Pulmonologist in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain

If you have shortness of breath, a chronic cough, unexplained weight loss, or trouble sleeping, you may have a lung condition or respiratory disorder that requires visiting a pulmonologist

Pulmonologists treat medical conditions such as bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnea. They also do tests to find causes of symptoms that include shortness of breath and a chronic cough. Sleep apnea treatment and lung function testing are also done by pulmonologists.

When people have lung problems that need further investigation, pulmonologists perform one or more tests to determine the underlying cause. These tests include:

• CT scan: Creates detailed pictures of the chest of muscles, bones, organs, and blood vessels.
• Thoracoscopy: X-rays that create a series of images, which are broadcast to make a video that shows how well your lungs are working.
• Chest Ultrasound: Helps the doctor examine the organs and structures of the chest
• Pulse test: determines the level of oxygen saturation in the blood.
• Bronchoscopy: Examines the airway to see if there are problems with the trachea, lower airways, throat, or larynx.
• Thoracentesis: The doctor removes a sample of fluid from around your lungs to check for disease or infection.
• Sleep study: Helps diagnose sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.

Your body’s internal clock regulates your biological processes 24 hours a day. Any disturbance to this pattern can cause problems in general, and can affect your quality of sleep. Common circadian rhythm disorders include:

• Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome, where your sleep cycles are out of sync with your daily life and you go to bed and wake up earlier than you would like. You might get sleepy at 7pm, for example, and go to bed, only to wake up 4am.
• Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, where your cycles are out of sync, and you stay up really late, then have difficulty waking up for work or school the next day.
• Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder, where a disturbance in your cycle leads to poor quality sleep at night and drowsiness during the day.

To get into a desirable sleep pattern, treatment will combine effective sleep techniques and external-stimuli such as bright-light therapy to ‘reset’ your rhythm.

Here, your limbs, most likely your legs, move (for example, they might jerk, twitch or, in the case of your feet, flex upwards) about every 20 to 40 seconds. This repetitive movement can last a few minutes or several hours. While the disorder on its own is not a serious medical condition, it can contribute to chronic insomnia or lead to daytime fatigue. Sometimes it can be a symptom of a serious condition that needs to be treated, such as diabetes or kidney disease.

If the disorder occurs together with restless leg syndrome, or if it causes significant insomnia or daytime fatigue that impacts on your life, you may be given medication. This will either reduce your movements or help you sleep through them.

Restless Legs Syndrome is a disorder affecting a part of the nervous system, and is marked by an overwhelming urge to move the legs when they are resting. The urge to move the legs is usually accompanied by unpleasant sensations such as ‘pins and needles’. It is also possible, but less common, to have RLS symptoms in other body parts such as the torso, arms, or face. RLS can severely disrupt a patient’s sleep and life. Often diseases such as Parkinson’s and diabetes include RLS symptoms.

Treatment in mild cases includes lifestyle changes such as exercising regularly, while medication can help ease the symptoms in severe cases, as can treating associated diseases.

Narcolepsy is marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, hallucinations, sleep paralysis and, in some cases, episodes of cataplexy (brief periods of sudden muscle weakness). There is no cure, but medication and behavioral modification can help ease the symptoms.