Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Health and Wellness » Respiratory Care in India »

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which is also known as chronic obstructive lung disease or chronic airflow limitation is due to the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema which is the coexistence of the lung diseases because of which airways become narrowed. Due to this, the air flow gets limited to and from the lungs, resulting to breathe shortness. Characteristically, COPD occurs due to less air flow in lung function tests. The person who is healthy has airways and air sacs which are elastic and springy. Whereas in COPD, the air sacs and airways start losing their shape and get the shape of floppy like starched rubber band.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD and asthma are two different concepts. In asthma, the airflow limitation is poorly reversible and becomes worse if not properly treated, whereas in COPD the airflows get limited to only lungs. In a healthy person, the branches of airways are out and inside the lungs. At the end of the branch, you will find air sacs of a small balloon shape. If a person suffers from this disease, the air sacs are the first body part to get affected. It has been observed that approximately 842,100 of 50 million people are diagnosed with COPD.

In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, the reason of less airflow is:

  1. The air sacs walls get destroyed
  2. The airways produce mucus more than usual that results to clog them
  3. The airways walls become thick and swollen
  4. The air sacs and airways start losing the quality of elasticity

Causes

It has been observed that tobacco has become the key factor in developing COPD and asthma due to factors like air pollutants in home, respiratory infections and some genetic factors. In developing countries, indoor air quality is playing an important role in the progress of COPD.

Symptoms

The common symptoms of COPD are difficulty to breathe, excessive sputum production and chronic cough. This disease if left untreated can result to death. It is a life threatening and under diagnosed chronic lung disease. Common signs can be:

  • Whistling sound called wheezing which comes while breathing. Some patients wheeze when their situation becomes worse.
  • CA productive cough or an acute (complete this sentence)
  • Feeling of breath shortness which is also known as dyspnea which is the common sign in such condition, but usually occurs among the people of 50- 59 years of age.

Keeping COPD untreated can become worse, showing the signs of:

  • Dyspnea becomes worst and the period of these signs becomes shorter.
  • Skin starts getting discolored and the right side of the heart fails to operate.

Prevention

You must consult your doctor soon after you notice any kind of signs of COPD, especially if you are running short of breathing.

A simple test can measure the pulmonary function and detect the COPD in the patient especially of the age 45 years or more. Detecting this disease at an early age can definitely lessen its progress. It is advisable not to consume tobacco or inhale smoke or any kind of air pollutants. This can prevent the early development of COPD.

You should also try to not get respiratory infections like flu or cold. Wash your hands frequently as virus can use your hands as a medium to get passed.

Treatment

To treat COPD, you need a careful evaluation by your doctor. The very first thing you should do is avoid smoking tobacco and remove the air pollutants from home.

Some medical treatment like:

  • Inhaled steroids can lessen the swelling of the lungs
  • Inhalers like formoterol, salmeterol or ipratropium can open the airways

The occurrence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can increase with age. However, there is also a dramatic synergy with smoking such that smokers have high chances of getting this disease along with failure of lungs to perform smoothly. In developed countries like USA, there is an increasing rate of death among people due to this disease as compared to cardiovascular death. Following healthy diet and staying away from air pollution is must if a person has such kind of diseases.