you can wish gone out of your life.  This is not an illness that will be cured through self- control or self-treatment.  It will take a long-term effort – weeks, months or even years of treatment – to control this problem.  People have been known to attempt suicide if this condition isn’t treated. The reasons for the depression may seem known to you.  However many different factors might contribute to this illness.  Typically, it is a group of factors that lead to Clinical Depression.  Your psyche, genetic factors, or even the environment might contribute.

Biological issues such as chemical imbalances can lead to Clinical Depression. Feeling sad and depressed is often a normal reaction to a stressful life situation. For example, it is normal to feel down after a major disappointment, or to have trouble sleeping or eating after a difficult relationship break-up. Usually, within a few days, perhaps after talking to a friend, we start to feel like ourselves again.

Clinical depression is very different. It involves a noticeable change in functioning that persists for two weeks or longer. Imagine that for the last three months you’ve slept more than 10 hours a day and still feel tired, you have stomach problems, you’re unable to cope with life, and you wonder if dying would solve all your problems. Or, imagine not being able to sleep more than four hours a night, not wanting to spend time with family or friends, and constantly feeling irritable. And when friends try to reach out to you, you get even more upset and bothered. You lose perspective, and you don’t realize that what you’re experiencing is abnormal. You want to just “wait it out,” and you don’t get help because you think it’s weak to ask for help or you don’t want to burden your friends.  Stress might also cause this illness.  Many areas of your life can be causing stress that affects your psychological make up .  Our lives are filled with all sorts of potential pressures that can wreak havoc with your system.  It’s well known that alcoholics and drug addicts often contract Clinical Depression. Don’t hesitate to consult a medical professional if you or anyone you know shows signs of this disease.

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Hassle-Free with Hughesnet

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