White lung disease: Causes, symptoms and treatments

Recently, 'white lung' disease has increased in Europe, America and China. The disease is a concern for children and people with weak resistance.

Things to know about white lung disease

What is white lung disease?

White lung syndrome (often called white lung disease or dry lung) is a condition in which the lungs appear white on X-rays.

Chest X-ray is a familiar technique in medicine. The X-ray machine will emit high-radiation beams of X-rays that penetrate the organs, based on the level of absorption and reflection of the X-rays, producing images of organs such as the lungs, heart, blood vessels, etc. .on X-ray film. Organs and organizations inside the chest will appear on X-ray films in white, gray, and black colors with different levels of lightness.

Normally, when an X-ray is taken of a healthy lung, the lungs will be clear (the image shows black blood). However, due to pneumonia or other diseases, the lung film has an abnormal white image.

In addition, some main symptoms of white lung disease include:

1. Dry cough, prolonged cough, may be accompanied by phlegm
2. Difficulty breathing, wheezing.
3. Chest pain
4. Fever
5. Headache
6. Tired

White lung X-ray image. (Illustration).

Causes of white lungs

Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Pneumonia caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. can cause white lung disease. In particular, pneumonia caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae causing white lung disease has tended to increase recently.

Cigarette smoke

In people who smoke regularly, the rate of lung diseases such as: white lung disease, pneumonia, pleural effusion, tuberculosis, lung cancer,. increases significantly. Besides, passive smokers (people who inhale cigarette smoke) are also at risk of lung diseases, especially white lung syndrome.

The weather changes erratically

This is the main cause of many respiratory diseases such as colds, wind coughs, dry coughs, coughs with phlegm, bronchitis, etc. However, if not treated early and appropriately, it can affect the lungs, easily leading to to suffer from white lung disease.

Air pollution, living environment

A polluted environment, lots of dust, and industrial chemicals are also the main causes of many human diseases, white lung disease is one of them.

Due to exposure at work

Workers working in environments containing uranium, arsenic, and asbestos are at high risk of developing white lung disease. In particular, working in an environment containing asbestos for a long time has a very high risk of lung cancer.

How dangerous is white lung disease?

If white lung disease is detected early and treated promptly and properly, it will be completely cured and will not affect the patient's health. On the contrary, if treated late or incorrectly, dangerous white lung disease can cause many serious health effects such as:

1. Lung abscess formation
2. Pleural effusion, respiratory failure
3. Sepsis: In some cases, bacteria can enter the blood causing sepsis, then they will quickly spread to other organs causing multi-organ failure and eventually death if not treated promptly. time.

Treatment of white lung disease

White lung syndrome can be treated, however, depending on the severity and cause of the disease, treatment options and plans vary.

Depending on the cause of white lung, the doctor will prescribe appropriate treatment methods such as: antibiotics to treat infections, medications to treat symptoms, and prevent complications.

In cases where white lungs are due to other diseases, the doctor will treat those diseases to improve lung condition.