Healthy alveoli and alveoli with COPD
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 COPD. 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. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a serious lung disease that, over time, makes it increasingly difficult to breathe. It is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and causes serious, long-term disability. The number of people with COPD is increasing and more than 12 million people are currently diagnosed with COPD and an additional 12 million likely have the disease and don't even know it.Unless you are a doctor, and specifically a pulmonary specialist, you can't really make a confirmed diagnosis, but here are some possible ailments that may very well be COPD.
Instructions
1. COPD develops slowly and it may be many years before you notice symptoms like feeling short of breath. Most of the time, COPD is diagnosed in middle-aged or older people.
2. Do you have a hard time breathing? Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) makes it hard for you to breathe.
3. Are you coughing up mucus? Coughing up mucus is often the first sign of COPD.
4. Do you have a combination of cough, mucus production, shortness of breath, especially with exercise, wheezing, or whistling sound when you breathe tightness in the chest?
5. Do you have Chronic bronchitis or emphysema?
6. Do you smoke? Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Quitting smoking is the best way to avoid developing COPD.
7. Do you live or work in a situation where you are breathing in other kinds of irritants, like pollution, dust or chemicals?
8. The most common symptoms of COPD are a cough that does not go away and coughing up lots of sputum. These symptoms often start years before the flow of air in and out of the lungs is reduced. Not everyone who has a cough and sputum goes on to develop COPD.
9. If you have these ailments or they seem to describe you, visit a pulmonary specialist. If your doctor thinks you may have COPD, he or she will examine you, listen to your lungs, and ask you questions about your medical history, and what lung irritants you may have been around for long periods of time.
10. To confirm a diagnosis of COPD, your doctor will use a breathing test called spirometry. The test is easy and painless and shows how well your lungs work. You breathe hard into a large hose connected to a machine called a spirometer. When you breathe out, the spirometer measures how much air your lungs can hold and how fast you can blow air out of your lungs.
11. Pulmonary rehabilitation is crucial for many COPD patients. It can help reduce the impact of COPD and greatly improve the patient's quality of life. Treatment can make you more comfortable, but there is no cure.
Tags: your lungs, with COPD, most common, cause COPD, Chronic Obstructive, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary