Bloated lungs – causes, treatment and prevention

A bloated lung, or a bloating of the fine air sacs, alveoli is caused by chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma or pulmonary emphysema. The symptom of the bloated lungs is a so-called obstructive ventilation disorder. The gas exchange between the alveoli and the fine blood vessels for supplying the organism with oxygen either no longer works at all or only to a limited extent due to overinflation.

Due to the insufficient supply of oxygen, an overinflated lung sooner or later affects all organs and organ systems. If the wall structure of the alveoli is completely destroyed, then the doctor only sees the lung on the X-ray as a large balloon, which would then be the full clinical picture of pulmonary emphysema. COPD is slowly developing into a widespread disease. The German Society for Pulmonology assumes that 3 to 5 million Germans suffer from various degrees of overinflated lungs.

Causes

There are various causes that can lead to an obstruction and thus to an overinflated lung. All substances that have the potential to permanently irritate the sensitive bronchial mucosa can cause COPD. More than 90 percent of all patients with a distended lung are either active cigarette smokers or ex-smokers. When someone quits smoking , bloated lungs can still appear years later.In smokers, the path to bloated lungs initially leads to chronic bronchitis due to paralysis of the cilia, which is often perceived by those affected as the so-called smoker ‘s cough . These constant coughing attacks often appear in the early hours and often last for years. At this point, a bloated lung could still be averted if smoking is stopped. Otherwise the obstructive component occurs, which makes the pathomechanism irreversible. Fine dust, irritants or certain chemicals in the work environment can also be the cause of a swollen lung. Rare hereditary diseases can also lead to COPD.

Diseases

• COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

• Chronic bronchitis

• Bronchial asthma

• pulmonary emphysema

• right heart failure

When to the doctor?

A doctor should be consulted immediately if symptoms suggest that a distended lung is present. Problems with the lungs can trigger a life-threatening condition that needs to be evaluated and treated. The swollen lungs can cause the vessel wall to overstretch and tear.

Breathing disorders set in. In the further course there is a failure of breathing. If you stop breathing or stop breathing for several seconds, call an ambulance. In addition, first aid measures such as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation must be initiated. If the chest swells without another obvious cause, see a doctor.

If you experience breathing difficulties as well as breathing pain, you should also consult a doctor. Unusual breathing sounds, persistent coughing or cardiac arrhythmia should be checked by a medical professional.

The distended lungs often lead to other symptoms. A lack of oxygen occurs in the organism, which can lead to blue lips, fingers or toes. The heart works faster to compensate for the deficiency. Nevertheless, the person concerned has the feeling of undersupply. If unusually severe breathing problems occur in everyday life after slightly strenuous activities such as climbing stairs, carrying a shopping bag or walking lightly, the complaints should be presented to a doctor.

Diagnosis and course

The disease typically develops in different stages. In addition to coughing and sputum , the main symptoms include reduced physical resilience due to the lack of oxygen. In advanced cases, it is easy for the doctor to recognize externally by cyanosis, the blue discoloration of the lips and fingernails . Repeated exacerbations with a tendency to infection repeatedly require hospital admissions or even treatment in an intensive care unit.

The heart muscle thickens from the increased effort of constantly having to pump blood through the stiff lungs. The suspected diagnosis is already based on the anamnesis and symptom description. Further diagnostics confirm the suspicion of a bloated lung. Bloated lungs are one of the chronic lung diseases with a mostly protracted course.

Obstructive pulmonary diseases never tend to heal spontaneously. The lung function test, spirometry, together with a blood test of blood gases and inflammation parameters, is the most important diagnostic criterion for the diagnosis and follow-up of an inflated lung. Listening with a stethoscope, auscultation, is used to detect breathing sounds .

Complications

A swollen lung, also known as pulmonary emphysema in medical jargon, is characterized by the fact that too much air accumulates in the alveoli (in German: alveoli) so that their wall overstretches and they can eventually burst. Damaged air sacs usually fuse to form an enlarged air sac. This creates a single sluggish alveoli instead of a large number of alveoli, which means that less oxygen gets from the lungs into the blood during gas exchange. This change cannot be undone.

Bloated lungs are most often caused by smoking. The nicotine causes an increased susceptibility to infections, which means that the air sacs in the lungs are more easily damaged, which can then cause them to overinflate. A wide variety of complications can occur with an overinflated lung. These can be acute or chronic. One of the acute complications is the increased susceptibility to infection of the lungs.

On the other hand, a so-called pneumothorax can form. This occurs when air collects in the gap between the lungs and chest, which escapes due to the bursting of the air sacs in the lungs. As a result, the volume of the lung suddenly decreases and it collapses. Typical symptoms are severe pain, coughing and shortness of breath. Long-term complications mainly affect the heart. Overinflation of the lungs also increases the blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation. The right heart has to raise an increased pressure, which it pumps into the lungs. This leads to permanent stress and eventually to cardiac insufficiency .

Treatment and therapy

If a swollen lung is irreversible, then the symptoms accompany a patient for the rest of their life, which means significant health problems and does not exactly make therapy easy. With every form of COPD, the prognosis and course depend very much on the diagnosis made by a specialist as early as possible. The most important therapeutic step is always to eliminate the causative factors for an overinflated lung.

So smokers would be advised to stop smoking immediately, workers to avoid polluted air with exposure to dust. Various classes of substances have been established for the treatment of bloated lungs, which are used individually or in combination in practices or clinics. So-called beta-2 sympathomimetics have a relaxing effect on the fine muscles of the respiratory tract and thus suppress the symptoms of coughing and phlegm.

In the case of a tendency to inflammation with shortness of breath , cortisone is often administered in high doses, which in turn can lead to considerable side effects as long-term medication. Theophylline has established itself in COPD therapy as a well-tolerated active ingredient that expands the bronchi over the long term and thus makes breathing easier for the patient. In the case of right-sided heart failure, patients often receive additional oxygen, which can also be inhaled during the day or on the go using a portable gas bottle and nasal mask. The amount of oxygen must be precisely determined for each individual case. A precisely coordinated amount of exercise is also part of every COPD patient to ensure the success of the therapy.

Outlook and prognosis

The prognosis of a bloated lung depends on the other symptoms and the cause. If you have a cold, it usually heals completely within a few weeks. Therapy is accompanied with medication and rest. Since the resilience of the organism is reduced, the patient should take it easy. This supports the healing process and in most cases heals completely after just a few weeks.

The distended lungs can form from inhaling toxic substances. Once this is stopped, spontaneous healing occurs. If a lung disease is present, the course of the disease is usually difficult.

If pneumonia is the cause, it takes some time for most people to heal completely. In difficult cases, chronic pneumonia develops. In this case, the symptoms and thus the bloated lungs last for a long period of time.

If the lungs are dysfunctional, the prognosis depends on the disorder. If the tissue is attacked or destroyed, the condition is irreparable. In this case, the symptoms can only disappear with a new lung transplant. If the bloated lungs are a side effect of medication, they will go away after you stop taking them.

Prevention

Since inhalative smoking is the most common cause of bloated lungs, smoking, even in passive form, should be avoided as a preventative measure. Adolescents should not start smoking in the first place, because the foundation stone for later COPD disease is often laid at this early age. In the area of ​​occupational safety, wearing certified respirators against fine dust is already sufficient to prevent COPD. Patients who are already affected should take advantage of their health insurance company’s special health programs for self-management in order to prevent a further possibly serious course of the disease.