effect of acid on lungs

I was just wondering if you could tell me to what extent acid can damage the lungs when aspirration takes place.
I am a bit confused my pft came back with abnormal results not majorly so but enough to indicate mild emphysema/asthma, as stated in a previous posting my achalasia and acid reflux was really active at the time this was carried out.  Niaively I did not realise that having acid affects ones breathing which is why the pft was carried out I was sob.  So I got to thinking as I am only a light smoker 8-10 per day for 28 years (now stopped) and the sob only started when my achalasia dilation was due to be redone and a lot of acid is going into my throat causing hoarseness and breathlessness was this the cause?  So what sort of damage is actually done to the lung by acid aspiration is it the same sort of damage as smoking.  This gets more complicated as one consultant tells me it could be the acid which has caused the abnormal pft results but  my cardiologist tells me that although acid damages the lungs the he thinks it will be the smoking.  I need to sort this for myself.  Do you know if there is any sort of test of function which will let me know what has done the damage to my lungs. Indeed do you know the difference in damage to the lungs between smoking and acid.  Thankyou so much Withie.

[Ratnakar Kini, MD]

Hi Withie,
Smoking causes bronchitis and later emphysematous changes. In bronchitis you have cough with excess mucus production. In empysema you become breathless.

GERD causes aspiration pneumonia  and later asthma.

But differentaiating what caused your lung problem is rather difficult. The extent of the damage can be assessed with PFT and CT scan of the chest.

When antireflux medications results in improvement of yourt symptoms, then GERD may be considered as the cause for your lung problems (But not 100%).
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The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D.