In this modern age, there are countless advancements in technology, transportation and communication. But the question today is, how these advancements are affecting our lives daily? How will it affect our future generations? Statistics show an increase in respiratory tract infections, asthmas in recent years due to badly controlled air pollution, thus as we breathe it in, it becomes a foreign object in our lungs. What are signs and symptoms of these infections, how will we know this is a respiratory infection? Let’s discuss it today.
Firstly, coughing. Whenever we cough, it shows that there are foreign objects and particles in our lungs and it is trying to clear it up naturally. Unfortunately, even though we are coughing, some of these foreign particles do not leave, thus staying in our lungs, to be precise, the bronchioles and alveolus. And when this happens, inflammation will occur causing bronchitis. We will experience severe coughing, thich mucous type formation, greenish mucus. This will also cause difficulty breathing which will eventually lead to dyspnea and impaired quality of sleep. Besides that, reduced quality of life. This is because people tend to judge us when we cough. Especially during this pandemic time, thus leading to people who will stay away or run whenever they hear someone coughing.
Secondly, flu-like symptoms. Flu-like symptoms have many causes. Most commonly, these are caused by sinusitis. This happens when our sinuses in the nose are all clogged up due to the presence of foreign objects in the surrounding areas. These sinuses by right are just empty sacs filled with air, but when sinusitis occurs, our ‘empty’ sinuses fill up with mucus leading to pain and discomfort along with flu as the sinus tries to clear up naturally. In rare cases, these sinuses have very thick mucus leading to inability for the mucous to be blown out naturally. And when this occurs, normally an anti mucolytic drug will be prescribed and in severe cases, these mucouses are sucked out by the doctors assisted with a scope.
Thirdly, pharyngitis. Pharyngitis occurs when these foreign objects are in and invading our ‘pharyngeal layer of protection’. Thus leading to inflammation. These inflammation symptoms vary due to severity and degree of invasion and inflammation. The higher the inflammation, the more the amount of signs for example, difficulty in swallowing, talking, fever, whitish appearance in the pharynx. The doctors normally examine the pharynx using a scope to see the condition of the pharynx, if there is any inflammation or not, the size and appearance of surrounding organs, and tonsils. Antibiotics are usually given to treat these infections and tend to disappear after 3 days of antibiotic treatments. And in severe conditions, up to 5 days.
These are some of the common signs and symptoms many of us in this modern society experience if they have a respiratory infection. There are many more symptoms that can be associated with a respiratory infection. Therefore it is important for us to take necessary care and take measures to ensure we and the people around us do not get infected by a respiratory infection. For example, we can start with investing in an air purifier for our homes to maintain clean air for our family. We can also start educating the society around us on how to limit and reduce the amount of air pollution that we may or may not be causing. We can also start making sure that workplaces that has higher numbers of people exposed to pollutants wear proper masks to prevent them from getting infected. Last but not least, smoking. Smoking should be reduced in our society to help curb the rate of second hand smokers and thus directly reduce the amount of air pollutants around us.
