The average human being takes an average of 20,000 breaths a day. For most of us, this simple act of inhaling and exhaling is done unconsciously, given no thought at all. For what could be more natural than taking a breath of air? An infant coming into this world draws its first breath instinctively, effortlessly. So deeply ingrained is our instinct to breath, our desire for oxygen, that it is something that most of us never think about at all. Unfortunately, this not true for everyone. For millions of people, all over the world who suffer from Emphysema, the very act of taking a single breath can be tortuous.

Emphysema is a form of lung disease that leads to reduced lung capacity, making it difficult for the sufferer to breathe. A person suffering from emphysema is left literally gasping for each breath they take. Emphysema is part of a number of diseases that are collectively known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. Emphysema results in the tiny air sacs in a person's lungs being destroyed and it is this, the destruction of the air-sacs or alveoli that make it so difficult for a person with Emphysema to breathe.

In a normal person, the air that is inhaled through the nose, passes on into the trachea and moves down into smaller airways called bronchi. The bronchi divide further and eventually end up in the tiny, delicate almost grape-like air-sac structures called alveoli. It is here, inside the alveoli that the carbon dioxide in the bloodstream gets exchanged for oxygen.

The number one leading cause of Emphysema is smoking. It can also be caused by other factors such as air pollution, exposure to certain chemicals, chronic dust and second-hand smoke. Second- hand smoke refers to the smoke that is inhaled due to the smoking of others. It is also known as passive smoking.

While not every single smoker develops Emphysema, the longer a person smokes, the more they increase their chances of developing Emphysema. What should be kept in mind is that at this point in time, emphysema is considered to be a progressive disease.

The first sign that a person gets that he may be suffering from Emphysema is shortness of breath. Initially, the shortness of breath may only be observed when the person has physically exerted themselves, however, over time, this shortness of breath may become chronic.

What is happening inside a person's body at this initial stage of Emphysema, is those delicate sac-like structures, the alveoli are destroyed, leaving behind holes in the lung tissue. Just like you would expect, the holes in the structure of the lung tissue, means that the surrounding bronchi collapse. When the bronchi tubes collapse, they can no longer carry air into the passages of the lungs and the capacity of the lung to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen is greatly reduced. This makes a person with Emphysema chronically short of breath. Over time, this disintegration leads to lung and even heart damage.

Gordon`s Herbal Research Center is the author of this article on Emphysema. Find more information on Emphysema Treatment here.