Patient was instructed upon signs and symptoms of emphysema as follows:
- Enlarged chest or barrel-shaped chest, secondary to difficulty in emptying the lungs during expiration and consequent increased retention of air in the lungs.
- Chronic irritation in the throat, secondary to continued exposure to smoke and environmental pollutants and persistent cough.
- Continued inflammation of the airways results in damage to the cilia, which help in moving the mucus up towards the mouth, to be coughed up as sputum. Damage to the cilia results in accumulation of mucus in the airways and lungs, which can set the conditions favorable for chronic chest infections.
- Unresolved chest infections can lead to chronic cough, shaking chills, and high fever.
