The Symptoms And Stages Of Emphysema Almost always the first symptom of emphysema is shortness of breath, breathing difficulty and an inability to expel air from the lungs every time the patient inhales. Based on observations, an instrument known as Spirometer is put to use for calibrating the patient’s power to exhale air. Of course, someone who can employ sufficient power to exhale, scores maximum in the Spirometer test, and this indicates that the person is going through the early stage of the disease. But as the exhaling volume goes down, the Spirometer calibrations go down too. How The Spirometer Works The Spirometer measures the volume/percentage of air that is exhaled and the Spirometer records this in terms of FEV1 or Forced Expiratory Volume over 1 second. The test is simple, painless, accurate and not as expensive as the other diagnostic tests. If there is a diagnosis of a lung disorder, the Spirometer points will range between 80 and 100. But for an emphysema patient who records 35 or so, it becomes a borderline case. Emphysema Stages There are four distinctive stages of emphysema, based on the calibrations of the Spirometer and they are: 1. At-Risk 2. Mild Emphysema 3. Moderate Emphysema 4. Severe Emphysema At-Risk represents the initial stage of emphysema. The Spirometer reading here hovers between 70 and 80. At this stage, the patient may show the first sign of breathlessness when climbing a few stairs. There can also be a dry cough and some mucus in the throat. Mild emphysema represents the second period or stage. The Spirometer reading here is close to 60 and 70 and the mucus will go up with coughing. However, the mild airflow limitation would not be much noticeable at this stage. Moderate emphysema represents the third stage. The Spirometer will show between 50 and 60. At this stage the person experiences problem in breathing while carrying his briefcase from the car to the home. This is also when the person may begin to cough intermittently and stubs a cigarette in the middle of a smoke. Chances are that he may recover if he quits smoking. Severe emphysema represents the final stage of this, and the Spirometer needle hardly reaches 30 or 35. Incessant coughing ever growing sputum sticking in the upper regions of the throat will make life miserable as the patient will gasp for breath even when reaching for a glass of water. Hope of recovery at this stage is almost zero. See a few images of such people – they look really bad. Get as much info on the stages of emphysema because this will help you understand the disease and identify the symptoms early on. It is important to understand the symptoms and identify emphysema because often such people are thought to be asmatic. You should know that though the symptoms of emphysema and asthma may look similar, but they are both different diseases. |
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