How to deal with COPD

COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) disease, is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. "Progressive" means the disease gets worse over time.

Regrettably, COPD is a principal cause of death and individuals with a long-term history of smoking are at high risk. The damage caused to your lungs by smoking cannot be undone once you start to suffer from COPD and is held responsible for the resultant difficulty in breathing.

This means that you have difficulty exhaling because the airways in your lungs can not deal with the air that you need because of one of the following:

The air sacs and airways in your lungs have lost some of their elastic value.

Your airways produce more mucus than normal, which will clog them.

The air sacs between the walls in your lungs are destroyed.

Your airway walls of your lungs are thick and inflamed

There are signs and symptoms of COPD but they can vary from one person to the next. Normally all people with COPD will have more than one of the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath

Chest tightness

Chronic cough

Wheezing

Many people who are diagnosed with COPD were earlier diagnosed with chronic asthmatic bronchitis or emphysema and some may even suffer from both of these diseases. Chronic asthmatic bronchitis is when a person has an increased mucus production, inflammation and narrowing of the airways which causes the person to cough and wheeze.

A person with emphysema has damaged alveoli (tiny air sacs), which reduces the amount of surface area on the lungs in which to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. The alveoli walls are also weaker which may cause them to collapse during exhalation, trapping the air inside. This trapping of air causes the symptom of shortness of breath.

The people most at risk from COPD are those who are exposed to excessive dust, chemical fumes, air pollution or tobacco smoke. Age has a lot to do with COPD, as the symptoms can start to appear about the age of 40. Genetics is thought to plan a role in COPD because researchers believe a rare genetic disorder known, as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency is a reason of some of the cases of COPD. .

People who are diagnosed with COPD are at risk to respiratory infections like pneumonia, which as we know, can do more damage to the lungs and make it even more difficult for them to breathe. Other difficulties for those with COPD can be are high blood pressure. If this is the case high blood pressure could put a strain on the right ventricle of the heart, which will then cause the legs and ankles to swell. COPD will also increases the risk to a person for heart disease, heart attack, and depression. People become depressed because of the difficulty in breathing, inability to be physically active or to do activities that they did in the past. This can make a person extremely sad about life and about their health.

There is no cure for COPD but there are treatments that can control the symptoms and improve breathing. Life style changes can help and the first of those is to maintain a positive attitude.

First off, if you are smoking, stop.

Go and see your doctor to get ongoing care.

Prepare for emergencies

Stay away from lung irritants

Learn how to manage the disease and its symptoms

Stay away from crowds and cold air

Eat a health diet

Keep in touch with your doctor on a regular basis

Build up your immune system by drinking Aloe Vera or some such.

Try using a Himalayan Salt Pipe

Become involved in a support group

Make sure that you are informed of new treatments

Treatment may include oxygen therapy, antibiotics to control infections, bronchodilators and inhaled steroids. Surgery may be necessary for those with severe emphysema when medications alone are not enough to control symptoms. In cases of severe emphysema when nothing else helps, a lung transplant is the last resort.