🫁 10.4 – Respiratory Disorders

Disorders that affect the breathing system

🔷 Introduction to Respiratory Disorders

Before diving into diseases, let’s understand what a respiratory disorder means.

🧠 Respiratory disorder is any problem or illness that affects the organs responsible for breathing. This includes your:

• Nose
• Throat
• Sinuses
• Windpipe (trachea)
• Lungs

Just like when the water pipeline in your house is blocked or damaged, water supply gets disturbed — in the same way, if there’s a problem in the respiratory tract, your body’s oxygen supply is affected.

🧪 Respiratory Disorders Can Be:

✅ Mild and temporary

These are common and usually go away without serious treatment.

• Example: Common cold

⚠️ Severe and long-lasting

These need medical attention and may even be life-threatening.

• Examples:
  • Sinusitis (problem in sinuses)
  • Otitis media (infection in ear)
  • Pneumonia
  • Tuberculosis (TB)
  • Emphysema, COPD

🟠 Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URIs)

These infections affect the upper part of the respiratory system:

• Nose
• Throat
• Sinuses
• Voice box (larynx)

💨 How do they spread?

They spread through respiratory droplets — tiny water droplets that come out when someone coughs, sneezes, or even talks.

🧠 Real-life Example:
If a classmate sneezes without covering their mouth, the tiny droplets float in the air. If you breathe in those droplets, you might get infected.