Lungs and breathing

A plain-English guide to asthma — symptoms, triggers, treatment and recognising an asthma attack.

A plain-English guide to bronchiolitis in babies — symptoms, home care, and when to seek urgent help.

A plain-English guide to acute bronchitis — symptoms, treatment and when to see a GP.

A plain-English guide to chest infections — bronchitis and pneumonia symptoms, home care, and when to see a GP urgently.

A plain-English guide to COPD — symptoms, causes, how it is managed and when to seek help.

A plain-English guide to COVID-19 — symptoms, how long it lasts, how to recover at home, and when to seek help.

A plain-English guide to croup in children — the barking cough, home treatment, and when to seek urgent help.

Cystic fibrosis — inherited lung and digestive disease, newborn screening, daily treatments, and NHS specialist centre care.

A plain-English guide to flu — symptoms, how it differs from a cold, treatment and prevention.

A plain-English guide to long COVID — ongoing symptoms after COVID-19, what help is available, and when to see a GP.

Lung cancer — symptoms, who should seek chest X-ray, diagnosis, staging, and NHS treatment including surgery and immunotherapy.

A plain-English guide to pneumonia — symptoms, treatment, recovery, and when to seek urgent medical help.

Pulmonary embolism — blood clot in the lung, symptoms including breathlessness and chest pain, emergency treatment, and NHS prevention of recurrence.

A plain-English guide to RSV — symptoms in babies and adults, home care, and when to seek medical advice.

Obstructive sleep apnoea explained — snoring, breathing pauses, daytime tiredness, diagnosis with sleep studies, CPAP treatment, and links to weight and heart health.

Tuberculosis (TB) — symptoms, latent vs active infection, testing, NHS treatment, and when to seek urgent help.

Whooping cough (pertussis) — symptoms in babies and adults, vaccination in pregnancy, antibiotics, and when it becomes an emergency.

What a cough can mean, how to ease it, and when a cough needs medical advice.

Shortness of breath can be caused by being unfit, anxiety or a chest infection, but can also signal a heart or lung problem. Call 999 if it is sudden or severe.

Snoring happens when relaxed throat tissues vibrate during sleep and is often harmless, but breathing pauses and daytime sleepiness can mean sleep apnoea.

Wheezing is a whistling sound caused by narrowed airways, usually from asthma, chest infections or allergies. Severe or sudden wheezing needs urgent treatment.

The COVID-19 vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness from coronavirus; NHS eligibility, booster timing and common side effects explained.

The flu vaccine is an annual jab that reduces your risk of flu and its complications, offered free on the NHS each autumn to people at higher risk.

Inhalers deliver asthma and COPD medicine straight to the lungs — reliever inhalers act fast, preventer inhalers are taken daily, and technique matters.

Prednisolone is an oral steroid that suppresses inflammation in asthma, arthritis and autoimmune conditions; long courses need tapering and monitoring.

An X-ray uses low-dose radiation to image bones and some tissues, quickly detecting fractures, chest infections and joint disease in most cases.