Respiratory Health
COPD: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment in Canada
COPD is a group of long-term lung diseases that block airflow in and out of the lungs. As a result, the lungs cannot move air …
Canada Health Journal
Respiratory-Health
Evidence-based health articles written and reviewed by licensed Canadian physicians.
Respiratory Health
Wheezing: Causes, Symptoms & When to See a Doctor
Wheezing happens when the airways in your lungs become narrow or blocked. Air squeezes through these smaller passages and creates …
Respiratory Health
Cough: Types, Causes & When to See a Doctor
A cough is one of the most common reasons Canadians visit their family doctor or local walk-in clinic.
Respiratory Health
Wet Cough: Causes, Treatments & When to See a Doctor
A wet cough — sometimes called a productive cough or chest cough — brings up mucus or phlegm from your lungs.
Respiratory Health
Chronic Cough: Causes, Symptoms & When to Act
A chronic cough is one that lasts eight weeks or longer. It is more than just an annoyance — it can disrupt your sleep, affect …
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Embolism: Risks, Symptoms & Treatment
A pulmonary embolism occurs when a clot — or sometimes a clump of fat, air, or tumour tissue — travels through the bloodstream and …
Respiratory Health
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: Symptoms & Treatment
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is an infectious disease caused by several types of hantavirus.
Respiratory Health
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: What Canadians Should Know
ARDS happens when fluid builds up inside the tiny air sacs in your lungs. This fluid stops your lungs from filling properly with …
Respiratory Health
Respiratory Symptoms: Cough, Breathlessness & More
Understanding respiratory symptoms can help you take better care of your lungs and overall health.
Respiratory Health
Sarcoidosis: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment in Canada
Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease. “Systemic” means it can affect many parts of the body at the same time.
Respiratory Health
Chest Ultrasound: What It Is and When You Need One
A chest ultrasound is a safe, fast, and radiation-free way for doctors to look at your lungs and the structures around them.
Respiratory Health
Shortness of Breath: Causes, Types & When to See a Doctor
Shortness of breath is the medical term for breathing that feels difficult, laboured, or abnormal. Doctors call this condition …
Respiratory Health
Chronic Bronchitis: Natural Relief for Lung Disease
Living with chronic bronchitis or another long-term lung condition can make everyday life feel like a struggle.
Respiratory Health
Collapsed Lung: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
A collapsed lung, known medically as a pneumothorax, happens when air leaks into the space between your lung and chest wall.
Respiratory Health
Aspiration Pneumonia: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Aspiration pneumonia is a type of lung infection caused by inhaling foreign material into the airways.
Respiratory Health
Pleurisy: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment in Canada
The pleura is made up of two thin sheets of tissue. The outer layer lines the chest wall, and the inner layer wraps around the …
Respiratory Health
Pleurisy: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment in Canada
Your lungs are wrapped in two thin layers of tissue called the pleura. One layer covers the outside of your lungs.
Respiratory Health
Orthopnea: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment Options
Have you ever noticed that you struggle to breathe when you lie flat, but feel better once you sit up or stand? This is called …
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Nocardiosis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Pulmonary nocardiosis is an infection of the lung tissue caused by bacteria from the Nocardia genus.
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Histoplasmosis: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Pulmonary histoplasmosis is a fungal infection that mainly affects the lungs. The fungus Histoplasma capsulatum lives in soil and …
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Fibrosis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
“Fibrosis” is the medical word for scarring. Pulmonary fibrosis means scarring of the lung tissue.
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Fibrosis: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Pulmonary fibrosis causes scarring around and between the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs.
Respiratory Health
Cystic Fibrosis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Cystic fibrosis causes the body’s mucus-producing cells to make mucus that is far too thick and sticky.
Respiratory Health
Rare Lung Diseases: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
A lung disease is considered “rare” when it affects fewer than one in 2,000 people. These conditions are chronic, meaning they …
Respiratory Health
Congenital Lobar Emphysema: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Congenital lobar emphysema occurs when one or more lobes of a baby’s lung become over-inflated. Air enters the lung lobe but …
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Edema: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Your lungs contain millions of tiny, elastic air sacs called alveoli. With every breath, these sacs fill with oxygen and release …
Respiratory Health
Lung Pain: Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment in Canada
Lung pain — also called chest pain or pulmonary pain — refers to discomfort felt in the chest area, particularly around or within …
Respiratory Health
Shortness of Breath: Causes, Types & When to Act
Shortness of breath is not a disease on its own. It is a symptom — your body’s way of telling you that breathing requires more …
Respiratory Health
Shortness of Breath: Causes, Types & When to Act
Shortness of breath — known medically as dyspnea — is not a disease on its own. It is a symptom.
Respiratory Health
Breathing Difficulties: Symptoms, Causes & When to Act
Breathing difficulties happen when your body struggles to take in or move air normally. The medical term is dyspnea.
Respiratory Health
Respiratory Viral Infections: How to Protect Yourself
Respiratory viral infections are illnesses caused by viruses that attack your breathing system.
Respiratory Health
Food Allergies and Respiratory Health: What Canadians Should Know
Most people think of hives or stomach pain when they hear the words “food allergy.” However, food allergies and respiratory health …
Respiratory Health
Bronchiectasis: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Bronchiectasis happens when the bronchi — the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs — become stretched and damaged.
Respiratory Health
Bronchopneumonia: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Bronchopneumonia is a form of pneumonia, but it works a little differently. Instead of affecting just one part of the lung, it can …
Respiratory Health
Lung Disease: Types, Symptoms & Prevention
Your lungs are spongy, elastic organs inside your chest, sitting above the diaphragm. They are part of your respiratory system and …
Respiratory Health
White Lung Disease: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
White lung disease gets its name from the appearance of the lungs on an X-ray or CT scan. Healthy lung tissue looks dark on …
Respiratory Health
Asbestosis: Causes, Symptoms & What Canadians Should Know
Asbestosis is a type of lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis. It belongs to a group of conditions known as pneumoconioses — lung …
Respiratory Health
Acute Severe Asthma: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Acute severe asthma is the most dangerous stage of an asthma episode. During this stage, the airways become so narrow and inflamed …
Respiratory Health
Pulmonary Aspergillosis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Pulmonary aspergillosis is a fungal infection that starts in the lungs. It is caused mainly by a mould called Aspergillus …
Respiratory Health
Black Lung Disease: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Black lung disease gets its name from what happens inside the lungs. When coal dust builds up in the lung tissue, it turns the …
Respiratory Health
Cold Symptoms: 10 Practical Tips to Feel Better Fast
If you are dealing with cold symptoms this season, you are not alone. Millions of Canadians catch a cold every year, especially in …
Respiratory Health
Asthma Symptoms: Do You Have Asthma?
Asthma is a long-term condition that affects the airways — the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.
Respiratory Health
Alternative Asthma Treatments: What Canadians Should Know
Many Canadians living with asthma look beyond their prescribed inhalers for extra relief. Alternative asthma treatments — such as …
Respiratory Health
Asthma: Symptoms, Causes & How to Manage It
Asthma is a chronic condition that affects your airways — the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.
Respiratory Health
Asthma Medications: How to Control Your Symptoms
Most asthma medications are inhaled directly into the airways. This is different from swallowing a pill or getting an injection.
Respiratory Health
Asthma Flare-Ups: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
An asthma flare-up — also called an acute asthma episode or exacerbation — is a period when asthma symptoms get progressively …
Respiratory Health
Asthma: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment in Canada
Your lungs have a branching network of airways that carry air deep into the lung tissue. In people with asthma, these airways …
Respiratory Health
Asthma: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment in Canada
Asthma is a long-term (chronic) lung disease. It does not go away on its own, so it needs ongoing medical management.
Respiratory Health
Asthma and Allergies: Your Questions Answered
The word “asthma” comes from the ancient Greek word for “panting.” It is a condition where the airways — the tubes that carry air …
Respiratory Health
Asthma in Teens and Adults: Causes, Risks & Care
Asthma is a long-term (chronic) condition that affects the airways — the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs.