CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

Scott Ridl

The relatively new anti-smoking campaign put out by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) can potentially make a big impact on how Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary ...

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CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

CDC Anti-Smoking Campaign Might Make a Big Difference for COPD

The relatively new anti-smoking campaign put out by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) can potentially make a big impact on how Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease will continue to be the #3 cause of death among people in the United States, and #4 across the globe.

People have known that smoking is bad for you for a long time. Cigarettes were referred to as “coffin nails” as a slang term in the early 20th century, and smokers cough was a known problem, but yet people have been continually smoking, and the media has depicted beautiful people smoking in movies and in magazine ads.

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Scott Ridl
Study Shows Approximately 1 in 4 Will Develop COPD

Study Shows Approximately 1 in 4 Will Develop COPD

Scott Ridl

A long-term study in Canada monitored 13 million adults over the course of 14 years and found that 27% of them had been diagnosed with ...

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Study Shows Approximately 1 in 4 Will Develop COPD

Study Shows Approximately 1 in 4 Will Develop COPD

A long-term study in Canada monitored 13 million adults over the course of 14 years and found that 27% of them had been diagnosed with a form of COPD over that time. The people registered in the study were both smokers and non-smokers, but this was not taken into account during the study. Tobacco smoke was already well known to be the cause of 80% to 90% of all cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD, but this was left out since the main goal of the study was to see just how many people will likely develop COPD in general.

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Scott Ridl
How to Prevent Lung Cancer

How to Prevent Lung Cancer

Scott Ridl

April is now cancer control month in the United States, as announced by The White House in 2012. Aside from all of the different types ...

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How to Prevent Lung Cancer

How to Prevent Lung Cancer

April is now cancer control month in the United States, as announced by The White House in 2012. Aside from all of the different types of cancer, lung cancer is the ones that causes the most deaths in men and women, middle aged people and senior citizens. One of the ways of dealing with lung cancer during treatment might be the use of oxygen therapy.

The high death rate for people with lung cancer, is because in the early stages, it can be hard to find an detect. The lungs are a comparatively large organ and there are two of them, so a cancerous tumor can grow inside them for a while without being detected. If you happen to get a chest x-ray for other reasons, a tumor and lung cancer can be found. If you’re lucky, the cancer wouldn’t have spread because of the type of lung cancer it might be. Just like any other cancer, it can spread to other parts of the body and make treating it much more difficult, with a poor prognosis.

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Scott Ridl
COPD and What it Could Mean for Your Life Expectancy

COPD and What it Could Mean for Your Life Expectancy

Scott Ridl

Being diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases is not necessarily a death sentence. If you’ve been diagnosed with severe COPD, your doctor might give you ...

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COPD and What it Could Mean for Your Life Expectancy

COPD and What it Could Mean for Your Life Expectancy

Being diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases is not necessarily a death sentence. If you’ve been diagnosed with severe COPD, your doctor might give you a vague prognosis if it doesn’t look like you will have much longer to live. Even so, someone with severe COPD will likely live much longer than predicted, especially if he or she makes healthy lifestyle changes. If you have mild COPD and you continue with the unhealthy habits that lead to this disease, you will likely not live as long as someone who takes the steps to treat themselves and live a healthier life.

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Scott Ridl

Our 2013 Respiratory Therapist Scholarship Entries

Scott Ridl

We are overwhelmed by the response that we received for our 2013 Respiratory Therapist scholarship essay contest; we received almost 200 applicants! We are going ...

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Our 2013 Respiratory Therapist Scholarship Entries

We are overwhelmed by the response that we received for our 2013 Respiratory Therapist scholarship essay contest; we received almost 200 applicants!

We are going to start reading them this week and hopefully have a winner picked in the next few weeks. Good luck to all who entered!!

Scott Ridl
2013 Spring Allergy Season

2013 Will Have a Longer Spring Allergy Season

Scott Ridl

Some of us don’t need to watch the weather to know when the pollen count is high, or know that some of the trees have ...

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2013 Will Have a Longer Spring Allergy Season

2013 Spring Allergy Season

Some of us don’t need to watch the weather to know when the pollen count is high, or know that some of the trees have already begun to release their pollen spores. Many allergy sufferers in parts of the southern United States begin to see their symptoms develop as early as January, when it used to not start until February. People in the north aren’t used to needing their allergy medicines until the last half of February. Doctors around the country are already seeing the signs of a particularly long and tough allergy season.

With the apparent climate changes and winter seeming to come to an end quicker than it did in the past, we can expect trees and other plants to become active sooner. Tree pollens are released during early spring, while ragweed comes later in the spring and in late summer.

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Scott Ridl
The Dangers of Black Mold, Prevention and Elimination

The Dangers of Black Mold, Prevention and Elimination

Scott Ridl

Black mold spores are very dangerous for anyone to breathe, and if you’re not vigilant, it can make its home in your home. People with ...

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The Dangers of Black Mold, Prevention and Elimination

The Dangers of Black Mold, Prevention and Elimination

Black mold spores are very dangerous for anyone to breathe, and if you’re not vigilant, it can make its home in your home. People with COPD and asthma, as well as other types of chronic lung conditions and immunity issues, are more sensitive to any mold spore in the air, but the black molds that can grow indoors are especially harmful. If you have COPD or asthma, having black mold somewhere in your home can cause recurring exacerbations. If you keep having these exacerbations and you can’t figure out why you might want to check your home for black mold.

Black mold has been known to make its home anywhere that is dark and moist, even inside a human or an animals lungs. If you happen to breathe in enough of the airborne spores of the mold known as Aspergillus fumigatus, they can begin growing inside your lungs and cause pneumonia symptoms. These types of infections, if not treated quickly enough, can be hard to get rid of.

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Scott Ridl
First Patient in United States Gets New Emphysema Treatment

First Patient in United States Gets New Emphysema Treatment

Scott Ridl

A new treatment for emphysema is undergoing testing in the United States, after already getting approved in Europe and Israel. It is a foam that ...

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First Patient in United States Gets New Emphysema Treatment

First Patient in United States Gets New Emphysema Treatment

A new treatment for emphysema is undergoing testing in the United States, after already getting approved in Europe and Israel. It is a foam that is sprayed into the lungs and is used to decrease inflammation in the lungs in people with severe emphysema. A man by the name of Perry Waldrop of Alabama jumped at the chance of being the first person in the US to undergo this new procedure.

Emphysema is a chronic lung condition that falls under the term of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and is characterized by the damaged alveoli, which are the tiny sacs in the lungs that transfer oxygen and carbon dioxide from the lungs to the bloodstream and vice versa. The alveoli in a person with emphysema are so damaged, that they are unable to exhale the carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen, resulting in lungs that have become too expanded. This condition is caused by smoking, and about 4.9 million Americans are known to have this disease.

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Scott Ridl
New to Oxygen Therapy?

New to Oxygen Therapy? Here are Some Things You Should Know

Scott Ridl

Oxygen therapy can be used to treat a number of different conditions, but in any case, oxygen therapy is used when not enough oxygen is ...

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New to Oxygen Therapy? Here are Some Things You Should Know

New to Oxygen Therapy?

Oxygen therapy can be used to treat a number of different conditions, but in any case, oxygen therapy is used when not enough oxygen is being absorbed by the tissues of the body through the lungs and the bloodstream. The condition of not having an adequate amount of oxygen in the blood is referred to as hypoxemia. The most common diseases that have an effect on the level of oxygen in the blood are COPD (Chronic Obstructed Pulmonary Disease), asthma and cystic fibrosis.

If you are prescribed oxygen therapy, it was because you can’t get enough oxygen to your bloodstream because of an illness or injury, and it would benefit you to be administered a pure amount of oxygen for a certain amount of time, and at a certain flow amount. Your doctor will determine exactly how much oxygen you need and prescribe it to you. This is why it’s so important for you to not change the the settings on your oxygen at any time.

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Scott Ridl
In-Depth Look at the DeVilbiss iGo

In-Depth Look at the DeVilbiss iGo

Scott Ridl

Anyone who needs to use oxygen therapy on a regular basis will tell you what they want in a portable oxygen concentrator. It has to ...

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In-Depth Look at the DeVilbiss iGo

In-Depth Look at the DeVilbiss iGo

Anyone who needs to use oxygen therapy on a regular basis will tell you what they want in a portable oxygen concentrator. It has to be durable, last for many years without needing any major repairs, and be able to handle going with them wherever they might want to roam. The oxygen flow shouldn’t be too overwhelming and feel more natural, and it should be light enough to bear carrying around on foot if they need to. One of the best portable oxygen concentrators on the market that feature these things and more are the iGo by DeVilbiss.

DeVilbiss also makes a home oxygen concentrator, which is only 37 pounds, but of course you wouldn’t be able to travel and do all the things you can do outside of the home with the iGo. The iGo is only 19 pounds, and that’s with the battery in it. You won’t feel as if you are weighed down as you are walking about.

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Scott Ridl