Cigarette Smoking and the Respiratory Ailment of COPD

Cigarette smoking has been strongly linked to health conditions like heart disease and lung cancer. Other than these two dreaded disease, heavy smoking may also cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This condition causes inflammation and damages the small airways of the lung tissue and may cause breathing difficulties. COPD is usually a combination of two similar conditions: chronic bronchitis and chronic emphysema. Because cigarette smoking is the major cause of these two conditions, they often occur together in the same person. COPD damage is progressive and permanent and has become one of the fastest-growing health problems. It has become the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and is responsible for more than 96,000 deaths annually. Because of these health conditions the need to quit smoking has become more important than ever. Understanding COPD is essential in encouraging smokers to quit this dreaded and potentially fatal habit.

Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is caused by inhaling bronchial irritants like cigarette smoke, chemical fumes, air pollution, and environmental irritants like mold or dust. Cigarette smoke may increase the risk for infection because it damages the cilia or the small hair-like projections that protect the lungs from bacteria and other foreign particles out of the lungs. This disease develops slowly, middle aged and older individuals have heightened risks of getting diagnosed with bronchitis. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis may include wheezing, expectorating cough, chest pains, and persistent fatigue.

view full post »

Bromoethane Is Dangerous!

Bromoethane, also known as ethyl bromide, is a chemical compound of the haloalkanes group. It is abbreviated by chemists as EtBr. This volatile compound has an ether-like odour.

In organic synthesis, Bromoethane is the synthetic equivalent of the ethyl carbocation (Et+) synthon. In reality, such a cation is not actually formed. For example, carboxylates salts are converted to ethyl esters, carbanions to ethylated derivatives, thiourea into ethylisothiouronium salts, and amines into ethylamines.

The preparation of Bromoethane(CAS NO.: 74-96-4) stands as a model for the synthesis of alkyl bromides in general. It is usually prepared by the addition of HBr to ethene:
H2C=CH2 + HBr H3C-CH2Br

view full post »

Could Dark Chocolate Help Eliminate Asthma

In some cases of asthma, chocolate could actually be a trigger that causes an attack, but what if there was a chocolate out there that could help you battle your asthma and could even help you eliminate it all together? We may have the solution to help you finally overcome asthma. It could be something that you enjoy doing, instead of barraging your body with harmful medications and inhalers that don’t seem to be able to reach the root of the problem that is causing your asthma in the first place.

Asthma is something that we believe is caused by our environment and the sickening amount of environmental pollutants that fill our water, food and the air we breathe. Our environment is becoming unbearable, especially for those who are the innocent ones that are contracting horrible diseases. They are exposed to these pollutants in so many different forms. Take for instance diesel fuel emissions, these emissions have been proven to have cancer-causing agents in them. These pollutants have raised another problem, that problem is how deep these pollutants are inhaled into your lungs when you breathe them in.

When doctors where trying to figure out the best size of inhaler medications that would reach the deepest part of your lungs, they found that a size of 2.5 microns were the perfect size to reach the deepest part of your lungs. Now the scary part about that is, the size of diesel fuel emissions is exactly 2.5 microns. These pollutants are going to the deepest part of your lungs, which means the reason you have asthma in the first place could be that these carcinogens have imbedded themselves in your lungs. They are causing you many types of respiratory issues that may be directly linked to why you have asthma.

view full post »

Respiratory Problem and Treatments

This has become an area of concern for those who suffer from respiratory problems. The size of the average dust particle is 10 micrometers or less. This small size particle can remain airborne for days or even weeks, depending on the wind conditions. Because of the particle’s small size, it has the ability of entering the respiratory system of people. This is the reason for concern. This small, but hard particle can damage the lungs and cause long term respiratory problems.This has become a significant source of concern from the State of Idaho all the way down to New Mexico. Because of this, cities like Albuquerque have developed reports that can help people and companies reduce this problem in their area.

Lobelia consists of various alkaloids, a bitter glycoside (lobelacrin), a pungent volatile oil (lobelianin), resin, gum, chelidonic acid and fats. The alkaloid lobeline is its main ingredient and namesake. Others include lobelidine, lobelanine, nor-lobelaine, lobelanidine, nor-lobelanidine, and isolobenine, as well as fourteen pyridine alkaloids.Lobeline works much like nicotine in its effect on the central nervous system but without the addictive properties. In fact, it is a main ingredient of many quit smoking treatments. Lobeline acts as a relaxant overall and is used to treat spastic colon and muscle problems. It also dilates the bronchioles, thereby increasing respiration and helping the lungs.

Instead, ionic purification technology relies on the use of electrostatic plates to apply charge to the pollutants in the atmosphere of the home. When the charged particles pass through the unit, they are electrostatically attracted to collector blades inside the unit. Then the indoor pollutants can be simply wiped off the collection blades for easy disposal of the contaminants.Another difference between the ionic purification technology and the typical HEPA ones is that these units do not depend on fans to circulate the air, but instead use the electrostatic technology to pull air through the device.This allows the air purifiers to operate virtually in silence. They can run continuously without adding to the noise level in the home and consequently, cause no interference with sleep.

view full post »

Complications Can Happen When You Have Sinusitis

A sinus infection in most cases is almost harmless, although you do become uncomfortable and sometimes experience pain. If symptoms become very severe, antibiotics generally eliminate further problems. In rare cases, however, sinusitis can be very serious and can occur with complications.

The most common complication of sinusitis is chronic sinusitis. This can develop from severe cases of acute sinusitis. The symptoms of this complication are almost the same as to those of the acute condition, but they last longer and can keep coming back within a long period of time.

If you have chronic sinus problems, your doctor may refer you to an ENT specialist who will carry out some tests to determine the underlying cause. Depending on the outcome, you may be given a steroid spray or nasal drops to reduce the inflammation or a longer course of antibiotics in order to prevent infection from recurring. If these treatments for chronic sinusitis do not work, surgery to improve the drainage of the affected sinus may be recommended.

view full post »