DOCTORS' DIRECTORY

Respiratory medicine primarily deals with conditions affecting the respiratory (breathing) system of the body, which includes the following medical conditions:

• Asthma – a common condition that affects the airways that are inflamed and hyper-responsive. It is usually characterized by shortness of breath, particularly when coughing and wheezing.
• Lung Cancer – often caused by smoking. Symptoms include excessive coughing, coughing up with blood, chest pain and shortness of breath.
• Pneumonia – is an infection of the lung. It is characterized by cough, fever, yellow or green phlegm and sometimes chest pain and/or shortness of breath.
• Tuberculosis – another lung infection characterized by excessive coughing that doesn’t seem to go away.
• Interstitial lung disease – quite a number of conditions can cause scarring in the lungs. This means the lung tissues are damaged, causing shortness of breath.
• Mesothelioma – this s a type of lung cancer that’s thought to be related to asbestos exposure, which affects the lining of the lung.
• Emphysema, chronic bronchitis and COPD – these conditions are generally caused by smoking. Excessive coughing and shortness of breath are the most common symptoms.
• Pleural effusion – this is the fluid that collects in the lungs, which can be due to different causes.