8 Ways to Feel Happier

It can sometimes be a challenge to look on the bright side when you have a chronic illness, but spending time doing things that make you happy will help keep depression at bay, help you come to terms with your illness better and begin enjoying life again. To help you feel happier,…

Spanish patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) saw their hospital and follow-up care improve from 2004 to 2013, according to a new report. The study, “Retrospective observational study of trends in hospital admissions for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Spain (2004–2013) using administrative data,” appeared in the journal BMJ Open. It…

If you have a chronic illness such as pulmonary fibrosis you can draw tremendous strength from others who are going through the same experiences as you are. Befriending others who suffer from the same illness provides you with a community you can rely on, who understand your situation better than your friends and family. It…

A factor crucial to lung development also appears to promote fibrosis, the tissue-scarring in the lungs associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a study. The factor, TAZ, locks lung fibroblasts — or cells that generate connective tissue — in a state that promotes fibrosis. TAZ stands for transcriptional co-activator with…

When living with an invisible and chronic illness, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I suppose it’s inevitable that you will have some really hard days (no matter how much you try to find the good in each day). To put it bluntly, some days just suck.

If you or a friend or loved one has recently been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (PF), you probably have a lot of questions. Very little is known about this chronic lung condition, despite the fact that approximately five million people suffer from it worldwide. We’ve put together a list of important facts about pulmonary…

When idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients experience sharp flares and sudden disease worsening, the bacterial make-up of their respiratory tract changes, a study has found. The research, “Changes in the respiratory microbiome during acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,” compared patients whose condition had worsened because of an…

Telling other people you have a chronic disease such as pulmonary fibrosis is never easy as our resident columnist Kim Fredrickson explains in her latest post, “How Do You Tell Others You Have a Terminal Lung Disease?“. Understand how coughing affects the lives of patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Telling family, friends,…

Increased deposits of iron in immune cells called macrophages were found to be independently correlated with pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a recent study. Findings of hemosiderin-laden (an iron-storage complex within cells) in macrophages in the lungs of IPF patients might also be…

I have a love/hate relationship with my supplemental oxygen. I use liquid oxygen at a flow of 8 litres per minute, 24/7, as well as an oxygen concentrator. I’m grateful to have it, for without it my organs would fail.