4.6: Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory System
This section provides an overview of common respiratory disorders and diseases.
Allergies
Allergies (ĂL-ĕr-jēz) occur when a person’s immune system reacts to a substance and makes antibodies that identify that substance as harmful. Substances identified as allergens can cause inflammation of the skin, sinuses, nasal passages, airways, or digestive system. The severity of allergies varies from person to person and can range from minor irritation to a potentially life-threatening emergency called anaphylaxis (ăn-ă-fĭ-LĂK-sĭs). While most allergies can’t be cured, allergy medications can help relieve symptoms. [1]
There are many types of allergies. Allergic rhinitis, commonly referred to as “hay fever,” can cause sneezing; pruritus (PRŪ-rī-tŭs), itching of the skin, as well as itching of the nose, eyes, or roof of the mouth; rhinorrhea; and watery, red, or swollen eyes. A food allergy can cause tingling in the mouth; swelling of the lips, tongue, face, or throat; hives; and anaphylaxis. Read more information about anaphylaxis in the following subsection. An insect sting allergy can cause swelling at the sting site, itching or hives all over the body, cough, chest tightness, wheezing, shortness of breath, and anaphylaxis. A drug allergy can cause hives, pruritus, rash, swelling in the respiratory tract, and anaphylaxis.
Anaphylaxis
Severe allergies, including allergies to foods, insect stings, medications, and blood transfusions, can trigger a severe reaction known as anaphylaxis. As a life-threatening medical emergency, anaphylaxis can cause a patient to go into anaphylactic shock, a potentially fatal condition. Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis are as follows [2] :
-
View the following YouTube video
[10]
for additional information about asthma:
How Does Asthma Work? – Christopher E. Gaw
Bronchitis
Often developing from a cold or other respiratory infection, acute bronchitis is very common. Acute bronchitis, also called a chest cold, usually improves within a week to ten days without lasting effects, although the cough may linger for weeks.
Chronic bronchitis (KRŎN-ĭk brŏng-KĪ-tĭs), a more serious condition, is a constant irritation or inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, often due to smoking. Chronic bronchitis is one of the conditions included in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). [11] Read more about COPD in the following subsection.
Symptoms for either acute bronchitis or chronic bronchitis may include the following:
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Symptoms of a common cold usually appear one to three days after exposure to a cold-causing virus. Signs and symptoms, which can vary from person to person, are as follows
[16]
:
-
After smoking, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that forms in rocks, soil, and water. It cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. When radon gets into homes or buildings through cracks or holes, it can get trapped and build up in the air inside. People who live or work in these homes and buildings breathe in high radon levels. Over long periods of time, radon can cause lung cancer.
[22]
-
Tuberculosis (tū-bĕr-kyŭ-LŌ-sĭs)
(TB)
is a serious infectious disease that affects the lungs. It is caused by bacteria that can be spread through the air from person to person. Symptoms include a chronic cough,
hemoptysis
(hē-MŎP-tĭ-sĭs) or coughing up blood, weight loss, night sweats, and fever. Patients with TB require a long course of treatment involving multiple antibiotics.
[32]
- Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022, August 5). Allergies. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351497 ↵
- Mayo Clinic. (2021). Anaphylaxis . www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anaphylaxis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351468 ↵
- This work is a derivative of Anatomy and Physiology by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction ↵
- “ Asthma_attack-illustration_NIH.jpg ” by United States-National Institute of Health: National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute is in the Public Domain ↵
- This work is a derivative of Anatomy and Physiology by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction ↵
- This work is a derivative of Anatomy and Physiology by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction ↵
- “ Ventolin® HFA (Albuterol Sulfate) Inhaler.jpg ” by MisterNarwhal is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 ↵
- “Albuterol 2.jpg” by Mark Oniffrey is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 ↵
- “Nebulizer_Mouthpiece.png” by BruceBlaus is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↵
- TED-Ed. (2017, May 11). How does asthma work? - Christopher E. Gaw [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/PzfLDi-sL3w ↵
- Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017, April 11). Bronchitis. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bronchitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355566 ↵
- “ Copd 2010Side.JPG ” by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is licensed in the Public Domain. ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, June 30). What is COPD? https://www.cdc.gov/copd/index.html ↵
- Mayo Clinic Staff. (2020, April 15). COPD . https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/symptoms-causes/syc-20353679 ↵
- This work is a derivative of Anatomy and Physiology by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction ↵
- Mayo Clinic Staff. (2023, May 24). Common cold. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/symptoms-causes/syc-20351605 ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, May 9). Cystic fibrosis. www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/cystic_fibrosis.htm ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, October 3). Flu symptoms & complications. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/symptoms.htm ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, July 31). What is lung cancer? www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/what-is-lung-cancer.htm ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, July 31). What is lung cancer? www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/what-is-lung-cancer.htm ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, July 31). What are the risk factors for lung cancer? www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, July 31). What are the symptoms of lung cancer? www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/symptoms.htm ↵
- Slowik, J. M., Sankari, A., & Collen, J. F. (2022). Obstructive sleep apnea. [Updated 2022 Dec 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459252/ ↵
- “Obstruction ventilation apnée sommeil.svg” by Habib M’henni is in the Public Domain. ↵
- American Lung Association. (2023, August 3). Pneumonia symptoms and diagnosis. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/symptoms-and-diagnosis ↵
- “Sputum.JPG” by Zhangmoon618 is licensed under CC0 ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, September 30). Causes of pneumonia . www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/causes.html ↵
- “Incentive Spirometer.pngsommeil.svg” by BruceBlaus is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↵
- Cleveland Clinic. (2022). Pulmonary embolism. my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17400-pulmonary-embolism ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Respiratory syncytial virus. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/about/symptoms.html ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Tuberculosis. www.cdc.gov/tb/default.htm ↵
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, May 6). CDC tuberculosis (TB) transmission and pathogenesis video [Video]. YouTube. All rights reserved. https://youtube.com/watch?v=UKV8Zn7x0wM ↵
-
Tuberculosis (tū-bĕr-kyŭ-LŌ-sĭs)
(TB)
is a serious infectious disease that affects the lungs. It is caused by bacteria that can be spread through the air from person to person. Symptoms include a chronic cough,
hemoptysis
(hē-MŎP-tĭ-sĭs) or coughing up blood, weight loss, night sweats, and fever. Patients with TB require a long course of treatment involving multiple antibiotics.
[32]
-
After smoking, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that forms in rocks, soil, and water. It cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. When radon gets into homes or buildings through cracks or holes, it can get trapped and build up in the air inside. People who live or work in these homes and buildings breathe in high radon levels. Over long periods of time, radon can cause lung cancer.
[22]
-
Symptoms of a common cold usually appear one to three days after exposure to a cold-causing virus. Signs and symptoms, which can vary from person to person, are as follows
[16]
: