Treatment of Lung Disease

How Is Lung Disease Treated?

Avoidance

The first step in treating any kind of lung disease is avoidance of whatever it was that was causing issues in the first place. If your condition has come about as a result of exposure to fumes, dust or chemicals in your workplace, you must avoid those substances at all costs; this might involve refraining from work or perhaps asking your employer to find other duties for you to perform away from the potentially dangerous substances.

Lifestyle

If you are a smoker you should seek help to quit as soon as possible, as smoking will only exacerbate any lung conditions and make a lot of the symptoms worse.

Other lifestyle changes could well be beneficial; taking plenty of exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet will give your body the best chance of being able to fight infection and reduce recovery rate from illness, although if you are already suffering from issues with your lungs you should take advice from your doctor as to how to exercise and eat safely.

Medication

There are a variety of drugs available that can help reduce some of the symptoms of lung diseases:

Bronchodilators are drugs that help to relax the muscles within the airways, helping to open them so that you can breathe more easily. These are usually taken using an inhaler or nebulizer that applies the drug directly to the airways and lungs.

Corticosteroids are drugs that help reduce inflammation and swelling, making breathing easier and more efficient. These might be administered at the same time as the bronchodilators or as a separate treatment, depending on your symptoms. Both of these drugs might be given as short-term, regular treatments; available to the sufferer whenever they need them, or as longer-term treatments on a long-term basis.

If it is difficult to use an inhaler some drugs are available in the form of tablets, such as Theophylline, although this and some others carry quite serious side-effects that must be avoided if at all possible.

If a chest infection is causing problems then your doctor might prescribe you a course of antibiotics to help with that aspect of your suffering.

If you are struggling to take enough oxygen into your lungs, or if your lungs are not transferring sufficient oxygen into the bloodstream then you may be offered Oxygen Therapy; essentially a dose of pure oxygen that is easier for the body to deal with. This might be an occasional treatment for certain times when the sufferer is out of breath, such as after exercise, or may be necessary on a semi-permanent or even a permanent basis.

Surgery

If the condition or symptoms cannot be treated or managed effectively using medication, there are some types of surgery that can help, but these can be very dangerous and are not always completely successful, so it is likely that all other avenues will be investigated before surgery is considered. If it is necessary, there are three main options that might be available:

• Lung Volume Reduction Therapy involves removing any damaged sections of the lung, hence allowing the healthier parts to function more easily
• A Bullectomy removes a pocket of air from the lungs to assist in making breathing more comfortable
• A Lung Transplant is an operation where a damaged lung is removed and replaced with a healthy lung from a donor – these operations are particularly rare due to the outcomes not always being as successful as the doctors would want.

Contact us today for free, no obligation advice regarding your Lung Disease claim – either by calling us free on 0800 122 3130, or by requesting a free call back, whereby one of our team will contact you at a time of your choice, to discuss your situation.

We’re here to help – contact us today.