Learn About COPD

What is COPD?

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD is a mix of two diseases which are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. In both these diseases there is chronic hindrance of the flow of air through the lungs and airways. The obstruction is permanent and increases over a period. Asthma is also a disease in which there is hindrance to the flow of air through the lungs. But unlike chronic bronchitis and emphysema, the intermittent time between the ‘attacks’ of asthma, the flow of air through the airway is usually good and there is no inconvenience.

The hindrance in asthma is usually reversible unlike in chronic bronchitis and emphysema. There is medication called bronchodilators and these usually reverse the obstruction. There is scarring and narrowing of the airways in chronic inflammation of the airways. Some patients of asthma cam experience these symptoms and there is fixed amount of airway obstruction and these patients are said to be suffering from COPD.

COPD Causes and Symptoms

There is also overlapping of symptoms in COPD patients. Some chronic bronchitis patients may have symptoms of emphysema and some emphysema patients may have symptoms of chronic bronchitis. Smoking is a prime cause of COPD. 90% of all COPD patients in the United States are smokers. Although not all smokers will develop COPD, studies show that 15 % will develop COPD. There are also more respiratory deterioration symptoms in smokers and more weakening in lung function than non–smokers. There are more asthma symptoms in children who live in households where adults smoke. There are these symptoms of damage caused to the lungs in people who are exposed to air pollution though it is not proved that outdoor air pollution contributed to the development of COPD. In non-industrialized countries, the main cause of COPD is indoor pollution from the smoke of stoves and other indoor pollutants. There are other occupational pollutants like silica and cadmium which increase the risk of COPD. There are certain professionals who are under the risk of developing COPD from occupational pollutants. These include cotton workers, metal workers, construction workers and coal miners. The deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin is another cause of developing COPD. This is a rare genetic disorder and leads to the death of less than 1%. The overall effects of smoking cigarettes are higher than the effects of occupational pollutants. The effects of alpha -1 antitrypsin lead to the incidence of COPD in some people. The symptoms of patients with COPD are chronic cough, shortness of breath (dyspnea) and frequent respiratory infections. Those who are affected by emphysema have shortness of breath to be the major symptom. The shortness of breath is usually seen at times of increased physical activity but as emphysema goes on the shortness of breath occurs at rest. Those who have chronic bronchitis have chronic cough and sputum production as the major symptoms. The infections can cause fever and production of purulent sputum and wheezing which is sound produced by the lungs. These are all that we need to know about the disease COPD.