AIRFLOW BY DESIGN
Janelle Klein MSN, ARNP
Your nose works to both filter incoming air and interfaces with the organ of smell. As air passes through the nose it comes to an area in the back of your throat called the pharynx.
In the pharynx there are four directions air can go 1) back out the nose, 2) out an open mouth, 3) down the esophagus into the stomach and 4) down the trachea, known as the wind pipe.
Since your survival is dependant on your lungs receiving a continual flow of air the trachea is the obvious place air should go next. But the opening to the trachea is covered with a downward flap of tissue, designed to block out food, water and mucous.
Obviously random chance is not an option at this point. So God made an amazing design to ensure the air goes where it should. A large muscle below the lungs, called the diaphragm, constricts pulling downward. At the same time the muscles between the ribs surrounding the lungs relax. Both of these actions enlarge the lung space, creating a partial vacuum into which the spongy elastic lung tissue can expand. Air is drawn into the trachea passing right into the lungs where it is needed.
The tube that goes to the stomach also runs through the same cavity as the trachea but the stomach is conveniently located below the diaphragm. This means the vacuum that draws the air into the stiff non-collapsible trachea, does not draw air into the soft collapsible stomach tube.
God designed this complex process to happen automatically with no thought by you. However, despite the automatic nature of breathing, there are several things that we can do to help this critical process work more effectively.
1) Wear loose fitting clothing around your chest. Restrictive clothing prevents the lung cavity from being able to expand as it should. Women are especially at risk if they comply with constrictive fashions and stylish but ill fitted brassieres.
2) Maintain good posture. Sit and stand up straight with your shoulders back. This enables your lung cavity to expand fully. A hunched position results in a restricted lung cavity that is unable to accept as much of the incoming air as it should.
3) Deep breath in the fresh outdoor air every day. A good way to do this is to take a brisk walk with your head erect and your shoulders back. Lungs at rest fill to only about 50% of their capacity.
If you aren't able to exercise, sitting or laying in bed all day is a sure way to set a person up for a lung infection due to fluid pooling in the lungs. Good care given to bed bound patients, even those who are laid up for a short time from illness or surgery, includes breathing exercises.
A bed bound person should be assisted to take a deep breath over about five seconds, hold it for several seconds and then cough or rapidly exhale. This should be done at least ten times every 2 hours while they are awake.
So practice deep breathing to help expand your lungs and maximize the amount of oxygen your body receives. Watch for another soon coming article on how the lungs absorb the air into our body.