Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that occurs when air sacs in the lungs become damaged. The disease affects more than 3 million people in the United States.

Smoking is the most common cause of emphysema.

Unlike a cold or the flu, which are considered communicable illnesses, emphysema is a noncommunicable disease. This means you can’t give emphysema to someone else, and it’s not contagious in any way.

“This article will explain how emphysema develops, why it doesn’t spread from one person to another, and how to treat and prevent the disease.”

“The answer is no, being around someone with emphysema doesn’t increase your risk of developing the disease.”

“If someone with emphysema coughs around you and doesn’t have another sickness, you won’t be at risk of developing a cough. You can’t give emphysema to anyone else.”

However, if someone with emphysema develops an infection, such as the common cold, the infection itself may be contagious, just like it would be in any other case.

Secondhand smoke exposure can cause emphysema. If you are around someone who smokes a lot, you could be at increased risk of developing it.

Damage to the air sacs and lung tissue can cause emphysema. Smoking is a type of triggering that can cause damage. It is not a disease that can be spread.

Emphysema happens when there’s damage to the walls between the tiny air sacs in your lungs.

Normally, these sacs, called alveoli, are flexible and stretchy. They expand and fill with air when you breathe in and shrink and deflate when you breathe out.

It is harder for your lungs to move air out of your body when the air sacs are damaged.

Some symptoms of emphysema include coughing.

Most of the time, smoking is the reason someone develops emphysema. Smoking destroys lung tissue and irritates airways.

But research suggests that up to 30% of people with COPD have never smoked before.

Other risk factors for emphysema can include:

  • Exposure to environmental irritants include air pollution, secondhand smoke, workplace pollutants, and other chemicals.
  • There is an inherited condition called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency.
  • Small airways are related to lung size.

Treatments and lifestyle changes can help you with emphysema, but there is no cure.

Doctors will first recommend that you quit smoking, if you smoke. This is the most important way to protect your lungs from further damage.

Treatment options for emphysema may include:

  • Pulmonary rehabilitation: You’ll learn breathing techniques and other ways to lessen symptoms and improve your ability to exercise.
  • Bronchodilator medications: These medications can help relax the muscles around your airways.
  • Anti-inflammatory medications: These drugs help lessen inflammation in the airways, which may make it easier to breathe.
  • Antibiotics: Because infections are common in people with emphysema, antibiotics may be prescribed in some cases.
  • Oxygen: Some people with emphysema may need to use a machine that delivers oxygen through a nasal catheter or a mask.
  • Nutrition counseling: Nutrition experts can help you modify your diet so that you can get the right nutrients or gain or lose weight as needed.
  • Lung volume reduction surgery: With this procedure, surgeons remove a portion of the diseased lung tissue and connect the remaining tissue together. Your doctor can tell you whether you’re a candidate for lung volume reduction surgery.
  • Lung transplant: In severe cases where other methods have failed, a lung transplant may be an option. With this procedure, doctors replace your diseased lung with a healthy lung from a donor.

If you have emphysema, experts recommend getting annual flu and pneumonia vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines, and taking measures to avoid respiratory infections. This includes:

  • You should wash your hands frequently.
  • A face mask is worn during cold and flu season.
  • avoiding people who are sick

Smoking causes most cases of emphysema, so the best way to prevent the disease is not to smoke or quit.

Prevention measures include:

  • Secondhand smoke can cause second-hand exposure.
  • Staying away from pollutants like air pollution and chemical fumes is important.
  • If you work around fumes, dust or chemicals, you should wear a face mask.

Emphysema is a lung disease that can make breathing more difficult. People with emphysema often experience a cough, wheezing, tiredness, and The breath was very thin..

Emphysema can not be spread from one person to another. You can only catch this disease with a common virus. People who have smoked in the past are more likely to develop emphysema.

There is no cure for emphysema, but there are several treatment options that can help people with the lung disease.