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How Lungs Work

"According to the COPD Foundation, understanding how the lungs work will help those who suffer from lung diseases have a little bit more control over their breathing.

As you inhale, air composed of approximately 21 percent oxygen enters the respiratory system through the mouth and nose. The upper airway does a few very important things — it filters, warms and humidifies the air before it travels down the windpipe (trachea), through the airways (bronchi) and into your lungs.

At the tip of each bronchi is a group of air sacs called alveoli which have extremely thin and fragile walls. Oxygen penetrates these walls and enters the bloodstream where it is then distributed around the body to allow the body to function. It’s estimated that a healthy pair of lungs contains around 300 million alveoli.

As the body uses the oxygen, it turns to carbon dioxide which the body has no use for. This is then returned to the blood stream and pushed back into the lungs where the process is reversed and we then exhale the waste product.

To protect the lungs from damage from impure air and infection, they produce mucus. However, the lungs need to clear out any excess mucus to prevent it from building up. The mucus is pushed through the lungs using a sweeper system of fine, hair-like structures called cilia. If the cilia become paralyzed or are destroyed by a chronic lung condition, they are unable to clear excess mucus efficiently and the build-up could cause infections.

The loss of cilia also causes the airways to become inflamed and constricted, meaning not enough oxygen can get to the bloodstream and not enough carbon dioxide can leave the body."

Understanding Exactly How the Lungs Work - COPD News Today 

Smoke has CO along with the other nasty ingredients some naturally and some added to Sickerettes all on purpose to make you get your high faster and to keep you hooked. 

Smoking causes chronic bronchitis which damages the trachea and bronchi making them scarred, inflexible and unable to filter, warm and humidify the air.

Emphysema causes the alveoli to stretch like a worn out balloon and many will even break open and collapse.

Exhalation is made very difficult because there is trapped stale air that can't be pushed out by COPD lungs. That air contains CO2 and the CO2 circulates throughout your body since it can't get out.

COPD causes mucus buildup because the cilia used to move and clean the mucus away is paralysed and unable to sweep the mucus away so the mucus becomes the perfect breeding ground for bacterial and viral infections.

COPD 90% of the time is caused by smoking - the rest have genetic causes or exposure to silicon, asbestos, cooking smoke and other pollutants but whatever the cause it is worsened by smoking every single Sickerette. It causes and/or worsens chronic bronchitis, emphysema. bronchiectasis, asthma, sleep apnea, and any other lung ailment you can name which all exacerbate(make worse) the others. 

The one and only treatment that has been found to slow the progression of this combination of diseases and prolong life expectancy is Smoking Cessation. Smoking with COPD is suicide one puff at a time - slow, painful, expensive, and debilitating.

I choose LIFE!

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3 Replies
Barbara145
Member

I choose life too, Thomas.  Have a wonderful day.

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elvan
Member

Thomas,

Thanks for yet another great post, this is my favorite line:

     "Smoking with COPD is suicide one puff at a time - slow, painful, expensive, and debilitating."

I would just add that if you don't have COPD now and you keep smoking, you increas the chances of developing it substantially...remember it is irreversible.

Ellen

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Strudel
Member

Thanks Thomas!