Bronchitis

Bronchitis is swelling and inflammation inside the main airways of your lungs (bronchi) causing them to produce more mucous. Your body tries to get rid of the extra mucous by coughing.

Symptoms

The main symptom is a chesty cough, with green or yellow mucous. You may also get cold symptoms, such as:

Mild fever
Sore throat
Aches and pains
Runny nose
Headaches

You’ll usually start to feel better after a few days, but the cough may remain for a few weeks. For more information on Bronchitis, you can go to the Health Navigator Webpage

Asthma

Asthma is a common lung condition that affects the breathing tubes (airways) that carry air in and out of your lungs. Asthma causes wheeze and cough, and can make it difficult to breathe. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world, affecting up to 1 in 4 children and 1 in 6 adults.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of asthma include:

difficulty breathing, feeling out of breath or as though you can't get enough air out of your lungs
a tight feeling in your chest like something is squeezing or sitting on your chest
wheezing (a whistling, musical or squeaky noise in your chest)
a cough, which can be worse at night or in the morning.
Headache

If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor so they can assess if this is due to asthma or something else.

For more information on Asthma, you can go to the Health Navigator Webpage

Emphysema

Emphysema is a lung condition that makes you short of breath and causes a persistent cough. It is usually caused by smoking. Emphysema happens when the air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs get damaged and are eventually destroyed. This makes it hard to absorb enough oxygen when you breathe. It is one of the lung diseases grouped together as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). To find out more about the causes, symptoms, diagnoses and treatment of emphysema, see COPD.

Symptoms

For more information you can go to the Health Navigator Webpage on Emphysema

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term for damage to the lungs which makes breathing difficult. The main cause of COPD is long-term exposure to substances that irritate and damage the lungs; nearly all COPD in New Zealand is smoking-related.

There are two main conditions that cause COPD – emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Emphysema affects the air sacs, which are balloon-like spaces in the lungs. Over time the air sacs are slowly destroyed, which reduces air exchange in the lungs.
Chronic bronchitis affects the large and small airways, where they become inflamed, narrower and produce more mucus making it harder to breathe.

Symptoms

A morning 'smokers cough' is often the first symptom of COPD. As the disease gets worse, coughing, mucus, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath increase, and can be serious enough to limit daily activities

Common symptoms of COPD include:

Cough with or without mucus or phlegm. Over time, the cough gets worse and occurs throughout the day.
Shortness of breath. At first, this happens only during exertion or exercise such as walking, but as the disease gets worse, breathing becomes difficult, even at rest.
Wheezing
Getting chest infections more often.

For more information on COPD, you can go to the Health Navigator Webpage

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection of your lungs. It is usually caused by bacteria or a virus, and is often triggered by a cold or the flu.

Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation of the air sacs in one or both lungs. It happens when your body’s immune system is overwhelmed, such as during a cold or a bout of the flu, and can’t fight off the bug causing the infection. When infection sets in, the air sacs in one or both lungs fill with pus and fluids, making breathing difficult.

Symptoms

The symptoms of pneumonia can develop suddenly over 24 to 48 hours, or they may come on more slowly over several days.

Common symptoms of pneumonia include:

cough (often with yellow or green coloured phlegm)
fever, which may be mild or high
shaking chills
shortness of breath
increased effort required to take a breath
low energy and fatigue
loss of appetite
headache
chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough.

For more information on Pneumonia, you can go to the Health Navigator Webpage

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is cancer of some of the cells in part of the lungs, usually beginning in the lining of the bronchus or bronchioles (essentially the interior parts of the lungs). The medical term for a cancer that starts in the cells lining an organ is carcinoma.

Symptoms

The symptoms of lung cancer can be different from person to person. Most people have some symptoms; however, some have no symptoms. The cardinal symptoms of lung cancer are:

a chest infection or cough that doesn’t go away; a new or changed cough or wheeze or worsening of an existing wheeze
you may notice you’ve begun coughing up fresh blood or the sputum (phlegm) is streaked with blood
increased breathlessness or a shortness of breath with movement
pain around the upper back, shoulders, ribs or chest

Other symptoms can also include:

hoarseness or loss of voice
weight loss (without dieting)
low energy levels (feeling very tired for no reason)
a lump in the base of the neck above the collar bone
neck and arm swelling and swollen veins.

You also may get symptoms such as problems swallowing, or abdominal or joint or back pain, or increasing weakness. Having any one of these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have cancer. Some of these symptoms may be caused by other conditions. It is important to have any of these symptoms checked by your doctor.

For more information on Lung Cancer, you can go to: The Midland Cancer Network lung cancer booklet, or The Health Navigator Webpage on lung cancer

Lung Conditions

Bronchitis

Symptoms

Asthma

Symptoms

Emphysema

Symptoms

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Symptoms

Pneumonia

Symptoms

Lung Cancer

Symptoms