Hundreds of millions of people suffer every day from lung diseases, and
they cause almost 20% of all deaths in the world. Increased awareness
about lung diseases is vital, because they are killing more and more
people every year and account for a socioeconomic burden of €102 billion
due to health care costs and lost working days in Europe alone. The
‘Big Five' lung disorders are lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and asthma. The impact of lung diseases remains as large today as it was at the turn of the century and is likely to remain so for several decades. Each year in the EU, one in eight of all deaths are due to respiratory diseases and lung conditions cause at least 6 million hospital admissions.
In 2010 was started very ambitious initiative YEAR OF THE LUNG. YEAR OF THE LUNG was the most important and the mostsuccessful campaign which emphasized the importance of public awareness about respiratory diseases. Speaking at the European Launch, Prof Nikos Siafakas, ERS President 2010, said that the most respiratory diseases are both preventable and treatable, treatment however is very costly, and effective prevention policies in the EU and worldwide are severely lacking”.
The "Healthy Lungs for Life" initiative will be launched in 2014. The concept behind this initiative is to develop a long-term health awareness campaign that will speak not only to those already affected by lung disease, in order to improve their quality of life, but also to those who may be affected in the future. The objective is to focus on prevention and public education, to try and reduce the burden of lung disease on society, and to use the ERS congress as the driving force behind the campaign. This year, in 2014, the theme for Healthy Lungs for Life will be Clean Air. The air that we breathe each day has a massive impact on our lungs, the first internal organ it comes in contact with.
Dear Respiratory friends, we are happy to launch LUNGUAGE and ReSpublic: two new Respiratory Resources. Here we will share all new information about all respiratory!
We are encouraging everybody to share with us all relevant respiratory resources, because LUNGUAGE and ReSpublic will be the First Free open sources of Respiratory information for Health care professionals, patients and all public interested in lung health!
Dear Respiratory friends, we are happy to launch LUNGUAGE and ReSpublic: two new Respiratory Resources. Here we will share all new information about all respiratory!
We are encouraging everybody to share with us all relevant respiratory resources, because LUNGUAGE and ReSpublic will be the First Free open sources of Respiratory information for Health care professionals, patients and all public interested in lung health!
We are happy to present World Spirometry Day 2012!!!
Respiratory Decade will participate actively in promotion and organization of this Global event! World Spirometry Day is a very important Day for all persons with respiratory conditions and for doctors! Its one more chance to make visible all Respiratory Non-Communicable Diseases!
World Spirometry Day (WSD) will take place again on 27 June, 2012 - the Olympic year.
The campaign will focus on sport and the lungs, and resources will be provided for all those organising testing events related to the Olympic theme. Testing will not be limited to this day alone and participants are encouraged to capitalise on the Olympics and hold events on the run up to the games on July 27 and beyond.
Lung champions is a campaign which is promoted by European Lung Foundation. You can nominate Lung Champions who can help raise awareness of the importance of activity and sport for lung health.Lung Championscan be young athletes with cystic fibrosis, a COPD patient taking part in a pulmonary rehabilitation programme or an Olympian with asthma.
We want to remind you about success of First World Spirometry Day 2010! It was inspired by Professor Nikos SIAFAKAS President of European Respiratory Society: “Increased awareness about lung health is vital, and by taking a simple and painless test that only takes a few minutes to perform, everybody can find out about the state of his lungs” .
Today I am happy to present guest post from Heather Von St. James. Heather is a 5-year survivor of malignant mesothelioma. Heather will offer inspiration to cancer patients in efforts to broaden a sense of optimism, awareness, and support!
Thank you Heather from all!
The lungs are often a surprisingly overlooked part of the body. The heart, brain and digestive system seem to get more publicity, but the lungs, which take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide, are equally crucial to life. Some of the things that impact the lungs are not in our control, like exposure to pollutants and allergens, including asbestos. However there are some things people can do to contribute to lung health.
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. In the lungs mesothelioma might begin in the pleura, or the tissue that lines and protects the outside of the lungs and the inside of the chest. The tissue is also called mesothelium, which gives its name to this form of cancer. The early symptoms of mesothelioma are like the symptoms of other lung diseases: people experience pain in the chest, find it hard to breathe, lose appetite and weight, and might cough up sputum streaked with blood. A biopsy will be performed to make sure the problem is mesothelioma. Treatment can include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and forms of immunotherapy. Each year 3,000 new cases are diagnosed, but mesothelioma prognosis isn't good: 5 to 10% of mesothelioma patients are alive five years after their diagnosis.
Other Lung Diseases
Asthma manifests as periodic attacks of wheezing and breathlessness. This is caused when the bronchi and bronchioles, or the lung’s airways, spasm and swell and mucus becomes thick enough to close off air to the lungs. Allergens and irritants like pollen, dust, animal hair, molds, foods, and smoke often cause asthma. Aspirin and other drugs can cause some asthma attacks. Asthma can also be brought on by exercise and stress, so it’s best to avoid these triggers.
Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, viruses or in the case of pneumocystis carinii, a one-celled organism. The common symptoms of all types include shortness of breath, chest pain, cough which may or may not bring up blood, fatigue and fever. Bronchiectasis is when the airways of the lungs become blocked and accumulate mucus, bronchiolitis is an inflammation of the smallest airways in the lungs and mostly affects young children, and bronchitis, both acute and chromic, are an inflammation of the lung’s bronchial tubes in general.
Prevention
The best thing one can do for the health of one’s lungs is to not smoke, and avoid polluted areas, allergens and other irritants if at all possible. Other things that promote the health of the lungs are antioxidants like vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotenes and extracts from flavonoids like grape seed, pine bark, green tea and ginkgo biloba.
