Symptoms of Lung Disease

What Are The Symptoms of Lung Disease?

Different types of lung diseases come with their own set of specific symptoms, but many are common across a range of illnesses. A cough that won’t seem to go away might be put down to just getting older, or smoking, and breathlessness might be assumed to be due to tiredness or having previously had a cold, but these, and other symptoms could be far more serious than you might think. You should visit your doctor as soon as possible if you are affected by:

Chronic cough – any cough that has not gone away after a month or so is considered chronic and this could be an important early warning sign that something is seriously amiss within your respiratory system.

Shortness of breath – feeling short of breath after strenuous exercise is perfectly normal, but if you are short of breath after very little or no exertion then there could well be a problem. Difficulty with breathing, or if breathing feels laboured could also be a warning sign of a lung disease issue.

Chronic mucus production – our airways produce mucus (also called sputum or phlegm) as a defence against irritants and infections. During a cold or flu our mucus production increases significantly – hence the need for all of those tissues. If mucus production remains higher than normal in the absence of a clear cold or flu virus, for any length of time, it should be checked out by a doctor.

Wheezing – breathing is normally very quiet, almost silent except when breathing heavily after strenuous exercise, so if your breathing can be heard; either due to wheezing, or in some cases a crackling sound when breathing, it suggests there is a problem. When the airways to the lungs, or the lungs themselves become constricted, that is when wheezing or crackling can be heard. This narrowing can cause issues in the short and long term and so should be checked out immediately you or anyone else notices it.

Coughing up blood – if you produce blood when you cough this could be indicative of a problem within the lungs or the upper airways; but no matter where it is coming from it is a symptom that must never be ignored as it is symbolic of a range of serious lung diseases.

Chronic chest pain – chest pain is often associated with heart complaints but due to the physical location of the lungs it is just as likely that the problem could be lung-related. In any situation you visit your doctor if you experience chest pain that won’t go away, particularly if it affects you when you laugh, cough or breathe deeply, or if it lasts for more than a week or so.

Loss of appetite and weight loss – research has found that damaged lungs can burn as much as ten times more calories than healthy ones, meaning that some sufferers of lung disease cannot replace the calories fast enough and this results in weight loss. In other situations this can be compounded by a lack of appetite; sometimes as a psychological result of the illness itself.

Swelling or clubbing of extremities – in some cases when the lungs cannot take in enough oxygen, the extremities of the body; such as the fingers and toes, can be the first to show signs of a lack of oxygenation of the blood by turning blue and sometimes becoming swollen.

If you experience any of the symptoms above you should have yourself checked over by a doctor. Some of these symptoms can be synonymous with other, less dangerous conditions, but it is always better to find out sooner rather than later as early diagnosis might save your life.

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.

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