Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory lung condition that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs and makes it harder to breathe.
Usually, the air sacs (alveoli) and airways in your lungs are elastic. When you start breathing air in, the airways carry air to the air sacs. As a result, the air sacs get filled with air and appear like a small balloon. When you breathe out air, the air sacs become deflated and allow the air to go out. If you have a COPD condition, the amount of air flowing in and out of your airways decreases. As a result, the airway walls become thick, inflamed, and clogged with more mucus than normal conditions.
According to the studies of the United States, it is estimated that about 30 million people are susceptible to COPD. Yet, at the same time, half of them are unaware that they are infected with this progressive disease.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two types of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that worsen over time. In most cases, these two lung conditions happen together, and the severity of the disease varies from one individual to another individual with rising COPD.
Emphysema is a lung condition in which the air sacs (alveoli) at the end of the lungs’ smallest air passages (bronchioles) get destroyed. The damaged alveoli make the lungs stretch out and lose elasticity. As a result, the air gets trapped in the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe it out. As a result, people experience symptoms like shortness of breath. This condition becomes severe if a person is exposed to cigarette smoke, particulate matter, and other lung irritants.
Chronic bronchitis is the inflammation and narrowing of the bronchial tubes, which carry air in and out from the lungs’ alveoli. If a person has chronic bronchitis, the cilia lined to your bronchial tubes lose its efficacy. This results in more mucus (sputum) accumulation, and chronic cough symptoms expose its severity.
Read this article to know more information about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease symptoms, causes, and treatment.
Symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease symptoms do not appear at the initial stages; mild or no symptoms are observed. As COPD worsens, your symptoms become extreme, and lung damage occurs significantly.
Common symptoms of COPD are:
- Shortness of breath even after moderate exercises
- Chronic cough with or without mucus
- Chest tightness
- Wheezing or whistling sound when you breathe
- Frequent respiratory infections like cold or flu
- Appearance of blue fingernails
- Unintentional weight loss
- Fatigue
- Swelling of legs, feet and ankles
- Weakness in lower muscles
These symptoms sometimes lead to life-threatening situations if you are exposed to secondhand smoke regularly or if you smoke presently.
Causes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
The common causes of COPD include:
- Age:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is associated with the age factor. So, most people at the age of 40 are likely to develop COPD symptoms slowly.
- Smoke Exposure:
The major cause of COPD is the habit of long-term cigarette or tobacco smoking. 75% of people who suffer from COPD are cigar smokers, pipe smokers, and marijuana smokers. When people inhale the smoke released from the cigar, pipe, and other types of tobacco substitutes are likely to be prone to COPD conditions. If you have COPD and still smoke, you are at greater risk, and your situation tends to worsen soon. Even in the United States, smoking is the main cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
- Long term exposure to various lung irritants:
In addition to cigarette smoke, cigar smoke, pipe smoke, secondhand smoke can cause a severe impact of COPD. Long-term exposure to lung irritants such as air pollutants, chemical fumes, vapors, and dust from the workplace environment can cause irritation and inflammation to your lungs. Poorly ventilated homes, exposure to fumes eliminated from burning fuels used for cooking and heating also contributes to developing COPD in many people.
- Genetics:
Genetic predisposition plays a crucial role in developing COPD. According to an estimation, 5 percent of people suffering from COPD lack a protein called alpha 1 antitrypsin (AAT). The deficiency of AAT protein makes the lungs deteriorate and impacts the liver. If you have a family history of COPD, you are more susceptible to this inflammatory lung disease.
- Other Chronic Inflammatory Diseases:
Asthma is one of the chronic inflammatory airway diseases that trigger the intensity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary diseases. Therefore, asthmatic people are more prone to COPD than non-asthmatic people. In addition, an association between asthma and smoking pertains to the risk of COPD more.
Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Do you think that there is a complete cure for COPD? Well, there is no cure for COPD. The scope of the treatment is to ease your symptoms, slow down the progress of the disease, enhance your quality of life, and make you stay active.
Treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease also helps prevent other health complications like heart problems, lung cancer, respiratory infections, high blood pressure, stress, and depression affected by COPD.
Your doctor can perform clinical manifestations and suggests you the best treatment to overcome the problem of COPD. Lifestyle changes, medical treatment, and surgery are proven ways to manage the condition.
Lifestyle changes:
- The first vital step you can follow to treat COPD is that if you are a persistent smoker, it’s better to quit smoking.
- Also avoid roaming in the places of second-hand smoke, fumes, and other lung irritants that may interfere with your breathing.
- Plan your healthy diet or seek the help of a nutritionist where you can get complete guidance over COPD diet.
- Moderate physical activity and breathing exercises strengthens your body and mind.
Medical treatment for COPD:
Certain medications and medical procedures help reduce the COPD symptoms and relieve your problem.
- Bronchodilators and Combination inhalers:
- Bronchodilators help your airways to open and relax the muscles around it, thereby eases your breathing well.
- Antibiotics:
- Doctor prescribes antibiotics to get rid of viral or bacterial lung infections.
- Roflumilast (Daliresp) drug is also included in the treatment to stop the action of PDE4 enzyme and prevent the inflammation in individuals with COPD linked to chronic bronchitis.
- Corticosteroids drugs help reduce airway inflammation. These drugs can be inhaled or taken in the form of pills.
- Pneumonia and Flu vaccines:
- People with COPD are at greater risk for respiratory problems, including COVID-19.
- Therefore, vaccines for pneumococcal pneumonia and flu help reduce the risk for various respiratory illnesses.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation and Oxygen therapy:
- Pulmonary rehabilitation program helps individuals suffering from chronic breathing problems. This program gives a positive hope to live better active life, including exercise, disease management, nutritional and psychological counseling programs.
- Oxygen therapy helps you breathe easier, if you have low oxygen levels in your blood and severe effect of COPD. It protects lungs by reducing the symptom of shortness of breath and improves your life span.
Surgical procedures:
If COPD patients do not get better results with inhalers, medications, and few therapies, then they have to opt for surgical procedures such as:
- Bullectomy – In this surgical procedure, the large air spaces, i.e., bullae formed when air sacs are collapsed, are removed.
- Lung transplantation – It involves the replacement of a diseased lung with a healthy lung during severe COPD.
- Lung volume reduction surgery – Lung tissues get damaged if COPD is associated with emphysema. In such a case, the diseased lung tissue is removed.
Conclusion:
As we all know the fundamental principle, “prevention is better than cure,” so avoiding smoking, practicing a healthy lifestyle with proper management, and taking medications at the right time can help you achieve better control over COPD symptoms and improve your quality of life and reduces your health complications.
You can also reach out to the best pulmonologist and get better treatment for your COPD issues.