Life on only one lung??

Dear Ask The Doctor: Can you survive with only one lung? and how? what care does the client needs to have?

Dear Rebeca: Yes you can. Both lungs in your body function as separate entities, and removal of one would lead to increase in the capacity and size of the remaining one in order to compensate for the lost function. Only having one lung would reduce the amount of strenuous activity you can do and need to take precautions about a few things like pollution, second hand smoke, exposure to chemicals, fumes from cleaning products and aerosols, dust and exposure to any infection.