Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAsthmaCOPDCystic FibrosisLung CancerTuberculosisBronchitisPneumonia
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Asthma
COPD
Cystic Fibrosis
Lung Cancer
Tuberculosis
Bronchitis
Pneumonia
Seven of the most common respiratory diseases are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, tuberculosis, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
Some respiratory diseases are acute, like an infection that will get better with treatment, while others are or become chronic and need to be managed.
This article will look at the seven most common respiratory diseases, their symptoms, diagnosis, and what causes them.
Verywell / Joules Garcia
Obstructive and Restrictive Lung Disease
Asthmaaffects 25 million people in the United States. People with a family history of asthma,respiratory allergies, or severe childhood respiratory illness are at a higher risk of developing asthma.
How Is Asthma Diagnosed?
Symptoms
Asthma can have several symptoms, including:
Diagnosis
Diagnosing asthma begins with taking a health history. If your healthcare provider suspects asthma, you may undergo a breathing test called spirometry. This test measures how much air you exhale and how fast you exhale.
Asthma Treatment Options
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)is an umbrella term used to describe two primary types of obstructive lung disease that used to be classified separately: emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Nearly 16 million people have been diagnosed with COPD in the United States,and many more are believed to have the disease but do not have an official diagnosis.
COPD is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.About eight in 10 cases are linked to exposure to cigarette smoke.
Symptoms of COPD
The symptoms of COPD vary based on which type you have. Common symptoms can include:
To diagnose COPD, your healthcare provider will take your health history and conduct a health exam. If COPD is suspected, they may order lung function tests, such as:
How COPD Is Treated
Cystic fibrosis(CF) is a genetic condition that affects about 35,000 people in the United States. It can cause both breathing and digestive problems because the disease makes the mucus in the body very thick.
While the disease can involve several organs, it tends to cause specific problems in the lungs, such as blockages from thick mucus that trap harmful bacteria and lead to infections.
What Is Cystic Fibrosis?
Since cystic fibrosis can affect many parts of the body, a wide range of symptoms can develop, such as:
A diagnosis of CF is usually made early in life because newborns in the United States are screened for the disease. If a diagnosis is not made at birth, symptoms that occur in childhood can lead to the diagnosis later on.
Newborn screening looks for high levels of the enzyme immunoreactive trypsin. Cystic fibrosis can also be diagnosed with other tests such as:
Cystic Fibrosis Facts and Statistics: What You Need to Know
Lung canceris one of the most common types of cancer, ranking third in the United States with more than 218,000 people affected.It can develop as either small cell lung cancer or non-small cell lung cancer. The latter is the more common of the two.
Cigarette smoking—both direct and secondhand—is one of the biggest risk factors for lung cancer.
The Different Types of Lung Cancer
Lung cancer can develop gradually and often with no symptoms. When it does appear, symptoms may include:
Your healthcare provider will note your symptoms and medical history, then order imaging tests, which may include:
If something suspicious is found on imaging tests, you may need further testing to confirm the diagnosis. This may include:
How Cancer Is Treated
People with strong immune systems sometimes carry an inactive form of the disease, called latent tuberculosis. In people with weaker immune systems, the bacteria attacks lung tissue. It can also spread and cause damage to other parts of the body.
An Overview of Tuberculosis
Many respiratory diseases share symptoms, such as long-term cough. Certain symptoms are specific to one disease or another. For example, night sweats tend to occur in people with tuberculosis.
Other tuberculosis symptoms include:
Tuberculosis may be suspected if you’ve lived or recently traveled to a place where TB spreads. Your healthcare provider may also listen to your lungs and check to see if the lymph nodes in your neck are swollen. To confirm TB, your healthcare provider may order a skin or blood test.
If TB is confirmed, further testing may include:
Bronchitis is a condition that develops when the windpipe (bronchial tube) gets irritated or inflamed. In response to the inflammation, the lining of the bronchial tube may make too much mucus as it tries to coat the area. The mucus can make it difficult to breathe.
What Is Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease?
Chronic bronchitis falls under the umbrella of COPD. Acute bronchitis is not considered COPD, but it shares symptoms with the chronic form of the disease. These symptoms include:
Most of the time, acute bronchitis is diagnosed with a basic health exam. In some cases, a healthcare provider may want to order a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia.
If your healthcare provider suspects a bacterial infection is causing your symptoms, they may order a sputum test.
How Chronic Bronchitis Is Treated
Pneumoniais a generic diagnosis. Even though there are different types of pneumonia, the way that the condition affects the lungs is similar in each one.
With pneumonia, a virus, bacteria, or another infectious agent causes the tiny air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) to fill with fluid or pus. These air sacs are what help exchange oxygen and other gases between the air that is breathed in and the blood. When these sacs are filled with fluid, the body’s ability to exchange gases is reduced.
Theseveral types of pneumoniaare:
What Is Pneumonia?
In some types of pneumonia, such as walking pneumonia, the symptoms can be mild and not affect daily activities. However, the symptoms of pneumonia can be severe and, in some cases, will require hospitalization.
Common symptoms of pneumonia are:
Before diagnosing pneumonia, your healthcare provider will ask about your medical history, including places you may have traveled and any exposure to viruses you may have had. They will also listen to your lungs. If pneumonia is suspected, they may order tests such as:
People who are hospitalized with severe symptoms may need additional testing such as:
Pneumonia Treatment Options
Summary
There are several types of lung diseases that can affect your breathing and cause chronic symptoms like cough. Many of these diseases share symptoms.
If you have a cough that won’t go away or you are experiencing frequent shortness of breath, call your healthcare provider. They can do testing to confirm what type of lung disease is causing your respiratory problems and may refer you to a doctor that specifically treats lung disease (pulmonologist).
Why Do You Keep Getting Respiratory Infections As an Adult?
20 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Respiratory diseases.American Lung Association.Testing for asthma.MedlinePlus.COPD.MedlinePlus.Emphysema.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is COPD?American Lung Association.Diagnosing COPD.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cystic fibrosis.American Lung Association.Cystic fibrosis symptoms and diagnosis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cancer statistics at a glance.MedlinePlus.Lung cancer.American Lung Association.Lung cancer diagnosis.American Lung Association.Learn about tuberculosis.MedlinePlus.Tuberculosis.American Lung Association.Tuberculosis symptoms and diagnosis.MedlinePlus.Chronic bronchitis.MedlinePlus.Acute bronchitis.American Lung Association.Bronchitis symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.MedlinePlus.Routine sputum culture.MedlinePlus.Pneumonia.American Lung Association.Pneumonia symptoms and diagnosis.
20 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Respiratory diseases.American Lung Association.Testing for asthma.MedlinePlus.COPD.MedlinePlus.Emphysema.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is COPD?American Lung Association.Diagnosing COPD.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cystic fibrosis.American Lung Association.Cystic fibrosis symptoms and diagnosis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cancer statistics at a glance.MedlinePlus.Lung cancer.American Lung Association.Lung cancer diagnosis.American Lung Association.Learn about tuberculosis.MedlinePlus.Tuberculosis.American Lung Association.Tuberculosis symptoms and diagnosis.MedlinePlus.Chronic bronchitis.MedlinePlus.Acute bronchitis.American Lung Association.Bronchitis symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.MedlinePlus.Routine sputum culture.MedlinePlus.Pneumonia.American Lung Association.Pneumonia symptoms and diagnosis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Respiratory diseases.American Lung Association.Testing for asthma.MedlinePlus.COPD.MedlinePlus.Emphysema.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is COPD?American Lung Association.Diagnosing COPD.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cystic fibrosis.American Lung Association.Cystic fibrosis symptoms and diagnosis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cancer statistics at a glance.MedlinePlus.Lung cancer.American Lung Association.Lung cancer diagnosis.American Lung Association.Learn about tuberculosis.MedlinePlus.Tuberculosis.American Lung Association.Tuberculosis symptoms and diagnosis.MedlinePlus.Chronic bronchitis.MedlinePlus.Acute bronchitis.American Lung Association.Bronchitis symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.MedlinePlus.Routine sputum culture.MedlinePlus.Pneumonia.American Lung Association.Pneumonia symptoms and diagnosis.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Respiratory diseases.
American Lung Association.Testing for asthma.
MedlinePlus.COPD.
MedlinePlus.Emphysema.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.What is COPD?
American Lung Association.Diagnosing COPD.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cystic fibrosis.
American Lung Association.Cystic fibrosis symptoms and diagnosis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cancer statistics at a glance.
MedlinePlus.Lung cancer.
American Lung Association.Lung cancer diagnosis.
American Lung Association.Learn about tuberculosis.
MedlinePlus.Tuberculosis.
American Lung Association.Tuberculosis symptoms and diagnosis.
MedlinePlus.Chronic bronchitis.
MedlinePlus.Acute bronchitis.
American Lung Association.Bronchitis symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
MedlinePlus.Routine sputum culture.
MedlinePlus.Pneumonia.
American Lung Association.Pneumonia symptoms and diagnosis.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
