What should some people do when they have an X-ray chest x-ray or CT chest exam that suggests emphysema? First of all, let’s understand what emphysema is. Emphysema is actually a pathological diagnosis of abnormal and persistent expansion of the distal air spaces of the fine bronchi with destruction of the walls of the fine bronchi and alveoli, which is clinically seen in chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Common causes of emphysema are long-term inhalation of various harmful dusts and gases, such as smoking, the presence of large amounts of dust and harmful gases in the work environment, these harmful dust particles and gases, which can enter the lungs with breathing, stimulate the lungs to produce a chronic inflammatory response, this chronic inflammation can cause the airway mucus glands to be hypersecreted, producing sputum, which flows in the airway and can in turn stimulate the peripheral airway nerves, thus stimulating The patient develops a cough reflex. In addition, long-term chronic inflammatory stimulation can cause alveoli to rupture, and when adjacent alveoli rupture and fuse in large numbers, emphysema can form, and if multiple emphysema fuse further, alveoli can form. Therefore, patients with emphysema often show symptoms of chronic bronchitis, i.e. chronic cough and white foamy sputum. If the lesion of emphysema is extensive and exceeds the compensatory function of the lungs, it may lead to a decrease in ventilation function, and patients often have symptoms of shortness of breath after activities. In the early stage of emphysema, patients can be asymptomatic or only show mild cough and sputum, but they must pay attention to it. If coughing and coughing are frequent and shortness of breath is obvious, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible to further improve the lung function and other tests to assess the degree of lung function damage. If diagnosed as chronic bronchitis, patients should pay attention to keep the respiratory tract unobstructed and can be treated with phlegmolytic drugs and bronchodilators. . If the diagnosis of COPD is made, long-acting bronchodilators are preferred. If the symptoms do not improve significantly, dual long-acting bronchodilators or inhaled glucocorticoids (ICS for short), such as budesonide and ciclesonide, can be used in combination, and currently, the common combination regimen is tiotropium bromide + formoterol, or tiotropium bromide + budesonide/formoterol. Emphysema is a chronic wasting disease, which is usually difficult to cure. In the late stage of the disease, patients often suffer from malnutrition such as wasting, so they need to take long-term standardized medication and strengthen nutritional support. Patients can do respiratory exercises, such as deep breathing, lip retraction breathing, and breathing exercises. Through standardized medication and pulmonary exercise, the symptoms can be effectively reduced, the quality of life can be improved, and the development of the disease can be slowed down.