Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe. In COPD, the airways—the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs—are partly obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out.
Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers. Breathing in other kinds of lung irritants, like pollution, dust, or chemicals, over a long period of time may also cause or contribute to COPD.
The airways branch out like an upside-down tree, and at the end of each branch are many small, balloon-like air sacs. In healthy people, each airway is clear and open. The air sacs are small and dainty, and both the airways and air sacs are elastic and springy. When you breathe in, each air sac fills up with air like a small balloon; when you breathe out, the balloon deflates and the air goes out. (See the How the Lungs Work section for details.) In COPD, the airways and air sacs lose their shape and become floppy. Less air gets in and less air goes out because:
- The airways and air sacs lose their elasticity (like an old rubber band).
- The walls between many of the air sacs are destroyed.
- The walls of the airways become thick and inflamed (swollen).
- Cells in the airways make more mucus (sputum) than usual, which tends to clog the airways.
COPD is a major cause of death and illness, and it is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and throughout the world.
There is no cure for COPD. The damage to your airways and lungs cannot be reversed, but there are things you can do to feel better and slow the damage. COPD is not contagious.
Causes
Smoking Is the Most Common Cause of COPD
Most cases of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develop after repeatedly breathing in fumes and other things that irritate and damage the lungs and airways. Cigarette smoking is the most common irritant that causes COPD. Pipe, cigar, and other types of tobacco smoke can also cause COPD, especially if the smoke is inhaled. Breathing in other fumes and dusts over a long period of time may also cause COPD. The lungs and airways are highly sensitive to these irritants. They cause the airways to become inflamed and narrowed, and they destroy the elastic fibers that allow the lung to stretch and then return to its resting shape. This makes breathing air in and out of the lungs more difficult.
Other things that may irritate the lungs and contribute to COPD include:
- Working around certain kinds of chemicals and breathing in the fumes for many years
- Working in a dusty area over many years
- Heavy exposure to air pollution
Being around secondhand smoke (smoke in the air from other people smoking cigarettes) also plays a role in an individual developing COPD.
Genes—tiny bits of information in your body cells passed on by your parents—may play a role in developing COPD. In rare cases, COPD is caused by a gene-related disorder called alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency. Alpha 1 antitrypsin (an-te-TRIP-sin) is a protein in your blood that inactivates destructive proteins. People with antitrypsin deficiency have low levels of alpha 1 antitrypsin; the imbalance of proteins leads to the destruction of the lungs and COPD. If people with this condition smoke, the disease progresses more rapidly.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include:
- Cough
- Sputum (mucus) production
- Shortness of breath, especially with exercise
- Wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe)
- Chest tightness
The severity of the symptoms depends on how much of the lung has been destroyed. If you continue to smoke, the lung destruction is faster than if you stop smoking.
Treatment
Quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and slow the progress of the disease.
Your doctor will recommend treatments that help relieve your symptoms and help you breathe easier. However, COPD cannot be cured.
The goals of COPD treatment are to:
- Relieve your symptoms with no or minimal side effects of treatment
- Slow the progress of the disease
- Improve exercise tolerance (your ability to stay active)
- Prevent and treat complications and sudden onset of problems
- Improve your overall health
Treatment is based on whether your symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe.
Medicines and pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab) are often used to help relieve your symptoms and to help you breathe more easily and stay active.
Prevention
If you smoke, the most important thing you can do to stop more damage to your lungs is to quit smoking.
It is also important to stay away from people who are smoking and places where you know there will be smokers.
Staying away from other lung irritants such as pollution, dust, and certain cooking or heating fumes is also important. For example, you should stay in your house when the outside air quality is poor.
Managing Complications and Preventing Sudden Onset of Problems
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have symptoms that suddenly get worse. When this happens, you have a much harder time catching your breath. You may also have chest tightness, more coughing, change in your sputum, and a fever. It is important to call your doctor if you have any of these signs or symptoms.
Your doctor will look at things that might be causing these signs and symptoms to suddenly worsen. Sometimes the signs and symptoms are caused by a lung infection. Your doctor may want you to take an antibiotic medicine that helps fight off the infection.
Your doctor may also recommend additional medicines to help with your breathing. These medicines include bronchodilators and glucocorticosteroids.
Your doctor may recommend that you spend time in the hospital if:
- You have a lot of difficulty catching your breath.
- You have a hard time talking.
- Your lips or fingernails turn blue or gray.
- You are not mentally alert.
- Your heartbeat is very fast.
- Home treatment of worsening symptoms doesn't help.
Informations obtained from National Institute of Health.