Inhale! Exhale! National Lung Month Raises Awareness About Lung Disease

We use them constantly every day, but we often don’t think about them, and even take them for granted. You used them all last night while you were sleeping, then when you got up and made breakfast this morning.

You definitely used them when you were running into work 10 minutes late, and they were mighty handy on that bushwalk last weekend.
What major body organs do we use every day, mostly without thinking about it?
It’s our lungs, those two spongy organs, full of air, helping you to do even the most mundane of daily tasks.

The lungs have 4 main functions:

Inhale and Exhale – That’s breathing!
External Respiration – Gas exchange between the lungs and the bloodstream
Internal Respiration – Gas exchange between the bloodstream and body tissues
Helping air to vibrate the vocal cords – this helps us speak

So, it’s obvious that the lungs are one of our most vital organs, and without them, our breath would be literally taken away! From this, it is important that we do everything we can to look after our lungs. In 2018, lung disease claimed the lives of more than 25,000 Filipinos, making it the 4^th highest cause of death per capita.

August is National Lung Month in the Philippines. Since 1978, the month has been set aside to raise the public’s awareness that lung diseases, in particular tuberculosis and pneumonia are still a huge killer of Filipinos. The most vulnerable of these are people from low socio-economic groups.

Lung disease and lung related illnesses come in many varied forms, and include asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia and lung cancer. In many instances, lung illnesses are preventable with a few simple measures. The most important and obvious of these is quitting smoking, or not starting in the first place. With around 30% of the Filipino population smoking, this is a statistic that needs drastic change.

There are other things that you can do to help prevent lung related illnesses, such as avoiding second hand, or passive smoke, wearing a protective face mask if you work with carcinogens or chemicals, avoiding crowded areas during the rainy season to help prevent flu-like illnesses, and taking up exercise to improve your lung capacity.

Some people have an existing predisposition to many conditions, and lung disease is no exception. Easy DNA Philippines is on board with National Lung Month, and suggests the Genetic Predisposition Test for those who are curious about what they might be more susceptible to, of for those with a family history of lung cancer. Lung cancer has many and varied symptoms, ranging from smoker’s cough, coughing up blood, through to bone pain and unexplainable weight loss. The Genetic Predisposition Test for lung cancer gives peace of mind. Our scientists analyse your unique DNA, checking against the markers associated with the onset of 34 diseases and conditions, including lung cancer. The test is easy and painless, requiring only oral swabs. Your DNA samples will be analysed, and the results returned to you in a timely manner.