Health Information

Benign Respiratory Diseases

What are benign respiratory diseases?

The term “benign respiratory disease” refers to diseases other than cancer that affect lungs and breathing. Examples of benign respiratory diseases include asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease.

The benign respiratory disease group also encompasses severe lung or airway complications resulting from cancer and transplantation therapies. Patients coping with these complications may require unique care to restore or rehabilitate their lungs.

UHN Resources

UHN Brochures and Pamphlets

• Active Tuberculosis Diseases
• Asthma and Airway Centre
• Asthma Management and Action Plan
• Bronchoscopy and Mediastinoscopy

  English	Chinese	French
  Italian	Portuguese

  
  
• Cricopharyngeal Myotomy
• Flexible Bronchoscopy
• How to Collect a Sputum Sample
• Latent Tuberculosis Infection
• Lung Biopsy
• Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
• Major Lung Surgery
• Minor Lung Surgery
• Montgomery T-Tube (MTT)
• Smoking Cessation

  English

  Portuguese

  
  
• TWH Tuberculosis Clinic

UHN Videos

The following videos are to help you during your stay and after you leave the hospital. Please read the following terms and conditions of use carefully before viewing the videos.

• Deep Breathing Exercises (10.5MB)
• Planning to Go Home after Being in the Hospital

  Part 1 (15.4MB)

  Part 2 (14.3MB)

  
  
• Incentive Spirometry (10MB)
• Leg Exercises (7.8MB)
• Managing Your Pain

  Part 1 (18MB)

  Part 2 (17MB)

UHN Clinics or Centres

• Allergy Clinics
• Asthma and Airway Centre
• Cardiac Pulmonary Wellness Centre
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation Clinic
• Respirology/Chest Clinics

Related Web Sites

• Canadian Lung Association
  Learn about lungs and respiratory system, how to live with lung disease, and improve air quality.
• Lung Association of Ontario
  This site provides timely and accurate lung health information.
• Allergy/Asthma Information Association
  Contains information about the Association, its activities, events, and publications.
• Allergic Diseases Resource Center - WAO
  Provides clear information about allergic diseases and up-to-the-minute news of developments in allergy management and treatment, written by the World's leading allergy experts.
• American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Information and news for patients and their parents, including a glossary, list of related Internet links, and “Asthma IQ Tests” for adults and children that can help to determine whether their asthma is properly controlled.
• Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
  Provides care and treatment information for patients.
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
  Lung information for patients and the general public. Also see their topics at Diseases and Conditions Index for a quick and easy way to get complete and dependable information.
• American Lung Association
  Provides information to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Information is available in Spanish.
• UpToDate Patient Information
  UpToDate materials in the lung health category have been evaluated by the American Thoracic Society and are thought to be accurate and suitable for general lung disease patients.
• Australian Lung Foundation
  Contains fact sheets and illustrations written in non-scientific language, to help general public learn more about respiratory diseases and better lung health.