Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Jun 19, 2016 News

By Dr Zulfikar Bux

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. It is a very

Dr Zulfikar Bux

common disease and is on the World Health Organization (WHO) watch list as a disease that will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

In people with COPD, the airways (the branching tubes that carry air within the lungs) become narrow and damaged. This makes people feel out of breath and tired.

COPD can be a serious illness. It cannot be cured and it usually gets worse over time. But there are treatments that can help.

You might have heard COPD referred to as “chronic bronchitis” or “emphysema.” These are types of COPD.

WHY DID I GET COPD?

The most common cause of COPD is smoking. Smoke can damage the lungs forever and cause COPD. People can also get COPD from breathing in toxic fumes or gases or environmental exposures over time. Consistent exposure to mosquito coils, pesticides/insecticides, chemicals in industrial work, indoor air pollution etc., can lead to lung damage and subsequently COPD. In rare cases, COPD is caused by a genetic problem. A blood test can check for this.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF COPD?

At first, COPD often causes no symptoms. As it gets worse it can make you:

Feel short of breath, especially when you are moving around
Wheeze (make a whistling or squeaking noise as you breathe)
Cough and spit up phlegm (mucus)

People who have had COPD for a while are also at increased risk for:

Infections, such as pneumonia
Lung cancer
Heart problems

IS THERE A TEST FOR COPD?

Yes. Your doctor can give you a test called “spirometry” to check for COPD. During spirometry, you take a deep breath and then blow out as fast and hard as you can into a tube. A machine connected to the tube measures how much air you can blow out of your lungs and how fast you can blow.

If the results of your spirometry are not normal, you will get a medicine in an inhaler to see if your breathing gets better. Then after a few minutes, you will repeat the spirometry. This will help the doctor or nurse find out if your problem is caused by COPD or another lung problem, such as asthma. People with asthma usually get normal results after they use an inhaler. People with COPD do not.

IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO FEEL BETTER?

Yes. Here are 2 important things you should do:

STOP SMOKING!If you smoke, the most important thing you can do for your COPD is to stop smoking. It does not matter how long you have smoked or how much you smoke. Quitting will slow your disease and help you feel better.
Get the flu shot annually, and the pneumonia vaccine at least once.Infections like the flu and pneumonia can be very hard on your lungs. It’s important to try to prevent them.
Avoid air pollutants! Ensure that you are not constantly in environments where chemicals are used or released. Even in the home, excess inhalation of biomass fuel gas can lead to lung damage and COPD.

HOW IS COPD TREATED?

There are 4 main types of treatment for COPD:

Medicines– There are a lot of medicines to treat COPD. Most people use inhalers that help open up their airways or decrease swelling in the airways. Often people need more than one inhaler at a time. You might need to take a steroid medicine in a pill for a flare of COPD. This steroid medicine is not the kind that athletes take to build up muscle.
Oxygen– If the disease gets worse, you might need to use oxygen. Your doctor can test your blood oxygen to see if you need this.
Pulmonary rehab– In pulmonary rehab, you learn to improve their symptoms in new ways. You learn exercises and ways to breathe that can help ease symptoms. Even if you don’t do a pulmonary rehab program, staying active can help your breathing.
Surgery– rarely, people with severe COPD will have surgery to remove the most damaged parts of their lung. This surgery can reduce symptoms, but it does not always work

Breathing clean air is your best bet against becoming a COPD victim. This should start at home where the prevention of pollutants use and adequate ventilation should be encouraged.

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