Emphysema Symptoms

Emphysema is a lung disease that causes a permanent damage of the airways of a person's lungs. It causes shortness of breath and becomes worse as time goes by. It is caused by exposure to poisonous chemicals such as tobacco. According to the Mayo Clinic, the main symptoms of emphysema are shortness of breath and a reduced capacity for physical activity. Both symptoms get worse with time.

The first sign of emphysema is shortness of breath during physical activity. Eventually, this shortness of breath occurs even when a person is resting. Shortness of breath occurs because air gets trapped in the air sacs of damaged lungs. This means that when the person takes the next breath, his lungs will already have air. The trapped air takes up space in the lungs and makes them deliver less oxygen to the blood. Less oxygen in the blood makes a person feel short of breath. When the lungs deliver less oxygen to the blood, there is a reduced capacity for physical activity.

Other symptoms of emphysema are coughing, loss of appetite, weight loss and weakness. The cough caused by the disease could either be productive or not. This means that person may produce sputum when he coughs or not. Loss of appetite and weight loss mostly happens because the sick person finds it very difficult to eat. When he eats, his stomach expands and presses against the diaphragm making it difficult to breathe. This results in loss of appetite and eventually in weight loss. Difficulty in breathing and lack of enough oxygen in the blood causes the sick person to feel weak.

The main cause of emphysema is cigarette smoking. Other causes are air pollution, exposure to dust and chemicals, frequent lower respiratory infections and second hand smoke.

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