Many of us will suffer from a chesty
cough at some point this winter. But Sue Churchman has been battling one for
most of her adult life. Sue has bronchiectasis - irreparable damage to her
lungs, likely caused by a whooping cough infection in childhood.
Along with breathlessness and a
cough that never goes away, the condition means she is susceptible to chest
infections. 'This year I've had five courses of antibiotics for infections
already,' says Sue, 67, a retired travel agent from Stevenage, Herts.
'It's really slowed me down. I live
on the second floor and just carrying shopping upstairs leaves me out of
breath. I have to take it easy until I recover.'Bronchiectasis may not be
something you've heard of before yet it's surprisingly common. One in every
2,000 hospital admissions is due to bronchiectasis and a study published last
month by University College London showed it affects more than one in 100
pensioners in Britain.
And researchers reported that
bronchiectasis - considered a 'Dickensian' disease as it was common in the 19th
century due to poor health care - is on the rise.Analysing data from GP
records, they found the proportion of people over 70 with bronchiec-tasis has
risen from 0.6 per cent in 2004 to 1.2 per cent in 2013. It is more common
among women - and from a surprising socio-economic group.
'We found the disease has had resurgence
in recent years, particularly among more well-off members of society,' says Jeremy
Brown, a professor of respiratory infection at University College London. 'It
could be partly down to improved diagnosis in these groups, but whatever the
reason we need better treatment options.'Bronchiectasis is a disease of the
bronchi, tiny branches that deliver air deep into the lungs.(culled from
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Please insert your comments here