Emphysema is a lung disease (pulmonopathy) that affects the alveoli through breaking down the elastic fibers in the lung, mainly because of proteases, which are the chemicals from immune cells. In comparison to many forms of …show more content…
COPD is very similar to emphysema because they both limit persons inspiration and expiration (the process of breathing in and out). A normal alveolus has an avascular macrophage that cleans up the alveoli and protects it from diseases or infections and the blood cells will exchange oxygen with carbon dioxide, and there is supposed to be a balance between the antiprotease (build up the protease) and the protease (breakdown alveoli), however, with emphysema there is an imbalance of the antiprotease and protease. The more protease, the more damage there will be and the less protease there is, the less damage will be done to the alveoli. Emphysema and COPD can result in dyspnea ,or shortness of breath (SOB), from the destruction that has been done inside the liver. Other symptoms of emphysema include, but are not limited to, wheezing, which is also a symptom of asthma (inflammatory disease), coughing and discoloration of the skin (epidermis), lips (labia) or nails (onyx). There is no known cure for emphysema or COPD , however, there are different types of over-the-counter medications that will help manage a patient 's COPD or emphysema, such as ANORO ELLIPTA (which is specifically for COPD), bronchodilators (aid in relieving coughing, SOB, etc.), and antibiotics (help