Keeping your employees in the best of health by helping them cover the costs of lungs and other diseases Lungs are part of a complex system, expanding and relaxing thousands of times each day to bring in oxygen and send out carbon dioxide. These take in oxygen from the air and deliver it to the bloodstream. During a normal day, you will breathe 25,000 times a day. People with lung diseases will experience breathing problems. Some lung diseases can also lead to respiratory failure. Lungs diseases prevent your lungs from working properly. Some of the common types of lung diseases are: Airway diseases: These diseases affect the airways that carry oxygen and other gases into and out of the lungs. The disease causes narrowing or blockage of the airways. Common airway diseases include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and bronchiectasis. Lung tissue disease: The disease affects the structure of the lung tissue. It causes scarring or inflammation of the lung tissue, making it harder for your lungs to expand fully. Emphysema: The disease occurs due to damage to the lungs. The air is trapped in the lungs in the form of COPD. The patient will have trouble in blowing the air out. Lung circulation disease: The disease affects the blood vessels in the lungs. It is caused by clotting, inflammation and scarring of the blood vessel. It affects the ability of the lungs to take up oxygen and release carbon dioxide. An example of lung circulation disease is pulmonary hypertension, causing shortness of breath in the patient. Cystic fibrosis: In this condition, the person will have trouble clearing mucus out of the bronchi. This condition leads to repeated infection of the lungs Lung Diseases Affecting the Air Sacs (Alveoli) Your airway branches into tiny tubes called bronchioles that end in a cluster of air sacs, called alveoli. These air sacs make up a large part of your lungs. The common lung diseases that affect the alveoli are: Pneumonia: This infection of the alveoli is usually the result of bacteria or viral activities. COVID-19 is also a part of pneumonia. Tuberculosis: When pneumonia slowly gets worse, it results in the development of tuberculosis, commonly known as TB. Lung cancer: It has many forms and can start in any part of your lungs. The disease most commonly develops in the main part of the lung, or near the air sacs. Lung diseases affecting blood vessels The blood vessels near the lungs can develop below diseases: Pulmonary embolism (PE): In this condition, a blood clot, usually the deep veins, known as thrombosis, breaks off, travels to the heart, and gets pumped into your lungs. The clot gets stuck to the pulmonary artery, resulting in shortness of breath.
Pulmonary hypertension: High blood pressure can cause this condition. The condition often leads to shortness of breath and pain in the chest. Lung diseases affecting the chest wall Muscles connect your ribs to each other, helping your chest to expand. Your diaphragm descends with each breath, causing chest expansion. Two common diseases of the chest wall are: Obesity hypoventilation syndrome: If you are obese or overweight, the extra weight on your chest and belly makes it difficult for your chest to expand normally. The condition may cause serious health problems in many individuals. Neuromuscular disorders: In this disease, the nerves that control your respiratory tract don’t function in the normal way. Myasthenia gravis and amytrophic lateral are the two common examples of neurological disorders. Lung diseases and other diseases affect a number of people all over the USA and other parts of the world. As an employer, you can ensure that your employees are always in the best of health condition by providing them with an appropriate health plan to cover for the costs of their lung and other diseases. If you are finding it difficult to choose a plan for your employees, the experts of the PrudentRx program can help you with a custom plan that best suits the needs of your employees so that your employees have maximum coverage from the PrudentRx drug list, while out-of-pocket expenses are optimized, including CVS copay optimization. For more information, you can refer PrudentRx FAQs.