COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, happens to be the reason behind blocked airflow in the lungs and eventually causes breathing problems. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis that leads to severe breathing inability, and it is the third most deaths causing disease in the United States. Smoking Tobacco is a primary reason behind the development and enhanced progression of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. However, other factors like excessive exposure to air pollution, respiratory infections, and genetic factors.
Causes of COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was majorly caused by smoking tobacco. Several other factors lead to the blockage in the bronchitis of the lungs, which eventually leads to the blockage in the airflow inside the lungs. Excessive and long-term exposure to polluted environments also leads to COPD. Other causes of COPD include the genetic factors where one is born with a weak respiratory system to withstand air pollutants and smoking. People with respiratory infections tend to get chronic obstructive respiratory diseases easily.
Symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases
COPD is mainly caused by smoking tobacco, but other factors like air pollution in prime developing nations, genetic factors, and respiratory infections also lead to blockage of bronchi in lungs that hurdles in the airflow while respiration. There are several symptoms of COPD like:
- Frequent and regular coughing and wheezing
- Production of excess phlegm, sputum, or mucus
- The problem of short breaths
- Pain or discomfort while taking deep and long breaths
Is COPD a man’s disease?
It was considered a disease found in men only as there were very few cases where women who practised smoking habits were COPD patients. After 2000 this scenario was changed, and there was significant growth in the number of deaths of women due to chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. There were several reasons behind this increasing death rate. One of the major reasons was the late treatment and recognition of COPD. This situation resulted in a less effective treatment when the disease was authoritarian.
Effects of COPD
When compared to people who did not have COPD, few effects turned out to be due to COPD. Below mentioned effects are the complications and effects of COPD on a human being:
- Feeling difficulty in running, walking or performing cardio activities.
- Need of special portable oxygen tanks to fulfil the oxygen requirements of the body.
- The affected person should follow proper limitations in visiting public places.
- Enhanced memory loss or increased confusion.
- Vulnerable to other chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes, heart diseases, asthma.
- The person might face problems like depression, emotional conditions, or other mental conditions.
Steps to avoid the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases are caused by the factors discussed above. Now that you have become familiar with the causes of COPD. It can be treated with careful and quality evaluation by a good physician and identifying the COPD at its early stages to ease the diagnosis. Here are a few steps you can take to cure, treat and avoid the risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases.
Quit the habit of smoking
Smoking tobacco is a primary reason behind Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, and for people who practise smoking, it is the first step in their treatment cycle.
Avoid pollutants
People who undergo the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease should avoid smoking and other pollutants found in the air at home and in work environments.
Pulmonary rehabilitation
You can also ask your doctor for pulmonary rehabilitation, a more effective and personalized program that undergoes treatment of COPD by utilising several management strategies to enhance the treatment quality. These personalised pulmonary rehabilitation programs include various plans to make people learn about breathing better. It also teaches the proper energy conservation as they might face a lap of energy while performing several activities. An effective pulmonary rehabilitation also provides advice on doing physical exercises and maintaining a good food cycle.
Avoid lung infections
For people who undergo treatment for COPD, lung infections can become serious trouble. However, certain vaccines like flu and pneumococcal vaccines are specially designed and important for people suffering from COPD to give them proper antibiotics to fight respiratory infections.
Use of supplementary oxygen
In the worst-case scenario, people use supplemental oxygen by using a portable oxygen tank to fulfil their oxygen needs and maintain a good blood oxygen level.
Conclusion
COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It is a state where the bronchitis of the lungs faces obstruction due to several reasons like lung infection, genetic disorders, smoking habits, or air pollutants. This obstruction in the bronchitis of the lungs results in a decreased airflow which eventually results in lower blood oxygen levels than required by the human body to function properly and support physical exercises. A person suffering from COPD should avoid smoking strictly as it is one of the primary reasons behind these diseases.