Things That Can Go Wrong With the Lungs and Respiratory System

Focus on Teen Health

Many factors — including genetics, pollutants and irritants, and infectious diseases — can affect the health of your lungs and respiratory system and cause respiratory problems. Problems of the respiratory system that can affect people during their teen years include:

ASTHMA

• Over 20 million people have asthma in the United States

• It is the number-one reason that kids and teens chronically miss school

• Asthma is a long-term, inflammatory lung disease

• It causes airways to tighten and narrow when a person with the condition comes into contact with irritants such as cigarette smoke, dust, or pet dander.

http://www.whatsasthma.org/flash/hasthmav.html

Asthma Website

• http://www.whatsasthma.org/flash/hasthmav.html

COMMON COLD

• Colds are caused by over 200 different viruses that cause inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.

• The common cold is the most common respiratory infection.

• Symptoms may include a mild fever, cough, headache, runny nose, sneezing, and sore throat.

BRONCHITIS

• Although bronchitis doesn't affect most teens, it can affect those who smoke.

• In bronchitis, the membranes lining the larger bronchial tubes become inflamed and an excessive amount of mucus is produced.

• The person with bronchitis develops a bad cough to get rid of the mucus.

PNEUMONIA

• Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs, which usually occurs because of infection with a bacteria or virus such as influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae

• Pneumonia causes fever, inflammation of lung tissue, and makes breathing difficult because the lungs have to work harder to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream and remove carbon dioxide from the blood.

CYSTIC FIBROSIS

• CF is an inherited disease affecting the lungs.

• CF causes mucus in the body to be abnormally thick and sticky.

• The mucus can clog the airways in the lungs and make a person more likely to get bacterial infections.

http://www.linkstudio.info/portfolio/animation05.htm

-Click on the link.-Choose normal cell and read the caption to understand how a normal cell works.-Click on the CF cell to see how it is different from a normal cell

SLEEP APNEA• Breathing stops or gets very shallow while you

are sleeping.• The most common type is obstructive sleep

apnea. During sleep, enough air cannot flow into your lungs. When this happens, the amount of oxygen in your blood may drop. Normal breaths then start again with a loud snort or choking sound.

• Untreated sleep apnea can increase the chance of having high blood pressure and even a heart attack or stroke. Untreated sleep apnea can also increase the risk of diabetes and the risk for work-related accidents and driving accidents.

http://www.medindia.net/animation/Sleep_Apnea.asp

Click on the link to observe normal night breathing, snoring and sleep apnea.

EMPHYSEMA

• Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involving damage to the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. As a result, your body does not get the oxygen it needs.

• Emphysema makes it hard to catch your breath. You may also have a chronic cough and have trouble breathing during exercise.

• The most common cause is cigarette smoking

http://www.alpha1health.com/paf/considering_testing/emphysema_and_aat.html

http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=4215

http://www2.mdanderson.org/app/aspire/site.html

-Click on the link-Role over the various body parts to see how smoking affects your body

-Click on the link-Choose “Yeah, I Smoke”-Choose “Health” and watch all 3 situations-Choose “I’ve Never Smoked”

-Smoking can cause emphysema-Click on the link-Click on the animation