SRS BIZNISS
READ THIS!
REPOST THIS!
If you only post one thing, post the following sentence.
Ignoring lung congestion, from any cause, can shorten, and eventually end, your life. It can cause lung failure. See a doctor, or do research on COPD.
COPD isn't a disease you get, then develop symptoms of congestion. Lung congestion can CAUSE your lungs to begin the long process of self destruction if it goes on for a while unchecked.
If you never read another thing from me, let this be the one thing you read and pass along.
Reading this, you will find information that might save someone's life, or your own.
Then, repost this information.
This information is important to know. A simple thing most people ignore can shorten your life.
I learned recently that my life is going to be cut short, and aside from a lung transplant, there's not a damned thing anyone can do for it.
If I had known what I'm about to tell you a couple of years ago, I might have avoided this entirely.
I talked about it here, this shortness of breath following leaf blowing two falls ago.
I chalked it up to nothing more than dust and leaf mold, then allergies.
Actually, that is what happened.
What I didn't know is that by ignoring a simple thing like this lung crud, my life is now being cut short, and let me tell you, I'm freaking out, as this is a really screwed up way to die.
If nothing else takes me out first, I'm going to eventually drown. Or stop breathing in my sleep. Or suffer a heart attack due to lack of oxygen. As it is now, I sneezed this afternoon, and saw stars. I've gotten light headed trying to cough to clear up my lungs. Any exertion I do is risky, if I go overboard, I could easily pass out. I literally can't get enough oxygen to my brain to stay awake. I now risk serious problems if I come into contact with someone with the flu, or a cold. If I get caught by someone close by with excessive perfume or cologne, I'm in trouble. I started to clear out a box that has been in the garage today, and it was dusty. I had to stop. I can't breathe dust, and I'm concerned about the pollen in the air this year. The doc said this will be one of the worst springs in years. I now own a "rescue inhaler" and have to have it with me at all time. I also need to pick up a couple of epinephrine pens. With the allergies to bee stings and nuts, it's now more dangerous with fried lungs.
This is now the reality I'm stuck with. A new clock has started ticking, and now it's all a matter of time.
What you need to know, and what you need to tell everyone you know, is this.
A simple thing like dust in the lungs, or an allergic reaction to pollen or whatever, can lead to death if you don't get it checked out.
If you wheeze or feel congested for more than a week or two, see a doctor, because ignoring it can, and will, eventually kill you.
I didn't know.
It was just wheezing, being an asthmatic as a kid, so what, I'm an ex smoker, so I'm wheezy, big deal.
By putting off seeing a doctor for this, it could have been halted before damage was done, damage that, from now on, will increase, eventually leading to an early end.
I have COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), a touch of asthma, and emphysema.
My grandfather died from it, my father is dying from it, I found out my Mother had it, and my brother has it, and now I have it. It's hereditary. But it's also caused by smoking, exposure to nasty chemicals, or ignoring a simple case of lung crud. With me, it's a combination of all of the above, and more.
Now YOU know wheezing and shortness of breath, caused by irritation of any sort, that goes on for a while, can kill you.
Chronic bronchitis is the inflammation and eventual scarring of the lining of the bronchial tubes. When the bronchi are inflamed and/or infected, less air is able to flow to and from the lungs and a heavy mucus or phlegm is coughed up. The condition is defined by the presence of a mucus-producing cough most days of the month, three months of a year for two successive years without other underlying disease to explain the cough.
This inflammation eventually leads to scarring of the lining of the bronchial tubes. Once the bronchial tubes have been irritated over a long period of time, excessive mucus is produced constantly, the lining of the bronchial tubes becomes thickened, an irritating cough develops, and air flow may be hampered, the lungs become scarred. The bronchial tubes then make an ideal breeding place for bacterial infections within the airways, which eventually impedes airflow.
Chronic bronchitis doesn't strike suddenly and is often neglected by individuals until it is in an advanced state, because people mistakenly believe that the disease is not life-threatening. By the time a patient goes to his or her doctor the lungs have frequently been seriously injured. Then the patient may be in danger of developing serious respiratory problems or heart failure.
Emphysema begins with the destruction of air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs where oxygen from the air is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the blood. The walls of the air sacs are thin and fragile. Damage to the air sacs is irreversible and results in permanent "holes" in the tissues of the lower lungs. As air sacs are destroyed, the lungs are able to transfer less and less oxygen to the bloodstream, causing shortness of breath. The lungs also lose their elasticity, which is important to keep airways open. The patient experiences great difficulty exhaling.
Emphysema doesn't develop suddenly. It comes on very gradually. Years of exposure to the irritation of cigarette smoke usually precede the development of emphysema. Of the estimated 3.6 million Americans ever diagnosed with emphysema, 91 percent were 45 or older.
The quality of life for a person suffering from COPD diminishes as the disease progresses. At the onset, there is minimal shortness of breath. People with COPD may eventually require supplemental oxygen and may have to rely on mechanical respiratory assistance.
More here.
http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35020
It all boils down to one thing- I really screwed up, because I didn't know. I was addicted to cigarettes for most of my adult life. But I finally quit, hoping it wasn't too late. I lost the gamble. I've been exposed to some pretty intense chemicals over my lifetime, jobs that involved prolonged exposure to adhesives and solvents and asbestos and wood dust. There's no way to know what one thing triggered it, or if it was all of the above acting in concert.
It's horribly unfair. I didn't know. My ignorance is going to cost me dearly. If I had this checked out after a couple weeks, it could have been reversed and I wouldn't be sitting here typing this.
I seriously want each and every one of you to repost this information, at the very least, just this one small sentence:
Ignoring simple lung congestion will shorten, and eventually end, your life. See a doctor.
Pass this along. Please, pass this along, so others can know.