Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is the collective term for a number of lung diseases that cause airway obstruction and prevent the lungs from breathing properly. Two of the most common types of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These conditions often occur together. The characteristic symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is breathlessness or difficult respiration.

Emphysema is a chronic or a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that is characterized by shortness of breath due to over-inflation of the alveoli. Alveoli are the air sacs in the lungs, through which exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. In case of emphysema the exchange of gases between the blood and the inhaled air does not take place properly as they are over inflated.

Chronic bronchitis is a chronic condition which is characterized by the presence of a productive cough. Productive cough means cough accompanied by sputum or expectorant. In case of chronic bronchitis, the productive cough lasts for 3 months or more and this condition is present for at least 2 consecutive years.

1.      Cigarette Smoking

Cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The cigarette smoke irritates the bronchi and causes chronic inflammation.

2.      Exposure to chemical irritants

Long term exposure to occupational pollutants such as cotton, flax and dust increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It can also be caused as a result of chronic exposure to chemical fumes from ammonia, strong acids, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide or bromine.

3.      Genetic tendency

A genetic disorder known as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency can trigger emphysema, even if no other risk factors are present.

Some of the common symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are listed below:

1. Breathlessness

Breathlessness or difficult respiration is aggravated in cold weather, winter or exposure to cold air. It is also made worse by minimal exertion such as walking uphill or climbing upstairs. The difficult respiration is aggravated at night and on lying down. Sometimes the person has to sit up the whole night or rock in a chair to and fro, as lying down on bed only makes the condition worse.

2. Respiratory Wheeze

The narrowing of the airways due to chronic irritation and the excessive secretion of the mucus causes limitation and obstruction to the flow of air, in and out of the lungs. This causes a respiratory wheeze. The wheezing occurs especially after coughing and is more prominent at night.

3. Coughing up Sputum

There is excessive secretion of mucus in case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The person suffering from this condition often develops a chronic cough with production of sputum. The sputum is generally transparent or whitish in color. Greenish yellow offensive sputum, along with high fever and chills may indicate a possible bacterial infection.

There is no cure for COPD. So treatment is focused on symptomatic relief and prevention of further complications.