What is Bronchiectasis?

Bronchiectasis is a little-known condition of the lungs. It occurs when the lungs’ airways become stretched and enlarged due to long-term mucus blockage. If the lungs are not able to properly clear out mucus, it will buildup overtime, potentially causing infection.

The infection and buildup of mucus together cause the inflammation that can weaken and stretch out the airways. Then, it can become a perpetual cycle with the stretched airways leading to further infection and the infection leading to further stretching of the airways.

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Symptoms and Treatment for Asbestosis

The first requirement for the diagnosis of asbestosis is determining the amount of exposure to asbestos. Generally asbestosis results from more than just a one-time exposure. Symptoms are caused by the damage that the tiny asbestos fibers do to the lung tissue.

Some of the most common symptoms include shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, a crackling sound when breathing in, a persistent and productive cough, reduced appetite and chest pain.

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What is Asbestosis?

Asbestosis is a condition of the lungs specifically related to the breathing of asbestos. Asbestos fibers are very tiny fibers that, when inhaled, cause scarring of the lung tissue. The lung tissue and the lining of the chest wall become thick and hard from the scarring.

It is this scarring of the lung tissue that makes it difficult for the lungs to carry oxygen into the rest of the body. At first there may be no symptoms as the person is not aware of the microscopic damage to the inside of their lungs.

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Symptoms and Treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, is a life-threatening condition that must be recognized and treated immediately in order to save the patient’s life. Therefore, it is important to be able to recognize and respond to the symptoms of ARDS.

Individuals experiencing ARDS may have a cough and a fever (but the fever only generally comes if the ARDS is caused by something like pneumonia). Low blood pressure is common as the heart grows weak. Confusion and exhaustion are further signs of the lack of oxygen inherent with ARDS.

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What is Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome?

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a very serious life threatening condition. Basically, it is nothing less than a failure of the respiratory system. An individual with ARDS may begin to breathe rapidly as blood oxygen levels decline.

ARDS can result from an extended or serious illness such as pneumonia or patients who have suffered major injuries. ARDS must be addressed quickly or the patient can die from lack of sufficient oxygen.

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LifeChoice POC from the Patient’s Perspective

The manual is a nice and has tough plastic coated pages that will stand up to frequent use. It is the shortest one, only 15 pages. Some manuals are 40 pages long, but it is clear and concise with cautions and warnings up front. It had excellent simple, easy to understand instructions. It could have used a couple of pictures – diagrams about charging or how to hook up the straps, but I figured out how to do it.

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Uneasy Rider? Easy Rental Program

Traveling with oxygen does not have to be an “uneasy” experience. During the summer months, many of our patients at AMSR hit the road by car and explore new places and revisit old ones. Using oxygen in your car is fairly simple if we are prepared and educated!

Before enjoying some summer fun, the first thing to do should be to check with your physician. Let them that you’re planning a trip; make sure that any restrictions on your activities are discussed. It’s also wise to have copies of any prescriptions with you, including one for oxygen, just in case something comes up along the way. Things to discuss with your doctor should include: traveling at higher altitudes than normal, going to areas of high pollution, extreme temperature or humidity and seasonal allergies. A statement from your physician is vital if traveling by air.

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Health Problems or Sleep Problems?

If you’ve ever had a baby, or taken care of a baby for any length of time, you know that when they start crying, you don’t always know what’s wrong. Sometimes you try everything you can think of and still they cry. It’s frustrating to be unable to diagnose the problem, and even more frustrating when you think you know what’s wrong but it just doesn’t calm them down.

The same sort of problem can occur no matter how old a person gets. Sure, most people stop the incessant crying, and as they learn to speak they can make specific complaints, but often the diagnosis still ends up wrong, and the problem continues. A common misdiagnosis involves sleep problems, especially sleep apnea.

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Explaining a Hyperbaric Chamber

For some oxygen therapy, it’s necessary to use a higher pressure than standard atmospheric pressure.  This is called Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. A hyperbaric chamber is used to maintain the pressure and can also control the amount of oxygen present. These chambers are generally capsules in which a person can lay and receive the necessary treatment.

There are several reasons a hyperbaric chamber may be used. When a diver comes to the surface too quickly, they risk a condition called decompression sickness, or the bends. Because of the drastic change in pressure, nitrogen bubbles develop in the body, blocking oxygen and causing other damage. The increased pressure in a hyperbaric chamber helps bring the body back into balance.

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Understanding Liquid Oxygen

All elements can exist as either a solid, liquid, or gas, but very few exist in all of these forms naturally. Oxygen is no different. While water, which is made up of mostly oxygen, is one of the rare substances that exist in nature in every form, oxygen itself exists only as a gas. However, the technology exists to bring oxygen to low enough temperatures and high enough pressures to condense into its liquid form.

Liquid oxygen displays a number of interesting properties. Because it has to be so cold, it will freeze anything it comes in contact with, and can cause it to become extremely brittle. It is also a powerful oxidizing agent, causing organic material to burn rapidly and energetically when put together. Some materials become very unstable and unpredictable when soaked in liquid oxygen, detonating in some cases just from light impact.

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