COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive disease that develops slowly over time and makes it hard for a person to breathe. As symptoms worsen, a person’s daily activities become limited, and patients with severe COPD eventually lose their mobility and ability to care for themselves. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the US today, and is most often the result from long-term smoking.

COPD obstructs a person’s airways and interferes with their breathing, thereby inhibiting their lung’s ability to perform this function. The lungs supply oxygen to a person’s blood while also removing carbon dioxide from it. When someone has COPD, their airways (i.e. bronchial tubes) and lungs (i.e. the branches of grape-like air sacs called alveoli) become inflamed and lose their elastic ability to inhale and exhale when a person breathes, plus they become clogged with the excess mucus.

Every COPD patient exhibits different primary symptoms because they usually are affected by one of the major respiratory-diseases diseases - chronic bronchitis, emphysema or asthma. COPD actually includes the first two conditions, and is often referred to by these names as well as chronic obstructive lung or airway disease.

COPD Symptoms

Patients with C.O.P.D. most often experience one or more of the following symptoms:
  • Increased mucus production (often the first sign)
  • Increases mucus thickness or stickiness
  • A change in mucus color to yellow or green
  • Shortness of breath
  • Chronic cough
  • Chronic cold or flu
  • Chest tightness
  • Frequent throat clearing
  • Wheezing when exhaling
  • Swollen ankles

COPD Treatment

Although COPD is not curable at this time, both medical treatments and changes in your lifestyle can help you maintain your independence and delay the progression of the disease. Current treatments include oxygen therapy, medications, vaccines, surgery, and pulmonary rehab.

The goals of COPD treatment are to:
  • Relieve your symptoms
  • Improve your stamina
  • Prevent complications
  • Slow the disease’s progression

COPD patients need clean air to breathe. Avoid being around smokers. Stay indoors when your local air is full of fog, smog or smoke. If necessary, wear a protective face mask (i.e. respirator) if you must go out.

COPD patients must also take preventative measures because they have a higher risk of catching respiratory-diseases diseases. Visit your physician on a regular basis and every time you catch a cold. Keep up to date on all vaccines such as flu shots every fall and a pneumonia vaccine when due to reduce your risk for these diseases.

Medications are used to treat both the symptoms and complications of COPD. These include:
  • Bronchodilators help to open your airway and enable you to breathe easier by relaxing the muscles around your airways. These medications are provided in an inhaler and are either short-acting to use before an activity or long-acting to use on a regular basis.
  • Inhaled Steroids are used to treat patients with moderate to severe COPD. They reduce airway inflammation and help you breathe better.
  • Oxygen Therapy enables COPD patients to breathe easier by using oxygen via nasal canulas or mask either periodically or all of the time.
  • Antibiotics are used to treat upper respiratory-diseases infections, such as the flu, pneumonia, and acute bronchitis.

Surgery is an option of utilized as a last resort when COPD patients are not helped sufficiently by the above medications. These include a lung transplant, lung volume reduction or a bullectomy (the last two for severe emphysema patients).

COPD Products

Oxygen:
Oxygen benefits COPD patients with severe lung impairment. This therapy relieves low blood oxygen levels (hypoxia) and improves mental functioning. Oxygen can be supplied as:
  • Liquid Oxygen
  • Gas Cylinders
  • Portable Oxygen Systems
  • Concentrators take room air and remove most of the other gases present to supply the respiratory-diseases patient with 90 to 95 percent pure oxygen. The concentrators can be set to deliver a specific oxygen flow ranging from 1 to 6 LPM (liters per minute).
  • Portable Oxygen Concentrators (POD’s) enable oxygen patients to maintain their mobility and independence. These high-tech concentrators are lightweight and unobtrusive, and easy to carry with you wherever you go, be it work or travel.
  • Compressor Nebulizers (Pulmo-Aide) are table-top units that force compressed air through a nebulization chamber to aerosolize medication for inhalation.
Mobility:
Mobility products such as canes and walkers become necessary as the COPD patient becomes weaker and less mobile. These include: Bathroom Safety:
Bathroom safety products help the patient maintain stability and independence in the bathroom. These include:

Resources on COPD

American Lung Association
800 586-4872
www.lungusa.org

National Heart Blood and Lung Institute
US Dept. of Health and Human Services
www.nhbli.nih.gov

MedlinePlus
The National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus