What Is Lung Disease?
9. Prognosis
If you have acute bronchitis, you can expect to feel better in a few weeks after you complete your course of antibiotics. If you have pneumonia that follows a viral infection like the flu, you may need more intensive treatment in the hospital, including fluids for dehydration.
Lung cancer can be resolved with surgery if only one of the lobes of the lung is affected, but more extensive treatment like chemotherapy is often necessary. If you have a neuromuscular condition like ALS, the muscles of the chest wall are affected, and so are the nerves that communicate breathing signals to the brain. The prognosis for patients with ALS, in general, is not promising. However, in a few severe cases, patients and doctors might consider using a machine to help with breathing and sustain their lives.1Nazario, B. (2018, April 8). Lung Diseases Overview. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/lung/lung-diseases-overview.
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