Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease commonly known as COPD is a lung disease. In this complicated disease people feel very difficult to breathe. COPD is also called a progressive disease due to its various characteristics. It is a complicated respiratory disease. COPD patients have to fight for a longer period of time in order to succeed. That’s why chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the major factors of various health issues and can even lead to death. Due to its complexity here we will discuss what COPD actually is, what its symptoms are and how to treat it in an effective way. This important article is all about. Let’s get started.
What is COPD?
COPD is a term which is used to describe chronic lung disease which is called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Why do we call it a complicated disease? It is because COPD is a group of fatal diseases related to lungs. Patients feel much difficulty in breathing. Among multiple diseases, the most important contributing factors in case of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Let’s quickly talk about both of them.
Emphysema
In case of emphysema, it attacks on alveoli which are air sacs in the lungs and destroys it. With the passage of time the inner wall of the air sacs becomes weakened and eventually it raptures. When this happens, the surface area of the lungs reduces to a greater extent. In this way the oxygen that has to reach your bloodstream is affected very badly.
Chronic Bronchitis
Chronic Bronchitis creates inflammation into the lining of the bronchial tubes. What are the bronchial tubes? Bronchial tubes are responsible for carrying oxygen to and from the alveoli. Due to the inflammation into the lining of the bronchial tube it produces extra mucus and creates persistent cough. In most of the cases patience suffers in both conditions, i.e. emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis.
Causes and Risk Factors
One of the important causes of COPD are the factors that damage the lungs and airways. Cigarette smoke is the most common factor in case of COPD. However, cigarettes are not the only factor. There are some of the other irritants that also play an important role in creating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Second Hand Smoke
Those people who are actually not smokers but face cigarette smoke are also at the risk of COPD.
Air Pollution
Air pollution is another risk factor in case of COPD. Those people affected most who work under a pollutant atmosphere for a longer period of time.
Occupational Risk Factors
The chances of COPD increases in those people who work in that atmosphere for a longer period of time which is full of chemicals, dust and fumes.
Genetics
Genetics is one of the factors that can contribute towards COPD. The research in Medical science shows that a genetic disorder which is medically known as alpha 1 antitrypsin can be the reason for creating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Symptoms of COPD
One of the issues in case of COPD is the symptoms that start to develop slowly and when the time passes they become severe. So it becomes important to diagnose it at an early stage in order to go for a better and effective treatment. Here we are going to talk about some of the common symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Difficulty in Breathing
A person has difficulty breathing. Especially this happens during some physical activity.
Chronic Cough
Most of the time, it produces mucus. The color of mucus can be white, yellow or greenish.
Respiratory Infections
It is also found that in case of COPD, they create respiratory infections repeatedly like flu, cold and pneumonia.
Wheezing
Sometimes people feel heavy breathing with a whistling type of sound.
Chest Tightness
An affected person with COPD feels discomfort and pain in the chest.
Fatigue
Fatigue is another common symptom in case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. People feel tired and lazy.
Diagnosis
As we said earlier, effective diagnosis is the key to effective treatment. Here in the following we are talking about some of the important diagnosis steps that you can take in case of COPD.
Medical History and Physical Examination
In order to make an effective diagnosis the first step that you can take is to check out the medical history and other risk factors that can contribute towards COPD.
Imaging Tests
It is important to analyze and check out the possible damage in the lungs. For this purpose imaging tests are very important like CT scan and chest X-rays tests.
Arterial Blood Gas Analysis
Arterial Blood Gas Analysis test is used in order to measure Oxygen and carbon dioxide level in the blood.
Spirometry
Spirometry tests are very beneficial in order to check out how much a person inhales and exhales air and how quickly.
Treatment Options
It is a fact that there is no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. You can only manage it with effective diagnosis and several treatment options. Some of the treatment strategies that you can avail are as follows.
Medications
There are certain types of medicines that you can take in order to reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life. Some of the important ones are as follows.
Bronchodilators
Bronchodilators are actually inhaled medicines that are very useful for easy breathing. You just have to inhale the medicine. It will give you quick relief in breathing by relaxing the muscles around the airways.
Steroids
You can also take steroids which are available both in oral and inhaled form. These corticosteroids are helpful in reducing inflammation of the Airway.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics most of the time are recommended in order to treat bacterial infections.
Vaccinations
Vaccination is also important in order to prevent infections in case of COPD. Some of the important vaccines that you can use in this context are influenza and pneumococcal.
Combination Inhalers
Combination inhalers are basically combinations of bronchodilators and steroids. This type of medicine can be beneficial in order to reduce symptoms of COPD to a great extent.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
A pulmonary rehabilitation program is also important in order to keep you physically strong and improve your overall health. This program is a combination of several practices such as exercise, nutritional awareness and education.
Oxygen Therapy
Oxygen therapy is really useful in that case when a person has a low amount of Oxygen in their blood. In oxygen therapy supplemental oxygen is given to a person for easy breathing.
Surgery
This is the extreme stage of the treatment. When the situation becomes complex then it is very important to go for a surgery. There are some cases where surgical options become crucial.
Bullectomy
In this type of surgery large air spaces are removed that creates hindrance to breathe normally.
Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
In this type of surgery an affected lung is removed. By doing this it allows remaining healthier tissues to perform their functions in a better way.
Lung Transplant
This is the extreme type of surgery which is performed in that case where the lung damages and needs to be removed. In lung transplant an affective lung is replaced with a healthy one.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
You can manage COPD by changing lifestyle and implementing home remedies. Some of the important steps are as follows.
Stop Smoking
If you are a COPD patient then quickly stop smoking. This will help to slow down functioning of COPD and improve the functionality of the lungs.
Avoid Lung Irritants
Try to distance yourself from those factors that increase lung disease. There are certain factors that you have to reduce, for example dust, air pollution or chemical fumes. You can take certain steps like wearing masks at the place of work and purifying your home with the use of an air purifier.
Healthy Diet
Similar to other diseases, a healthy diet is really very important in case of COPD as well. If you consume or eat a healthy diet the chances of diseases will reduce automatically. Try to eat a balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. Here the important thing of discussion at the moment is to reduce weight. It is very important to maintain a healthy weight because neither underweight nor overweight is good for your health. When you lose your weight to a greater extent your respiratory muscles become weak and similarly overweight also increases more difficulties in breathing.
Regular Exercise
There are a lot of benefits of taking regular exercise. Exercises not only improve your muscle strength but are also very important for cardiovascular health and stability.
Breathing Exercises
In the case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease where a person feels much difficulty in breathing, breathing exercises can be helpful. There are certain techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing and pursed lip breathing. These types of techniques improve the efficiency of the lung and also reduce symptoms of difficulty breathing.
Managing Outbreaks
There are certain factors that can increase the severity of COPD including air pollution, infections and other irritants. In this case it is very important to manage outbreaks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Recognizing Early Symptoms
It is very important to detect early symptoms of COPD because when these symptoms progress they become worse leading to damage of lungs and other fatal diseases. When you note that the shortness of breathing is increasing or there is any change in the color and volume of the mucus then you must consult your doctor immediately for proper diagnosis and effective treatment.
Having an Action Plan
You must have an action plan when you start to treat COPD. Just consult your physician and ask him to develop an action plan containing instructions about medicines and when and how to seek medical help.
Medication Adjustment
It is very important to adjust your medicine with the changes in symptoms and conditions especially in case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. How will you adjust your medication? Your professional Healthcare provider can guide you briefly in this whole picture.
Keep Hydrated
Hydration is not only important for your own functioning of the body but it is also important for the production of normal mucus. By drinking plenty of water it helps to keep mucus thin and make it easy to clear it.
Emotional and Psychological Support
It is really challenging to live with any kind of disease whether it is COPD. For this purpose emotional and psychological support is very important for the patient. You can get this support in different ways. Counseling, support groups and mindfulness and relaxation practices are really helpful in this case.
Conclusion
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a serious lung disease where a person feels much difficulty in breathing. If it is not diagnosed at an earlier stage then it can lead to serious health issues even it can damage the lungs. So it becomes very important to detect its symptoms at an early stage and go for effective treatment options. Keep in mind that there is no cure for COPD. Despite the fact that disease is progressive in nature and it has no cure currently. But by following some practices you can beat this chronic disease. All you need is to be proactive. Smoking is one of the major contributors to COPD. So stop it as quickly as possible. Besides that, there are some Irritants that directly affect lungs making it very difficult to breathe.
Just consult your professional Healthcare provider and discuss all the issues in front of him. Try to get emotional and psychological support in order to tackle this disease more efficiently. If you follow these steps you can recover in a shorter period of time. But you have to stick to the plans because it’s a long journey and you have to show patience.