Archive for May, 2006

Emphysema is a thinning out of the lung tissue itself and is seen only rarely below the age of fifty. When not enough lung tissue remains to carry on easy, effective breathing, more rapid breathing is required for complete full respiration. It is similar to breathing on mountain tops where breathing is difficult because the air is rarified. The accompanying chronic cough in emphysema is a dry hack, usually not productive of any sputum. Cure of emphysema is not possible, but the physician usually can treat this disease with measures which make breathing much easier.

Lung Abscess is a boil-like pocket of pus in the lungs. It is nearly always accompanied by pleurisy pain, fever and chills,

Fig. 50. Lung abscess is very serious. It can follow lung disease as pneumonia or tuberculosis, or may result from inhaled objects like peanuts or other small objects.

heavy night sweats, loss of weight and the general appearance of very severe disease. A productive cough usually brings up great quantities of pus and often bloody sputum. Any of these symptoms should be enough to send a person running to his physician. Lung abscess is a serious infectious disease, possibly following pneumonia or other lung infections, and it requires exceptional medical care for effective treatment.

Keywords: Skin, Head, Eye, Ear, Cancer, Face, Lips, Teeth, Thyroid, Chest, Breast, Lungs, Heart, Nail, Asthma, Tongue, Neck, BP, Migraine, Scalp, Eczema, Shingles

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes. It frequently follows a cold, produces a cough, a sensation of tightness in the chest and a mild fever. Bronchitis may occur by itself, or with other difficulties, such as influenza, a common cold, grippe or allergy. Bronchiectasis, a chronic lung disease in nearly three percent of all adults, is a stretching, ballooning enlargement of the

Fig. 47. Bronchiectasis, discovered usually in adult years, most often begins in childhood. Definitely present in over 3 per cent of all adults, it is often the cause of many stubborn and longstanding coughs.

bronchial tube with the lungs. It is most often caused by measles and whooping cough infection of early childhood, which weak-

Fig. 48. Pain of pleurisy is caused by the lung “rubbing” against the outer chest wall. In normal breathing, the lung glides in the chest, like a swimmer in water. Brushing against a rough surface (broken ribs) produces knife-like pain.
To and fro motion of the lung is produced by the bellows-like motion of the outer chest wall. Holding the breath, stops the pain, shallow breathing produces only slight pain; deep breathing causes terrific pain. But breathing in any way would not effect pain from the heart.

ens the bronchial tubes and invites troubles which increase with age. Most people with bronchiectasis have very little trouble, but some will cough up daily a cup or more of thick, yellow sputum, which at times is blood-streaked. This disease is occasionally confused with lung cancer and other diseases. Its successful treatment requires careful guidance by a physician skilled in lung disease.

Pleurisy is not a disease, but rather a chest pain caused by the lung and chest wall rubbing against each other. In ordinary breathing, the smooth glistening lung surface glides painlessly

Fig. 49. Emphysema is a thinned-out lung substance in an enlarged chest, found most frequently in senior years. A cause of difficult breathing, it can be relieved greatly but not cured.

over the smooth inner chest wall, as the eyelid glides over the eye. However, if either the lung or chest wall become very irritated, the gliding action becomes a painful rubbing action, much worse with deep breathing and usually relieved by very shallow breathing. It can be caused by colds of the lungs, bronchitis, or more serious disease, such as cancer, tuberculosis or lung abscess. Therefore, severe frequent pleurisy calls for the physician’s investigation and diagnosis. Many pains are called pleurisy but, unless they are definitely related to breathing, they are probably not true pleurisy pains.

Examination of the Lungs

1. Inhale and exhale normally while at rest. Normal painless breathing varies between sixteen to twenty breaths per minute. Excessively rapid breathing may be due to a body fever or lung disease, while painful breathing is usually the pain of pleurisy.

Fig. 46. Like tree roots, the air way from the throat branches into the spongy lung tissue. Millions of tiny air balloons on its branches are thus connected to the outside; lung expansion sucks in fresh air and contraction forces out exhaust air. The cycle is completed about 20 times per minute for effective respiration. An adult’s deepest breath generally has a volume exceeding one gallon of air.

2. Place a palm on each side of the chest, breathe deeply several times. No vibrating or rasping sensation should be felt, no wheezing or gurgling sound should be heard. Detection of such abnormalities may indicate asthma or bronchitis.

3. After breathing deeply several times, exhale completely and then cough until some sputum is obtained. Normal sputum contains no blood flecks under any circumstances. It may mean tuberculosis, lung abscess, or bronchiectasis.

4. Measure the breath volume by exhaling a deep breath completely into a toy balloon. Clamp and push the balloon down into an over-flowing water filled pail. Withdraw the balloon and measure the water necessary to fill up the pail. It should equal at least one gallon-the same as the least normal breathing capacity of the lungs. A total breath volume, markedly under one gallon in volume, may indicate heart disease, emphysema or other lung destroying diseases.

Diverticulum of the Esophagus. A diverticulum is a ballooned-out weak spot on the esophagus, usually in the neck level, and may cause swallowing difficulty when food lodges in it. This difficulty does not completely obstruct the swallowing tube, but often goes on giving difficulty for a long time. An x-ray examination is usually required to identify it, and treatment is often unnecessary.

Stricture of the Esophagus. Stricture of the esophagus is simply a narrowing of the swallowing tube, partly obstructing its channel. Strictures in the over fifty group are usually the result of a scar which contracts, as all scars do. The scars are the result of an ulceration type disease of the swallowing tube, possibly from many years of heartburn (esophagitis). Experienced medical attention is necessary for adequate care.

Diverticulum

Fig. 44. A diverticulum, a blind pouch of the esophagus, develops through weakening disease processes. It fills with food and may cause vomiting, choking or pain. It can be corrected surgically if necessary.

Stricture

Fig. 45. Esophageal stricture is usually a result of scar contracture, possibly caused in early years by swallowing corrosive liquid. It also may result in later years from long-standing irritation, such as heartburn, and of course, also accompanies cancer and other growths within its lumen.

cancer of the Esophagus, occurs mostly in men, beyond the fifty-year age level. It grows slowly here to gradually obstruct the esophagus and make swallowing progressively more painful and difficult. At first, difficulty is slight, but as the growth enlarges, it becomes more painful to swallow solid foods. To avoid pain, the diet is often changed to soft or liquid items, but with further obstruction of the swallowing tube by the tumor growth, even liquids eventually produce pain in swallowing. Finally, when nothing can be swallowed, and food intake is diminished, weight loss begins, and anemia, fever and extreme weakness soon follow.

Treatment of cancer in the esophagus demands relief from the swallowing obstruction. This can be achieved by surgical means or certain forms of x-ray therapy. Such treatment requires exceptional skill and should always be placed in the hands of a physician experienced in this field.

Fig. 42. Stricture, blocking the esophagus or swallowing tube, is usually due to cancer when it begins after the age of 50, but accidental swallowing of lime or other corrosive liquids also may cause stricture. Surgical correction of the stricture is necessary to allow food to pass.

Heartburn (Esophagitis). Heartburn is a sharp, burning chest pain beginning slowly an hour or so after eating and growing to feel eventually like a knot inside of the chest. It is caused by stomach acids backing up into the esophagus, to create a painful irritation and possibly scar formation which may eventually cause stricture destruction of the swallowing tube. The painful irritation is frequently thought to be a heart attack and causes real alarm, but its name “heartburn” is used only because of its chest position, and drinking milk, green tea, soda or even plain water produces almost miraculously quick relief. This relief is obtained because the swallowed foods wash down the stomach acids from the esophagus and relieve the irritation.

Heartburn is very simple, both in cause and in temporary treatment, but some of its complications, such as stricture formation, may create complex medical problems requiring skilled medical or surgical treatment.

Fig. 43. Heartburn is caused by stomach acids backing up into the esophagus. The resulting pain is felt in the chest and may become severe. It is often thought to be a heart attack.

Examination of the Internal Chest

The internal chest must be examined without the aid of sight or touch. Therefore, the heart, lungs and esophagus are examined by determining how well they are functioning. From their working, we know their condition.

Fig. 41. The open chest reveals the close heart and lung relationship. With no waste space, the chest holds and protects the vital organs necessary for life. Many chest diseases are now accessible to surgery and other therapy.

Examination of the Esophagus

The function of the esophagus (swallowing tube) is to carry swallowed nourishment from the throat into the stomach, and nearly all esophagus difficulties interfere with the swallowing act.

1. Swallow an ordinary glass of water. Normally done easily, pain or vomiting may be due to a far-advanced obstruction. It is possibly a stricture, diverticulum or cancer.

2. Swallow some soft food, as cereal or mashed potato. These are normally carried down the esophagus without sen
sation. The appearance of pain may also indicate an obstruction which is not complete.

3. Swallow a piece of solid food, such as meat or soft rolled bread. Normally, solid food can be felt passing down the esophagus painlessly. Pain with this act may indicate cancer or esophagitis (heartburn).

Skin Disease of the Nipple. A reddened or itching irritation of the skin immediately about the nipple, may have real disease significance. Such an irritation without apparent cause, lasting longer than two weeks, is possibly the “Paget’s Disease,” present in one percent of all breast cancers. It should be examined by the physician immediately.

Discharge from the Nipple. A nipple discharge has definite significance, especially in the post-menopausal years. If the discharge is not blood stained, it is associated with cancer in approximately three percent of the cases but if the discharge is blood-stained, cancer possibilities rise to nearly fifty percent. The physician’s examination is imperative here.

Dimpled Skin. Skin of the breast, with a dimpled orange peel appearance, has great significance in breast disease. If such dimpling follows trauma, such as an automobile accident, it has little meaning, but dimpling of unexplained origin in the over-fifty age group assumes great importance. It is the first sign of trouble in about one percent of breast cancer. This makes necessary the physician’s examination.

Lump in the Breast. A lump, mass or nodule is very important in breast disease and is most often discovered accidentally during

Fig. 40. A breast lump is always significant. While only one out of ten lumps is actually serious, only a physician can advise a proper course of action.

routine bathing and dressing. Though ninety percent of all breast lumps are non-cancerous, the remaining ten percent will be found to be of cancerous nature. Breast lumps should be examined by a physician without delay.
Pain in the Breast. Pain is not importantly related to cancerous disease of the breast. Breast difficulties resulting from menstruation, nursing or menopausal changes are likely to cause breast pain, but cancer is notoriously silent and painless until far advanced, and only 2 percent of all cancers are accompanied by pain. However, in the post-menopausal group, pain combined with breast lump, nipple discharge or skin changes, demands the physician’s examination for correct diagnosis.