Understanding Bronchitis and the Possible Consequences

According to a study conducted by Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in 2012 on non-institutionalized adults (source: www.cdc.gov)

• People diagnosed with chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in 2011: Number - 6.8 million and percentage: 2.9%
• People diagnosed with chronic bronchitis in 2011: Number - 8.7 million and percentage: 3.7%
• People diagnosed with emphysema: Number - 4.1 million and percentage: 1.7%

If you thought these facts and statistics are alarming, well sadly and unfortunately, there is more to this than meets the eye:

A number of Americans are dying every year from the ailments mentioned above. According to the same study:

• Number of bronchitis (chronic and unspecified) deaths: 619
• Bronchitis (chronic and unspecified) deaths per 100,000 population: 0.2
• Number of emphysema deaths: 9,352
• Emphysema deaths per 100,000 people: 3.0
• Number of deaths from other chronic lower respiratory diseases (excluding asthma): 129,627
• Other chronic lower respiratory diseases (excluding asthma) deaths per 100,000 population: 41.6

All these statistics go to show that in a country where AIDS, Cancer, Diabetes and Obesity are perennially on everybody’s radar, there are a whole lot of other diseases which are equally fatal but do not get the same attention.

Onset of Bronchitis – how the process begins?

Our lungs are filled with millions of tiny passages called bronchia which are filled with the air that we inhale or exhale. These bronchial passages are lined with mucous membranes which in turn, are lined with billions of hair-like particles called cilia. The cilia act as filters, trapping dust and chemicals that are found in the air we inhale and when we exhale, these cilia throw out the trapped toxic substances. During an attack of Bronchitis, the mucous membranes swell up or get inflamed, making the mucous membranes thicker. This constricts the bronchial passages making it difficult for the patient to breathe. The body then reacts by coughing vigorously in order to force the passages to relax and resume normal breathing.

Bronchitis comes in two forms: acute, when the condition lasts for up to 3 weeks and chronic when it lasts for up to 3 months or more. Then there is also asthmatic bronchitis, where patients with asthma, develop inflammation of the bronchial tubes.

Causes for Acute or Chronic Bronchitis to occur

• The causes for acute bronchitis can vary from person to person depending on personal habits, age, and the surrounding environment. Normally, acute bronchitis is caused by lung infections which are again caused by viruses, and in rare cases by bacteria. When an attack of acute bronchitis happen frequently, the patient’s bronchial passages get weakened with time, resulting in chronic bronchitis.
• Breathing in industrial pollutants found in the air, is found to be the leading cause of chronic bronchitis, among quarry workers, coal miners, agricultural food processing workers, steel mill workers who are exposed to metal dust, and others who are constantly exposed to noxious fumes such as chemical factory workers.
• However, and sadly, long-term cigarette smoking is found to be a huge contributor to chronic bronchitis. Smoke and the chemicals in tobacco that are inhaled irritate the bronchial tubes which causes them to produce excess mucus. The cigarette smoke also destroys the cilia making the lungs inefficient in throwing out toxic substances from the air that is inhaled.

The treatment for all forms of bronchitis comprises of prompt diagnosis, especially when a patient has a cough that lasts longer than usual; and needs long-term treatment. Quitting smoking is equally important for success of any course of treatment.

Meridian Medical is a reputed healthcare provider in the Bay Area. We have been helping thousands of patients detect bronchitis in time, and have been helping cure it, efficiently and cost effectively.  

Sinusitis, the Slow Killer

What is sinusitis?

The human face or skull contains four pairs of air-filled cavities towards the center called sinuses. These are

• Maxillary sinuses: in the nasal cavity
• Frontal sinuses: above the eyes
• Ethmoidal sinuses: between the eyes
• Sphenoidal sinuses: behind the Ethmoidal sinuses

Of these four, the paranasal sinues or those in the nasal cavity are prone to inflammation and this is called Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis. The inflammation can be due to various causes, generally being an infection, an allergy, or autoimmune deficiencies in the person. However, sinusitis caused by viral infection is the most common variety. Sinusitis is quite common and in the US alone, as many as 24 million cases are reported every year.

Why does it happen?

In the normal state, the sinuses are just filled with air. But in some conditions, fluid fills up in them and these get infected with bacteria, viruses or fungi. The sinuses then get blocked. Some of the conditions that can trigger the blockage are common cold, exposure to pollen, or air-borne pollutants, a swelling of the nasal lining, also called allergic rhinitis, small cyst-like growths polyps in the nasal lining, and in rare cases, a slight shift in the nasal cavity which is called as a deviated septum. Again the causes vary between adults and children.

Types of sinusitis

While there are different types of sinusitis such as Acute rhinosinusitis, Recurrent acute rhinosinusitis, Subacute rhinosinusitis, Chronic rhinosinusitis, and Acute exacerbation of chronic rhinosinusitis, the most common ones are Acute and Chronic.

• Acute: Acute sinusitis is caused by four main reasons: virus, bacteria, fungi and chemicals. When it comes to viruses, the main contributors are rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, influenza and parainfluenza viruses, adenoviruses, syncytial virus, enteroviruses, metapneumovirus etc. Bacteria that can trigger acute sinusitis include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis etc. Mold, mildew, fungi and mosses growing in damp environments are the third category of contributors. Finally, chemicals like chlorine, asbestos, ash and cigarette smoke can also trigger acute sinusitis.
• Chronic: When the inflammation of the sinuses is severe and lasts more than 12 weeks, the condition is called chronic sinusitis. The most common symptoms include congestion in the nose, pain in the face, especially when bending down, severe headache with migraine-like symptoms, cough, asthma-like symptoms, thick and greenish mucous discharged through the nose, tightness in the face, toothache and foul smelling breath.

Other complications:

Since the sinuses lie close to the brain, the bacteria and viruses infecting the sinuses can travel to the brain through the bones and blood vessels and cause severe complications as follows:

• Abscess and meningitis resulting in headache, altered identity like behavior in the patient, problems with vision, concussions, coma and in rare cases – death.
• Sinus infections can spread through the veins or cause infection by virtue of close proximity, causing various conditions in the brain such as periorbital cellulitis, subperiosteal abscess, orbital cellulitis, abscess and thrombophlebitis.
• When sinusitis spreads to the central nervous system, it can cause conditions such as cavernous sinus thrombosis, retrograde meningitis, and abscesses of various types.

Treat sinusitis in time

For all the above reasons, sinusitis must be treated in time. Delaying treatment can be dangerous. In addition to the excruciating pain and discomfort, there can be an onset of bone infections, and seriously affect the brain, in the form of brain abscess and meningitis.

Meridian Medical Group is a familiar name in the Bay Area for our cost-effective healthcare. We have been helping patients detect sinusitis in time and treat the same before the condition worsens.