Spring is the season when the disease strikes; which diseases can lead to secondary emphysema

In Beijing and many parts of the north, there was no snow all last winter, and only recently, amid the warm spring and blooming flowers, the climate suddenly changed dramatically, with biting cold winds and a mix of rain and snow lasting for many days. People with weak constitutions, those in a sub-healthy state, and the elderly and young are very prone to catching colds, upper respiratory tract inflammation, and lung inflammation, and these inflammations are easily mistaken for colds and neglected in treatment. Patients who have already suffered from respiratory system diseases are also very likely to relapse when the climate changes abruptly. If treatment is neglected, they will become chronic as the condition develops, or be complicated by complex lung diseases, and emphysema is one of these complications.

Cold

Emphysema is mostly a secondary and complicated disease. Various chronic diseases of the lungs, such as bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, and bronchiectasis, can easily develop into emphysema if not treated promptly or thoroughly. Therefore, in terms of classification, emphysema also includes paraseptal emphysema, compensatory emphysema, senile emphysema, interstitial emphysema, obstructive emphysema, and focal emphysema.

Obstructive emphysema

After various chronic lung diseases are complicated by emphysema, they generally present as an acute-phase manifestation, and after treatment they enter a stable phase and recovery phase. If treatment is improper, they can also easily relapse from the stable or recovery phase into an aggravated phase. On chest X-rays, CT scans, and other findings, destruction of the airway walls can be seen at the distal ends of the terminal bronchioles in the lungs, such as the alveoli, bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveolar sacs. Different specific manifestations also appear depending on whether the condition is obstructive, compensatory, interstitial, and so on.

Bronchitis

The most common clinical case is that of senile bronchitis that is neglected in treatment after worsening, or long-term direct or indirect smoking that irritates the bronchial wall mucosa, causing congestion and edema, and then secretes more mucus, after which the airway wall becomes increasingly thick during self-repair. The epithelial cilia of the mucosa, due to adhesion and laying flat, find it difficult to expel the mucus, so the mucus accumulates more and more, and the lumen becomes narrower or completely blocked. During inhalation, the bronchiolar lumen expands and air enters the alveoli; during exhalation, the bronchioles shrink and collapse, making it difficult for gas to be exhaled. The alveoli become overinflated, and may even swell or rupture, resulting in emphysema.