Tuberculosis is an infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has fueled the resurgence of the disease and the widespread occurrence of drug resistance. The most common presentation is an infection of the lungs, called...
Coughing is the method your body uses to remove foreign material or mucus from your lungs and upper airway. A dry cough -- sometimes called an unproductive cough -- is one in which the coughing doesn't being up sputum, or mucus. A dry cough can...
Phlegm, or sputum, is produced when the lungs are inflamed and excess mucous is produced in the respiratory tract. The medical term for blood in the sputum is hemoptysis. According to MedlinePlus, blood in the sputum differs from bleeding that...
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the air passages to the lungs. Bronchitis is typically caused by a cold or other virus infection that spreads to the respiratory organs of the body. Bronchitis starts in the nose or throat and...
Irritation of the airways by infections, inflammation, inherited disorders or structural abnormalities can cause increased mucus production and coughing up phlegm. Hair-like projections on the cells, lining the airways, move mucus up and out of...
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. Should you begin displaying symptoms, such as coughing up blood, shortness of breath and a chronic cough, undergo testing as...
Streptococcus pneumonia is a bacterium that can infect several organ systems in humans, resulting in various diseases. It commonly affects the respiratory tract, accounting for everything from ear infections to pneumonia (lung infection). The...
Lung cancer accounts for approximately 15 percent of all cancers in the U.S., according to meds.com. Because it can spread throughout the body during its early stages, it is important to educate yourself about the signs and symptoms of stage one...
On January 17, 2008 the FDA issued an official public health advisory recommending that over-the-counter cough and cold medications not be used in children under age 2. Such medications have not been proven safe or effective in children of this...
Tuberculosis is a leading cause of disease and death worldwide, though there were only 13,299 TB cases in the United States in 2007, according to Merck.com. A bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes this disease. Most of the time, the...
As of 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Klebsiella pneumoniae is considered to be a danger to patients when they are in the hospital. The bacterium has the potential to cause several types of infections. More...
Many illnesses can cause bloody phlegm, also known as sputum. According to Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, most of these causes are related to diseases and conditions of the respiratory system. Some of the illnesses that can cause bloody...
Lung cancer is a devastating medical condition that begins with abnormal cell changes in your lung. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of lung cancer include trouble breathing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, wheezing and hoarseness. You...
The flu will often resolve on its own with some supportive care on your part. Fever usually goes away within four days, but regaining your normal energy level can take up to two weeks. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,...
Chest tightness, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, increased sputum production and wheezing can indicate COPD exacerbation as a result of respiratory infection, allergens, pollution, the flu or pneumonia. According to the American Thoracic...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that flu affects millions of Americans each year, causing symptoms such as fever, dry cough, headache, muscle pain and fatigue. A productive cough with the flu usually signals the...
Coughing up phlegm, also known as mucus or sputum, is the result of many conditions affecting the lungs. After the nose or mouth, air is inhaled into the trachea, or windpipe, which extends from the back of the throat through the neck and into the...
Hemoptysis is the medical term for coughing up blood. The blood can be mixed with mucus or be pink and bubbly, or bright red. The Mayo Clinic says coughing up a little bit of sputum tinged with blood is not uncommon and usually doesn't...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is name for a collection of lung conditions caused by obstructions in the airway. Individuals who smoke are at the greatest risk for having COPD. The condition affects 12 million people in the United...
Shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing are all familiar symptoms of asthma. Whether you suffer these symptoms on a periodic basis or ongoing, you may have asthma. However, because there are so many other illnesses with these signs and...
Often referred to as COPD for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema is a chronic condition affecting the lungs that the Mayo Clinic claims is a leading cause of death and illness worldwide. Primarily caused by long-term smoking,...
Lung infections in humans arise when a pathogenic bacteria invades the lungs. The bacteria can then replicate and spread to other parts of the body, in serious cases. The bacterial replication results in inflammation of the alveoli in the lungs,...
According to the journal American Family Physician, 40 to 60 percent of patients with congestive heart failure have diastolic heart failure as opposed to systolic heart failure, which means that the heart's ability to refill with blood during...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans contract influenza each year. Although it is commonly considered a benign disease, influenza also accounts for 200,000 hospitalizations and...
Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer and results in the common early symptom of persistent coughing, according to the Merck Manuals. Primary lung cancer starts in the lung cells and may develop in airways attached to the...
Lung cancer can develop within the airways, or bronchi, within the lungs, or in the air sacs that facilitate oxygen transfer from the air into the bloodstream. In it’s early stages, the cancerous tumor remains situated within one region of...
A chronic wheezing cough can indicate an underlying lung illness. The wheezing sound is created by an obstruction of the oxygen flow leaving the lungs and partially blocked by either excess sputum, or phlegm, or a constricted airway. The natural...
Inflammation and narrowing of the airways causes wheezing; the result of a chain reaction of sorts as bronchioles and alveoli become inflamed and swollen, causing airway constriction, limiting the flow of air into the lungs. Wheezing often occurs...
Pneumonia is a infectious disease caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites, causing an inflammation of the lungs that hinders gas exchange. Symptoms of pneumonia often resemble those of the flu and can include a cough, fever, breathing...
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs that's usually caused by infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi or other organisms. Pneumonia is a particular concern for older adults and people with chronic illnesses or impaired immune systems. Learn...
Pulmonary edema refers to a swelling of the lungs and/or the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, which occurs from a weakness of the heart or direct injury. Learn more about pulmonary edema in this video.
Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma is a cancer that develops in the nasopharynx, the area behind the nose and above the throat. Learn more about this rare cancer, its symptoms, and ways it can be treated in this video.