Lung Check Up

Are Your Lungs Healthy?

Here’s Why A Lung Check Up Is Important If You Live In Singapore

Lung disease is prevalent in Singapore

Do you know that in Singapore, one in five children and one in twenty adults have asthma? [1]

How about the fact that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the leading causes of death in the country? [2]

Lung diseases are common in Singapore.

Unfortunately, they are not diagnosed until the late stages of the disease where breathing is already difficult and overall well-being is significantly reduced.

Most common lung diseases in Singapore

You are expected to develop a certain type of lung disease at some point in your life. But people with weak immune systems are more at risk to develop severe lung conditions.

Here are the three most common lung diseases in Singapore:

1. Asthma

Cause and symptoms:

Asthma is an inflammation in the lung airways, leading to difficulty in breathing, coughing, and wheezing, a high-pitched whistling sound while breathing.

Role of lung check up:

Singapore has a three times asthma mortality rate compared to other developed countries [4] like the USA and New Zealand which can be attributed to underdiagnosis due to not getting lung check ups.

2. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Cause and symptoms:

COPD is a group of progressive lung diseases including emphysema and bronchitis. Emphysema hinders outward airflow by slowly destroying the air sacs of your lungs, while bronchitis builds up phlegm due to inflammation and narrowing of the lung airways.

Role of lung check up:

Surprisingly, up to 90% of COPD are not diagnosed [5] due to lack of awareness and not getting lung check ups. These prevent patients from having early access to treatment and may further complicate the lung condition.

3. Pneumonia

Cause and symptoms:

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. This triggers fever, chills, difficulty in breathing, and cough with phlegm or pus.

Role of lung check up:

In Singapore, pneumonia was responsible for almost a quarter of deaths in 2019.[6] Early detection and proper diagnosis ensure expert medical attention to reduce the severity of the infection.

Most common lung function tests

Because there is a wide range of lung diseases with potential complications, a lung check up is your best health investment to maintain healthy lungs.

Here are the most common lung function tests that your lung specialist may conduct:

1. Spirometry

Use: Measures how quickly you can move air in and out of your lungs.

How: You will breathe through a mouthpiece attached to a machine.

2. Lung Volume Test

Use: Measures the amount of air you can hold in your lungs when you breathe.

How: Similar to spirometry but done in a clear room that looks like a telephone booth.

3. Lung Diffusion Capacity Test

Use: Measures how well oxygen moves from your lungs into the blood.

How: Similar to spirometry without breathing intensely.

4. Pulse Oximetry Test

Use: Measures oxygen levels in your blood

How: A painless procedure using a small clamp-like device that is clipped to your finger.

5. Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Test

Use: Measure how much nitric oxide is in the air that you exhale.

How: You will breathe out into a tube connected to a portable device.

Lung function tests are generally safe. They are used to determine how well your lungs are working. This information will help diagnose and assess your lung condition so that treatment options can be laid out to improve your lung health.