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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:
- Acute Bronchitis
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- Allergy Shots for Asthma
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Genetic Testing
- Altitude Sickness
- Anthrax
- Asbestos and Lung Cancer
- Assessing Your Asthma Knowledge
- Asthma Action Plan
- Asthma Action Plan: Green Zone
- Asthma Action Plan: Red Zone
- Asthma Action Plan: Yellow 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 Older Adults: Managing Treatment
- Asthma in Teens and Adults
- Asthma Treatment Goals
- Asthma Triggers
- Asthma: Controlling Cockroaches
- 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)
- Barking Coughs in Children
- Belly-Breathing (Diaphragmatic Breathing)
- Black Lung Disease
- Breathing Smoke or Fumes
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchiolitis
- Bullectomy for COPD
- Cal's Story: Learning to Exercise When You Have COPD
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Caring for Your Baby's Nasal Cannula
- Challenge Tests for Asthma
- Chest Problems
- Choking Rescue for Babies
- Choking Rescue Procedure: Heimlich Maneuver
- Chronic Lung Disease in Infants
- Chronic Lung Disease in Infants: Caring for Your Baby
- Classification of Asthma
- Colds
- Collapsed Lung (Pneumothorax)
- Comforting a Child Who Has a Respiratory Illness
- Comparing Nicotine Replacement Methods
- Complications of Whooping Cough
- Conserving Energy When You Have COPD or Other Chronic Conditions
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
- COPD Action Plan
- COPD and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Deficiency
- COPD and Sex
- COPD Flare-Ups
- COPD: Handling a Flare-Up
- COPD: Help for Caregivers
- COPD: Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
- COPD's Effect on the Lungs
- Cough Symptoms in Children
- Coughs, Age 11 and Younger
- Coughs, Age 12 and Older
- Croup
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Cystic Fibrosis and Exercise
- Cystic Fibrosis Carrier Screening
- Cystic Fibrosis: Ways to Clear the Airways
- Difference Between the Flu and a Cold
- Dry Coughs
- Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68)
- Environmental Illness
- Epinephrine for Croup
- Exercise-Induced Asthma
- Flu Complications
- Flu Vaccine Myths
- Flu: Signs of Bacterial Infection
- Forced Expiratory Volume and Forced Vital Capacity
- Fractured Rib
- Fran's Story: Finding Support When You Have COPD
- Glucocorticoids for Croup
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)
- Hantavirus: Advice for Hikers and Campers
- Hantavirus: Cleaning Up Rodent-Infested Areas
- Hantavirus: Keeping Rodent Numbers Down
- Hantavirus: Questions Your Doctor May Ask
- Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia (Nosocomial Pneumonia)
- Heart Failure: Avoiding Colds and Flu
- Heart Failure: Tips for Easier Breathing
- Heimlich Maneuver for Adults and Children Older Than 1 Year
- Hiccups
- How Asthma Develops in Children
- How Cystic Fibrosis Affects Breathing and the Lungs
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Hyperventilation
- Influenza (Seasonal Flu)
- Inhaled corticosteroids for asthma
- Inhaled quick-relief medicines for asthma
- Interactive Tool: Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?
- Interactive Tool: How Does Smoking Affect Your Lifespan?
- Interactive Tool: How Much Is Smoking Costing You?
- Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever
- Living With More Than One Health Problem
- Lung Cancer
- Lung Cancer Screening
- Lung Function in COPD
- Lung Surgery for Lung Cancer
- Lung Transplant for Cystic Fibrosis
- Medical History for Pneumonia
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
- Monitoring Asthma Treatment
- Monitoring During Anesthesia
- Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (TB)
- Near-Drowning
- Ned's Story: Quitting Smoking
- Nicotine Tests
- Object Stuck in a Child's Airway
- Object Stuck in the Throat
- Occupational Asthma
- Omalizumab for Asthma
- Oral Breathing Devices for Snoring
- Organ Transplant
- Oxygen Therapy
- Oxygen Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Paradoxical Embolism
- Physical Exam for Pneumonia
- Physical Therapy
- Pleural Effusion
- Pleurisy
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13): What You Need to Know
- Pneumocystis Pneumonia and AIDS
- Pneumonia
- Postural Drainage and Chest Percussion
- Premature Infant: Treating Underdeveloped Lungs
- Pressure Injuries From Scuba Diving
- Preventing Choking
- Productive Coughs
- Pulmonary (Lung) Nodules
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Quick Tips: What to Do When You Crave Nicotine
- Quitting Smoking
- Radon
- Rapid Sputum Tests for Tuberculosis (TB)
- 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
- Rodents That Carry Hantavirus
- RSV: Risk of Complications
- Sarah's Story: Dealing With the Emotions From COPD
- Sarcoidosis
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
- Sleep Apnea
- Sleep Apnea: Fiber-Optic Pharyngoscopy
- Sleep Apnea: Less Common Surgeries
- Sleep Apnea: Oral Devices
- Smallpox
- Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Spinal Cord Injury: Assisted Cough
- Spinal Cord Injury: Breathing Practice
- Spirometry Tests for COPD
- Stages of Sleep Apnea
- Steroid Medicine for Asthma: Myths and Facts
- Steroid-Induced Osteoporosis
- Swallowed or Inhaled Objects
- Syphilis: Gummata
- Tests for Lung Infections
- Thrombolytic Medicines for Pulmonary Embolism
- Tips for Reducing Indoor Pollutants in Your Home
- Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring
- Tracheostomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Track Your Smoking
- Traveling With Oxygen
- Treating Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
- Treating Tuberculosis in Children
- Treating Tuberculosis in People With HIV
- Treating Tuberculosis in Pregnant Women
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Tuberculosis in Infants and Children
- Tuberculosis in People With HIV
- Tuberculosis Screening
- Types of Chest Injuries
- Using Vaporizers and Humidifiers
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty for Snoring
- Valley Fever
- Ventilation Options for COPD
- Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
- Angiogram
- Angiogram of the Lung
- Arterial Blood Gases
- Bronchoscopy
- Carbon Dioxide
- Carbon Monoxide (CO)
- Chest X-Ray
- Cold Agglutinins
- Computed Tomography (CT) Scan of the Body
- Home Lung Function Test
- Lung Biopsy
- Lung Cancer Screening: Low-Dose CT Scan
- Lung Function Tests
- Lung VQ Scan
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Mediastinoscopy
- Sleep Studies
- Sputum Culture
- Sputum Cytology
- Thoracentesis
- Tuberculin Skin Test
- Anticholinergics for Asthma
- Anticholinergics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Beta2-Agonists for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Corticosteroids for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Inhaled Corticosteroids for Long-Term Control of Asthma
- Leukotriene Pathway Modifiers for Long-Term Control of Asthma
- Long-Acting Beta2-Agonists for Long-Term Control of Asthma
- Methylxanthines for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Short-Acting Beta2-Agonists for Quick Relief of Asthma Symptoms
- Systemic Corticosteroids for Relief During Asthma Attacks
- Theophylline for Long-Term Control of Asthma
- Varenicline (Chantix) for Quitting Smoking
- Advance Care Planning: Should I Receive CPR and Life Support?
- Allergies: Should I Take Allergy Shots?
- Bronchitis: Should I Take Antibiotics?
- Flu Vaccines: Should I Get a Flu Vaccine?
- Flu: Should I Take Antiviral Medicine?
- 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
- Asthma in Children: Helping a Child Use a Metered-Dose Inhaler and Mask Spacer
- Asthma: Identifying 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: 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: Learning to Breathe Easier
- COPD: Using Exercise to Feel Better
- Croup: Managing a Croup Attack
- Cystic Fibrosis: Helping Your Child Cough Up Mucus
- Oxygen Therapy: Using Oxygen at Home
- Quitting Smoking: Coping With Cravings and Withdrawal
- Quitting Smoking: Getting Support
- Quitting Smoking: Helping Someone Quit
- Quitting Smoking: Preventing Slips or Relapses
Current as of: October 9, 2017
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Martin J. Gabica, MD - Family Medicine