You've been diagnosed with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
or another Chronic Lung Disease!

The first reaction everyone gets is "OH MY GOD!  What does that mean!!???  Am I dying?"

Well, let me assure you that in the majority of the cases, no, it doesn't mean you are dying.  It does mean that your life will change.  How will it change?  Let's begin by defining the three types or stages of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis or HP and other chronic lung diseases.

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

1. Acute HP:  Essentially, AHP or Acute HP is the immediate onset of the disease or reaction to an antigen.  It can show up as fever, chills, headaches, coughing, chest tightness, dyspnea, or any combination of the above.  For more detailed information on symptoms of HP, refer to our Symptoms Page. Because it is in the acute stage, as soon as you are removed from the environment or antigen, the symptoms will dissipate.  In the majority of the cases no permanent damage will be caused to the lungs.  For more information on AHP, refer to our information page.
   
   
2. Intermediate HP:  IHP is a more advanced stage of HP, where some lung damage has occurred from repeated exposure to the antigen or "trigger".  The symptoms are the same as Acute, but more intense.  This is a very important stage of the disease.  It is essential that you and your doctors determine what your antigen is that is causing your HP and eliminate it from your life.  Sometimes this means giving up certain pets or birds that you keep.  Sometimes it means moving out of a home or apartment where certain molds are present.  What ever is the cause of your HP, this is the time to make the changes necessary to prevent the disease from going into the chronic stage.
   
   
3. Chronic HP:  CHP is the worst stage of HP.  Once the disease has reached this stage, there is no going back.  In the chronic stage, the inflammation in the lungs feeds on itself.  Not only that but your immune system will now react to many more antagonists than just your own antigen.  Strong odors, dust, and many other things will be able to trigger an exacerbation or onset of very bad symptoms.  Please refer to the links on the information page to find out more about chronic HP.

Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF)

1. PF is considered an Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD).  Since ILD is not a single disease but a group of more than 200 different pulmonary disorders, it can be confusing to understand exactly what you are dealing with, how a diagnosis is made and who needs to be involved.
   
   Although scarring is mostly irreversible, medications can help. Relief of symptoms can be achieved through pulmonary treatments and oxygen therapy. In select cases, surgery and lung transplants may be options. The goals of therapy are to preserve current lung function.
   

Idiopathic Lung Fibrosis (IPF)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease (gets worse over time) isolated to the lung. It is a type of interstitial lung disease, which is a group of 200 diseases with similar symptoms but different causes. Currently, more than 80,000 adults in the United States have IPF, and more than 30,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. For more information, please consult the Cleveland Clinic Site.

Pulmonary Hypertension (PH)
There is no specific cause for pulmonary hypertension but following are the most probable causes:

• Parasitic Infection – schistosomiasis, blood vessels in the lungs becomes infected with the parasite and causes pulmonary arterial hypertension.
• Back flow of blood – stacking of blood can lead to this condition.
• Drugs or Medication: certain drugs like dexfenfluramine (Redux) and Fen/Phen can cause this condition.
• Genetic Disorder – Certain gene mutation are responsible for developing this condition.
• Blood clots – Blood clots in the lungs can restrict blood flow.

Data from: Focus Medica · Consult a medical professional for advice. You can find more on WebMD.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing. It's caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.
For more information please consult The Mayo Clinic Site.


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What Changes Can I Expect?

Now that you have been diagnosed with Hypersensitivity Pnenumonitis, your life has changed forever.  Unlike cancer, HP can never be cured, it can go into remission if you avoid your triggers / antigens, but you will always be susceptible and must take proper precautions.  From now on, you must avoid molds, very dusty environments, and areas that contain your triggers.  If you have idiopathic HP, which means they cannot determine your trigger, you have to be doubly careful.

Depending upon the severity of your disease, there will be times that you don't feel like doing anything due to deep exhaustion.  This is to be expected from time to time.  You will become very sensitive to smells.  You may become short of breath a lot more easily than you used to.  As we said you're life will never quite be the same, but you can adapt and still live your life as normal with some precautions and changes.  You can still travel, fly, go on cruises etc.  In all instances, first consult your physician before making traveling plans.

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Things To Avoid If You Have HP or other Chronic Lung Diseases:

• Department Stores during holiday seasons.  These stores pull all of their decorations out of warehouse storage without cleaning them.  They are full of dust and other particles that can cause an exacerbation.  Another area of these stores to avoid is the perfume and cologne section.  The heavy odors of these areas can also cause you problems.
  
  
• Big Hardware Centers (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) These stores are essentially open warehouses.  They have 30 & 40 foot ceilings with metal rafters.  In a large number of cases, birds have become trapped in these stores and nest on these rafters or girders.  That means there is a lot of biological bird / avian matter floating around in the air.  This will definitely cause an exacerbation.  These stores also have large amounts of dust and particles floating around in the air.  All of these things can cause you breathing problems.
  
  
• Gardening.  Depending upon the advancement of your HP and your natural sensitivity, gardening is a definite no-no.  There are all sorts of natural molds in the soil.  By digging into the soil to plant flowers etc., you stir these up and breathe them in.  If you are only acute or have low sensitivity, you can wear a Hepa mask.
  
  
• Birds: Dealing with birds is usually a definite no-no when it comes to HP.  Bird biological particulates are one of the major causes of HP, see "Farmer's Lung" and "Bird Fancier's Lung" on the History page.

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What To Do Always:

There are certain things that you should always do now that you have HP.

1. Exercise daily, even taking walks or walking your dog is a good start
2. Eat healthy, this means green vegetables, protein, fruit and dairy.  Try to avoid too much fast food.
   
3. Take vitamins & supplements to stay healthy, your doctor can recommend the proper ones for you.
   
4. Visit your pulmonologist at least twice a year to make sure your disease is not advancing.
5. If you go somewhere and start coughing -- GET OUT IMMEDIATELY!
6. If your coughing becomes constant, call your doctor
7. If you are having more trouble breathing, call your doctor.