What kind of testing have you gone through to diagnose your breathing problems?

1. 61

   Honest Realityposted 13 years ago

   What kind of testing have you gone through to diagnose your breathing problems?

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2. 61

   Sesshoumaru2stposted 13 years ago

   Doctors examine you throught physical exams,family history,lung test and spirometry tests.They do the lung test to see how your lung fuction and if you have asthma.Spirometry test is a simple breathing test that measures how fast you can inhale and exhale.This breathing test is basically testing the amount of obstruction within your air-path.There is also Xray testing,but Xray alone doesn't reveal breathing problems.
   
   The most common breathing problems are allergies,asthma, and chronic sinusitis(look it up).Many of these problems usually are either short ,or long term.I have asthma,but I never had to go to a doctor for it.The thing about me is,in winter alone I get sick.In the warm seasons,it's like I'm at my peak.Yeah,I never had any breathing problems,maybe because i'm still young.

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3. 84

   Barbsbitsnpiecesposted 13 years ago

   COPD is the most common breathing disease in America. It is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in the form of chronic bronchitis or emphysema, or both. A common cause of both is smoking, but smoking is not necessarily the cause: secondary smoke and asthmatic allergies may play a part. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in America. As many as 24 million Americans may have the early stages of COPD and as many as half of them don't know it and have never been tested.
   
   COPD inflames and closes the airways, is characterized by coughing and the build up of strangulating mucus (chronic bronchitis), lung air sac destruction (emphysema), has no cure, becomes progressively worse, and eventually kills its victims.
   
   Spirometry testing is done to test breathing capacities in the case of COPD so doctors may prescribe medicines like Prednisone and Symbicort, etc. which reduce inflammation and help open airways. Lung X-rays are also used to pinpoint infections, which can cause fatal complications in COPD sufferers.

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