Keeping your lungs healthy

Healthy lungs are vital to our health and general well-being, but this essential organ is frequently inflicted with daily damage thanks to chemical exposure, smoking and second-hand smoking. Keeping your lungs healthy is one of the most important things you can do.

Respiratory illnesses such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma can be genetic, so if your family history includes any of these conditions, it is important to engage in preventative care as well as careful monitoring of any recurring or unusual health symptoms.

A chronic cough can be caused by acid reflux, which can then develop into heartburn. Chronic coughs should not be ignored as they can interrupt sleep patterns and in more severe cases result in light-headedness, vomiting and sometimes even broken ribs.

One in every three deaths from cancer would not take place if people did not smoke, according to the 2010 Surgeon General’s report. 90 percent of all men who die from lung cancer have smoked, and three thousand deaths every year are linked to second-hand smoke.