What Is The Importance Of Lung Care And How To Prevent Diseases In Children And Grandparents

The lungs are the largest organs in the body, they work with the respiratory system and allow us to breathe, but how do they work and how can we strengthen them every day?

The lungs are located in the thorax and are so large that they occupy most of the available space.

Through them, oxygen is allowed to enter the body (inspiration or inhalation), and carbon dioxide is expelled (expiration or exhalation).

The pollution and forest fires of recent months, as well as the recent rains, have made us think again about lung health and how this situation affects us.

These pollution particles can cause nasal congestion and cause heartburn and other complications. They can also aggravate the respiratory condition of people with chronic heart and lung diseases, who are at a higher risk of inhaling these particles.

Mayo Clinic allergist Arveen Bhasin also describes that “common symptoms include cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, eye irritation, sneezing and sore throat.”

The arrival of rain also increases the number of respiratory illnesses. It is common to see more people with the flu, influenza, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
These are characterized by symptoms such as fever, general malaise, cough, muscle and joint pain, and nasal congestion. In the case of children, the respiratory syncytial virus can also affect them, causing high fever, body aches, loss of appetite, and weakness.

It is important to remember that chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) are among the leading causes of death and disability in the Americas. CKD includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and other chronic respiratory diseases such as occupational lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension.

How to take care of the lungs of children and adults?

Pediatric pulmonologist Mario Melgar shares that breastfeeding is the first step in childhood that will help babies develop immune defenses in their lungs.

This contact between mother and child not only reduces the incidence of respiratory diseases but also the future appearance of other diseases such as diabetes.

Vaccination remains ideal for protecting the health of new generations, adds Melgar, “the vaccine against pneumococcus, for example, reduces the chances of developing this bacteria, which is the one most closely related to infections and causes pneumonia, otitis, meningitis, and other serious diseases.”

In favor of vaccines, pediatric pulmonologist José Miguel Leal believes that both adults and children should keep their vaccination schedules up to date. He adds that during cold weather there is a tendency for more respiratory infections such as respiratory viruses, seasonal coronavirus, and influenza because when it is cold we get closer to each other and windows close, which affects ventilation and this makes contagion more frequent.

It should not be forgotten that in certain seasons pollen is released in some seasons some children are allergic to it and suffer from sneezing and mucus without it being an infection.

Other lung care

Gerardo Martínez, a physician, surgeon, and pulmonologist, explains that there is no single vitamin that helps us or a magic food that allows us to have lung health.

For Martínez, among the cheapest preventive medicines, but the most difficult to obtain among the population, are exercising frequently, not smoking, and sleeping between six and eight hours a day.

For his part, Francisco Orlandi, oncologist and head of the Oncology Medicine Unit at the National Thoracic Institute in Santiago, Chile, reflects that quitting smoking is a way to maintain lung health and reduce future deaths from lung cancer. In Latin American countries, cooking with firewood and charcoal should also be avoided, as this poses a risk.

Nutrition is a key point. There is no single food that strengthens the immune system, everything is based on healthy eating habits, and a varied diet, in quantity and quality that provides the necessary nutrients for optimal health and nutrition.

Consuming fruits and vegetables to ensure adequate intake of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) helps strengthen the immune system.

It is generally recommended to include food from all food groups on your plate at each meal time. A very practical idea to make your plate look and be healthy is to take into account divisions, such as the healthy eating plate, ¼ cereals, ½ vegetables and/or fruits, ¼ foods of animal origin.