The Lungs And Respiratory System

1005 Words3 Pages

The lungs are a vital part of the respiratory system, a group of organs and tissues that work together to help humans breathe. The system’s main job is to move fresh air into the body while removing waste gases. Lungs are important because every cell in the body needs oxygen to live. The air we breathe contains oxygen and other gases. Once in the lungs, oxygen is moved into the bloodstream and carried throughout the human body. The bloodstream then carries the waste gas back to the lungs where it is removed from the blood stream and then exhaled. The lungs and respiratory system automatically perform this vital process, called gas exchange (American Lung Association). Lungs contain millions of air sacs called alveoli. With each breath, …show more content…

However, with pulmonary edema the alveoli fill with fluid instead of air. Pulmonary edema is the ending result of abnormal build-up of fluid leads to shortness of breath. The term edema itself generally means swelling. This can happen either because of too much pressure in the blood vessels or not enough proteins in the bloodstream to hold on to the fluid in the plasma; the part of the blood that does not contain any blood cells (Medicinenet). This lung condition is usually caused by a number of cardiac and non-cardiac conditions such as: Coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, heart valve problems, high blood pressure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, high altitudes, nervous system conditions, adverse drug reactions, pulmonary embolism, and smoke inhalation (Brunner 2015). These many conditions are all health related problems that should be examined by a …show more content…

Using medication will decrease all the pressure that is caused by fluid going around the lungs and heart. Pulmonary edema may be life-threatening, especially without urgent medical treatment and professional assistance. Curing this problem may also be follow the steps of supplement oxygen and medicine. The patient should then follow a low sodium diet to prevent this from being an occurring health problem. Oxygen therapy on a three to five-day treatment will cut down on the chances of having this health condition attacking the Pulmonary system. Follow -up appointments scheduled by a patient that had been diagnosed with Pulmonary edema is critical. Just based off the studies that this wet lung disorder is a chronic build up that is to be controlled and not necessarily cured. Controlling possible risk factors such as salt intake, smoking, cholesterol consumption and taking the prescribed medications will eventually help minimize symptoms and future episodes of edema. On the other hand, it is important to understand that a lot of treatment resolutions can come from self-care which include a low sodium diet and also supportive care which consists of an oxygen therapy treatment. Nevertheless, with a low sodium diet, this a type of diet that restricts salt and other types of sodium. With the oxygen treatment, patients with pulmonary

More about The Lungs And Respiratory System

Open Document