What exactly is COPD?
When some people hear "COPD," they're not sure what to think. It may be confusing because Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is not a single disease but an umbrella term used to describe chronic lung diseases that can limit your airflow.
COPD includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Either may compromise lung function.
Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the airways that causes increased mucus to be produced. Bronchitis is considered chronic if you cough and produce excess mucus most days for three months in a year, two years in a row.
Emphysema is a disease that damages the air sacs and/or the smallest breathing tubes in the lungs.
Common day-to-day COPD symptoms include a cough, coughing up mucus or phlegm, difficult breathing and shortness of breath, wheezing and chest tightness.
There's no denying that COPD is a serious disease, but you don't have to settle for a life defined by it. You might have to pace yourself differently day to day, but you can still find joy in life. This site is full of information that will help get you started.
"It's just smoker's cough…"
Some people may think they simply have a "smoker's cough" or that breathlessness is just a part of getting older. It may be nothing serious or it may be an early symptom of COPD. Either way, it's a good idea to get these symptoms checked out. By the time many patients are diagnosed with COPD, they have lost about half of their lung function. The earlier COPD is diagnosed, the sooner you and your doctor can start managing it.
The effects of COPD on healthy lungs
Healthy airways and air sacs in the lungs are elastic, like balloons, making it easy for air to move in and out quickly. COPD can cause the lungs to thicken and lose their elasticity. Then the airways can't widen when you need more air, and thick mucus forms. This typically causes coughing that produces large amounts of sticky mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms.
What's the outlook?
Hearing you have COPD can be incredibly tough, and there is no cure. But it's far from a helpless situation. Starting today, you can learn ways to improve your breathing, stay more active, and slow the progression of the disease. Click here for expert advice on the very first steps you should take to treat COPD.