Know your treatment options
The good news is that there are many types of treatment options for people with COPD. Treatment is based on the person's general medical condition and how far the disease has progressed. Options usually include a combination of treatments.
Understanding your medications and how to take them is an important step in managing COPD. If taken correctly, certain medicines can improve your breathing. Use the tabs below to learn more about medications and other COPD treatment options.
Your doctor can help decide what is right for you
Fast-acting bronchodilators—sometimes called "rescue" or "quick-reliever" medications—generally work within 3 to 5 minutes to relieve shortness of breath. They help to open the airways in the lungs by relaxing the smooth muscles that line the airways. They can be given in many ways but are most often inhaled.
It's very important that you always carry your rescue inhaler with you for sudden symptoms of COPD.
There are two categories of inhaled COPD medication. One category is rescue inhalers and the other category is maintenance inhalers.
A "maintenance" or "controller" medication is prescribed to keep day-to-day symptoms under control. Since COPD is with you every day, a daily maintenance medication is usually needed. Long-acting bronchodilators and combination products are types of COPD maintenance medications.
Long-acting bronchodilators
Bronchodilators relax the muscle bands that tighten around the airways. This helps to improve breathing by allowing air to pass through the lungs more easily. Long-acting bronchodilators do not begin working immediately, but their effects last for 12 to 24 hours. They are generally used twice a day to open the airways and keep them open.
Two main groups of bronchodilators are:
- Beta-agonists
- Anticholinergics
Combination products
Combination products contain more than one type of medicine and may be more beneficial than either medicine used alone. For example, some combination products contain both a long-acting beta-agonist and an inhaled corticosteroid (this helps decrease swelling in the airways of the lungs).
If you are still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor about a combination product that can help significantly improve lung function .
This tool can make it easier to stay on track with your maintenance medications.
Please keep in mind that a maintenance medication does not replace your fast-acting inhaler. You never know when COPD symptoms will occur, so carry your fast-acting inhaler with you at all times.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a medically supervised program that teaches you about lung function and offers exercises that may help you be more active with decreased shortness of breath. It is an important way to reduce the impact of COPD and other chronic lung diseases.
It may involve a whole team—doctors, nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists, and dietitians—all working with you to create a pulmonary rehabilitation program that meets your specific needs. Some people receive training designed to improve respiratory muscle function, reducing the severity of breathlessness and improving the ability to exercise. Others learn how to avoid or reduce shortness of breath during meals by adjusting the types and amounts of food they eat.
The overall goal of pulmonary rehabilitation is to improve quality of life by decreasing respiratory symptoms, improving physical conditioning, and maintaining control over your day-to-day functioning.
When the lungs can't get enough oxygen into the blood, your doctor may prescribe oxygen therapy. Oxygen therapy usually improves blood oxygen levels. It has actually been shown to help some people with COPD live longer.
Don't think that being on oxygen necessarily means you are homebound; there are many convenient portable systems available. Rather than limiting your independence, this therapy may actually allow you to be more active by providing the oxygen that your body needs.
You've probably heard from others that you should stop smoking. But has anyone ever told you why you should?
Clinical studies have shown that people who quit smoking can significantly slow the loss of lung function. Also, quitting smoking has been shown to help people with COPD live longer.
Minutes after you quit smoking, your body starts to respond:
- 20 minutes after quitting: your heart rate drops.
- 24 hours after quitting: carbon monoxide levels in your blood return to normal. Carbon monoxide is a poison found in cigarette smoke.
- 2-12 weeks after quitting: your chance of heart attack decreases.
- 1 year after quitting: your excess risk of heart disease drops to half that of a smoker.
And the benefits continue after that. Another study showed that ex-smokers get fewer illnesses from cold and flu viruses and also had reduced rates of bronchitis and pneumonia.
When you have COPD, it's important to do all you can to help prevent illness in the first place. And these two vaccines can help.
Flu Shots
If you have COPD or any type of lung issue, getting a flu shot is smart preventative medicine. You see, the flu can lead to serious problems for people with COPD. For example, a flu that affects your respiratory system can make it hard to breathe and even cause more irreversible damage to the lungs. So it's important to get your flu shot every year.
Pneumococcal Vaccine
When you have a flu shot, ask if your pneumococcal vaccine is up to date. It can help protect you against S.Pneunmoniae, a common type of pneumonia. People with COPD are at greater risk of developing this type of pneumonia, which can lead to severe illness and acute exacerbations. The benefits of vaccination are clear: one study showed that getting the pneumococcal vaccine reduced hospitalization from COPD by 43%.
If you are over 65 and/or have COPD, you should ask your doctor about when you should get a pneumococcal vaccination.
It only takes a few minutes to get vaccinated. But the protection that they offer can help keep you healthy for a long time.
