Health Awareness
Respiratory
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We must tackle COPD diagnosis rates to improve lives
While there’ i no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), early diagnosis is vital to managing the condition. Around 1.3 million people in the UK live with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung disease which makes it harder to move air in and out of the lungs. In addition, there are thought to be at least another 1.3 million...
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Lung cancer screening is needed to reverse COVID-19 damage
Lung cancer screening is more important than ever, as more patients present with late stages of the disease as a result of COVID-19 delays. “Around 75% of lung cancer cases are currently detected at an incurable stage,” explains Dr Samuel Kemp, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Nottingham City Hospital. According to Cancer Research UK, just 3%...
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People are being urged to get a flu jab this winter
With the onset of winter, people are being urged to get vaccinated against respiratory conditions such as flu and pneumonia. Pharmacists are keen to stress that vaccination is more important than ever this year as many people’s immune systems have been weakened through reduced contact because of social distancing measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic....
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Long COVID clinics one year on
In November 2020, NHS England announced new clinics dedicated to helping people living with the long-term impacts of COVID-19. One year later, people are still battling long COVID alone as they struggle to get the support and care they so desperately need. Long COVID is new and unpredictable. There is still a lot that we...
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Detecting lung cancer early is crucial in the recovery process
As we continue the fight to recover from the impact of COVID, one thing remains clearer than ever – our desperate need for a national lung cancer screening programme. A month after lung cancer surgery, Tracy went on holiday to Fuerteventura. This may sound like the start of a fairy tale, but it is not...
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Improving air quality to protect future generations and level-up our communities
Urgent action is needed to protect millions of children who face a lifetime of poor health because air pollution levels in many parts of the UK are dangerously high. Published just ahead of COP26, our latest report found more than a quarter of a million babies each year are being born in parts of the...
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Severe COPD and emphysema: when breathing becomes hard work
COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is the second most common lung disease in the UK. Emphysema is a severe form of COPD. Both conditions can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life. According to GOLD (Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Diseases), the condition is usually caused by pollutants that get...
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Keeping respiratory patients protected over the winter months
With the winter pressures looming on the NHS, new innovations are helping to ensure continuity of care, finding new ways to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and supporting patients back into the community. In a normal year, respiratory disease is a major factor in ‘winter pressures’ within the NHS, with twice as many respiratory admissions usually...
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Lung function, long COVID and the road to recovery
Behind the images of “donned” healthcare professionals has been an army of inspiring respiratory physiologists who have changed their roles to fight COVID-19 on the front line. “I’d like you to take a deep breath in… right in and…blow! Keep blowing… keep blowing, keep going, right out… just a little bit more… and… relax!” These...
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Why inactivity is causing long term health consequences
After months of inactivity, many people who have been shielding are now less active because of COVID-19 restrictions and are finding it more difficult to look after themselves. A legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is rarely discussed, is deconditioning – the decline in physical function of the body as a result of physical inactivity...
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New technique offers better lung care
New techniques to offer detailed examinations of the lungs are helping offer more personalised care to patients. Patients are increasingly seeking individualised treatments for their conditions as the healthcare emphasis moves toward personalised medicine. But in some areas of pulmonology, with diseases such as asthma and COPD that have many phenotypes, it is difficult to...
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Updating community respiratory care in a post COVID-19 landscape
Spirometry testing was stopped in general practice clinics during the pandemic because of the risk of spreading COVID-19. Safety considerations are now needed for recommencing services. Spirometry is a procedure that measures lung volumes and serves as a diagnostic tool to confirm or rule out a clinical diagnosis of conditions such as asthma and chronic...
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The true picture of lung cancer in wake of COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer outcomes is potentially devasting for patients and their families. Hard pressed clinicians and staff are doing everything they can to diagnose and treat as many patients as possible and the aim must be to increase screening and treatment levels beyond pre-COVID levels. During the pandemic, the halting of...
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Why we must tackle air pollution for our children
As we emerge from a global pandemic, we must now look to protect our children’s health from air pollution. The last year has been a wake-up call for many reasons – our health has been front of mind and we have become much more interested in the air we breathe. Now we need to make the connection from pathogens in the air to pollutants...
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Breathlessness, diagnostics and the challenges of a worldwide pandemic
The global pandemic, repeated lockdowns and the way we now deliver healthcare has had an impact on the respiratory health of the population. For over a year many tests that are considered routine or not urgent have been put on hold, amongst them, lung function tests which help to confirm or rule out conditions such...
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Pharmacies hold the key to supporting people with lung disease
If we really want to reduce the strain on the NHS, community pharmacies need to be better utilised for people with lung conditions in the pandemic and beyond. More than 1.6 million people visit a community pharmacy each day, providing a huge opportunity to pick up on warning signs for lung disease, support people living...
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Urgent action needed to protect the most vulnerable from air pollution
A recent report from leading charities reveals that around six million over 65s in England are at risk from asthma attacks and lung damage due to toxic air. Air pollution is dangerous for everyone, but for the most vulnerable people in society, including older people who are more likely to suffer from lung disease or...
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Creating a safe working environment for all
Health and safety within the workplace is of paramount importance in protecting personnel. Employees expect to be able to operate in a safe and healthy environment when they go to work. But some employment sectors have differing perceptions of risk, while other occupations are more hazardous simply because of the nature of the work. That...
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Helping parents identify signs of an asthma attack
Figures show that many parents of children with asthma are still failing to identify the most common symptom associated with a potential attack. Wheezing, the most common symptom associated with asthma in children under five, can be a precursor of an asthma attack. But recognising the continuous, coarse, whistling sound produced in the respiratory airways...
