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Lungs and Airways
Learn about your lungs and airways
Healthy lungs allow you to breathe easily, without discomfort or pain. They supply oxygen to your bloodstream to keep the rest of your body healthy. When your lungs are healthy, you're more likely to be able to do the activities you love and have a good quality of life.
But some people have problems with their lungs from smoking, disease, or infection. When your lungs are unhealthy, your entire body and activity level can suffer. It's important to know how to deal with certain lung conditions so you can stay active and do the things you enjoy.
Our topics can help you learn more about lung and airway conditions and treatments. To start, explore these lung and airway topics:
- 7 Reasons You May Need a COVID-19 Viral Test
- Acute Bronchitis
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- Allergies: Controlling Cockroaches
- Allergy Shots for Asthma
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Deficiency
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Deficiency Testing
- Altitude Sickness
- Anthrax
- Asbestos and Lung Cancer
- Assessing Your Asthma Knowledge
- Asthma Action Plan
- Asthma Action Plan: Red Zone
- Asthma and GERD
- Asthma and Vocal Cord Problems
- Asthma and Wheezing
- Asthma Attack
- Asthma Diary
- Asthma During Pregnancy
- Asthma in Children
- Asthma in Children: Knowing How Bad an Attack Is
- Asthma in Teens and Adults
- Asthma Treatment Goals
- Asthma Zones
- Asthma: Educating Yourself and Your Child
- Asthma: How to Overcome Treatment Obstacles
- Asthma: Overcoming Obstacles to Taking Medicines
- Asthma: Overuse of Quick-Relief Medicines
- Asthma: Peak Expiratory Flow and Personal Best
- Asthma: Symptoms of Difficulty Breathing
- Asthma: Ways to Take Inhaled Medicines
- Asthma's Impact on Your Child's Life
- Automated Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring
- Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
- Avoiding Smoking Triggers
- Belly-Breathing (Diaphragmatic Breathing)
- Black Lung Disease
- Broken Rib
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchiolitis
- Bullectomy for COPD
- Cal's Story: Learning to Exercise When You Have COPD
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Causes of Hyperventilation
- Chest Problems
- Child Safety: Air Pollution
- Choking Rescue for Babies
- Choking Rescue Procedure: Heimlich Maneuver
- Chronic Illness: Help for Caregivers
- Chronic Lung Disease in Infants
- Colds
- Collapsed Lung (Pneumothorax)
- Committing to Quitting: Your Quit-Tobacco Plan
- Common Questions About the Flu Vaccine
- Comparing Stop-Smoking Medicines
- Conserving Your Energy
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
- COPD Action Plan
- COPD and Sex
- COPD Flare-Ups
- COPD: Handling a Flare-Up
- COPD: Lung Volume Reduction
- COPD's Effect on the Lungs
- Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Coughs, Age 11 and Younger
- Coughs, Age 12 and Older
- COVID-19 or Flu? How to Tell
- COVID-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- COVID-19: Advice if You're Planning a Pregnancy, Pregnant, Recently Pregnant, or Breastfeeding
- COVID-19: Caring for Someone Who Is Sick
- COVID-19: People Who Are at High Risk for Serious Illness
- Croup
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Cystic Fibrosis Carrier Screening
- Deciding to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
- Difference Between the Flu and a Cold
- Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68)
- Environmental Illness
- Exercise-Induced Asthma
- Flu Complications
- Forced Expiratory Volume and Forced Vital Capacity
- Fran's Story: Finding Support When You Have COPD
- Guidelines for Lung Cancer Screening
- Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS)
- Heart Failure: Tips for Easier Breathing
- Heimlich Maneuver for Adults and Children Older Than 1 Year
- Hiccups
- Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (Nosocomial Pneumonia)
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Hyperventilation
- Influenza (Seasonal Flu)
- Inhaled Corticosteroids for Asthma
- Inhaled Quick-Relief Medicines for Asthma
- Interactive Tool: How Does Smoking Affect Your Lifespan?
- Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever
- Linda's Story: Quitting Smoking Lowers My Risk
- Living With More Than One Health Problem
- Long COVID
- Lung Cancer
- Lung Cancer and Other Lung Problems From Smoking
- Lung Function in COPD
- Lung Surgery for Lung Cancer
- Lung Transplant
- Lung Transplant for Cystic Fibrosis
- Making It Easier to Wear a Mask to Help Prevent Infections
- Managing Cravings When You're Quitting Tobacco
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
- Mpox
- Multi-Organ Transplants
- Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
- My Asthma Action Plan
- My Reasons to Quit Smoking
- Nancy's Story: Quitting Smoking Takes More Than Willpower
- Nate's Story: Sick of Smoking
- Ned's Story: Quitting Smoking
- Nonfatal Drowning
- Normal Vital Signs for Adults
- Occupational Asthma
- Omalizumab for Asthma
- Oral Breathing Devices for Sleep Apnea and Snoring
- Organ Transplant
- Oxygen Therapy
- Oxygen Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Physical Therapy
- Pleural Effusion
- Pleurisy
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Pneumocystis Pneumonia and AIDS
- Pneumonia
- Pressure Injuries From Scuba Diving
- Pulmonary (Lung) Nodules
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- Quick Tips: 10 Things to Do if You Have COVID-19
- Quick Tips: 9 Things to Do if You've Been Exposed to COVID-19
- Quit-Smoking Programs
- Quitting Smoking
- Quitting Smoking or Vaping During Pregnancy
- Quitting Smoking: How Family and Friends Can Help
- Radon
- Recommitting to Staying Tobacco-Free
- Relieving a Cough
- Respiratory Problems, Age 11 and Younger
- Respiratory Problems, Age 12 and Older
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection
- Risks of Smoking Cigars and Pipes
- RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Sarah's Story: Dealing With the Emotions From COPD
- Sarcoidosis
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
- Sleep Apnea
- Smallpox
- Smoking and Coronary Artery Disease
- Smoking Fewer Cigarettes
- Smoking: Choosing a Good Time to Quit
- Smoking: Health Risk for Family Members
- Smoking: Problems With Pregnancy
- Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Spinal Cord Injury: Abdominal Thrust Assist (Assisted Cough)
- Spinal Cord Injury: Costophrenic Assist (Assisted Cough)
- Spinal Cord Injury: Self-Assisted Cough
- Steroid Medicine for Asthma: Myths and Facts
- Steroid-Induced Osteoporosis
- Swallowed or Inhaled Objects
- Tests for Lung Infections
- Tips for Reducing Indoor Pollutants in Your Home
- Tobacco Use Disorder
- Tobacco Use in Teens
- Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring
- Tracheostomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Track Your Tobacco Use
- Traveling With Oxygen
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Tuberculosis (TB) Screening
- Understanding Virtual Care (Telemedicine)
- Using a Pulse Oximeter
- Using Vaporizers and Humidifiers
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
- Vaccine to Prevent COVID-19
- Vaccines to Prevent the Flu
- Valley Fever
- Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
- Younger-Looking and Healthier Body After Quitting Smoking
- Angiogram
- Angiogram of the Lung
- Arterial Blood Gases (ABG) Test
- Bronchoscopy
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Test
- Carbon Monoxide (CO) Test
- Challenge Tests for Asthma
- Chest X-Ray
- Cold Agglutinins Test
- Computed Tomography (CT) Scan of the Body
- Home Lung Function Test
- Lactic Acid Dehydrogenase (LDH) Test
- Lung Biopsy
- Lung Cancer Screening: Low-Dose CT Scan
- Lung Function Tests
- Lung Scan
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Mediastinoscopy
- Nicotine Tests
- Rapid Sputum Tests for Tuberculosis (TB)
- Sleep Studies
- Sputum Culture
- Sputum Cytology
- Thoracentesis
- Tuberculin Skin Test
- Viral Test for COVID-19
- Advance Care Planning: Should I Receive CPR and Life Support?
- Allergies: Should I Take Allergy Shots?
- Allergies: Should I Take Shots for Insect Sting Allergies?
- Flu Vaccines: Should I Get a Flu Vaccine?
- Lung Cancer: Should I Have Screening?
- Quitting Smoking: Should I Use Medicine?
- Sleep Apnea: Should I Have a Sleep Study?
- Sleep Apnea: Should I Have Surgery?
- Allergies: Avoiding Indoor Triggers
- Allergies: Avoiding Outdoor Triggers
- Asthma: Finding Your Triggers
- Asthma: Measuring Peak Flow
- Asthma: Taking Charge of Your Asthma
- Asthma: Using an Asthma Action Plan
- Breathing Exercises: Using a Manual Incentive Spirometer
- Breathing Problems: Helping a Child Use a Metered-Dose Inhaler and Mask Spacer
- Breathing Problems: Using a Dry Powder Inhaler
- Breathing Problems: Using a Metered-Dose Inhaler
- COPD: Avoiding Weight Loss
- COPD: Avoiding Your Triggers
- COPD: Clearing Your Lungs
- COPD: Keeping Your Diet Healthy
- COPD: Using Exercise to Feel Better
- Cystic Fibrosis: Helping Your Child Cough Up Mucus
- Lung Problems: Learning to Breathe Easier
- Oxygen Therapy: Using Oxygen at Home
- Preventing Choking in Small Children
- Quitting Smoking: Coping With Cravings and Withdrawal
- Quitting Smoking: Dealing With Weight Gain
- Quitting Smoking: Getting Support
- Quitting Smoking: Helping Someone Quit
- Quitting Smoking: Preventing Slips or Relapses
Current as of: July 31, 2024
Author: Ignite Healthwise, LLC Staff
Clinical Review Board
All Healthwise education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.
