Causes of pulmonary effusion

Fluid accumulation in the lungs is medically known as pulmonary edema, also known as pleural effusion, which means that water accumulates outside the lungs. This symptom may be caused by infection and inflammation, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, which can cause pulmonary edema. It may also be caused by certain autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Of course, in addition to the above two causes, there are many other lung diseases that can cause pleural effusion.

1. Causes of pulmonary edema

There are many causes of pulmonary edema, such as pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure, liver disease, renal insufficiency, heart failure, etc., but the proportion of pulmonary edema caused by heart disease is higher. Heart disease can cause blood that was originally transported to the entire body to accumulate in the heart. When the blood in the lungs tries to flow back to the heart, the increased pressure in the heart blocks the flow, causing water in the blood to seep into the tissue gaps and causing obstruction of lung ventilation, which in turn leads to pulmonary edema. The main causes of acute pulmonary edema are coronary artery disease, systemic hypertension, enlarged cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, myocarditis, uremia, etc. If blood pressure is not well controlled, heart rhythm is irregular, infection, fluid overload, anemia, stress or poor patient compliance, heart failure may be aggravated and acute pulmonary edema may occur.

2. Symptoms of acute pulmonary edema

The initial symptoms of acute pulmonary effusion may be just coughing, especially coughing in the middle of the night and being unable to lie flat. It is often mistaken for tracheitis or a cold and not taken seriously. In fact, if you experience symptoms such as difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, orthopnea, or even having to sleep sitting down, do not take it lightly. These are all clinical symptoms of acute pulmonary edema.

3. Dietary considerations for patients with pulmonary edema

1. Eat regularly, do not overeat, eat on time, eat a light diet, eat less spicy, fried, deep-fried, strong alcohol and other indigestible and irritating foods, eat more fruits, vegetables and fibrous foods, drink plenty of water, especially bananas, apples, honey and other laxative foods.

2. Pay attention to eating more foods rich in vitamin A, carotene and vitamin B2; at the same time, choose foods high in phospholipids to improve brain health, such as egg yolks, fish, shrimp, walnuts, peanuts, etc.; also consciously choose more foods that protect the eyes, such as eggs, animal liver, kidneys, carrots, spinach, millet, cabbage, tomatoes, day lily, water spinach, and wolfberry. In terms of diet, we should stay away from the three whites (sugar, salt and lard) and get close to the three blacks (black sesame, mushrooms and black rice). From the perspective of nutritional value, four legs are not as good as two legs, two legs are not as good as one leg, and one leg is not as good as no legs.