COPD
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
What is COPD?
COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a disease that causes one to have difficulty breathing. Risk factors of getting COPD include and are not limited to being over 50, female, currently or have a history of smoking, and being around air pollutions. Symptoms of COPD can but do not always include a constant cough, coughing up mucus, coughing up blood, a tightness in chest, and a difficulty breathing while exercising.
How to treat COPD
COPD is hard to get rid of, but identifying it while in it's early stages can help you greatly later on. The longer you have COPD, the worse it gets. Some ways one can cope with COPD is taking medicines that ease breathing, oxygen therapy, or when all else fails, a lung transplant. Lung transplants are not recommended but can be used once everything fails.
How to prevent COPD
You can prevent or limit symptoms of COPD by using some of these methods:
-Don't smoke. One of the leading causes for COPD is smoking. It destroys your lungs and makes you more vulnerable.
-Medicines may help you if you have already been diagnosed with COPD. Certain medicines out there are designed to make breathing easier.
-Try to identify some symptoms of COPD as early as possible. Diagnosing it as early as possible can change the disease development drastically.
-Pulmonary rehab is out there as an option to help manage your symptoms for COPD.
-Managing your symptoms can be done by yourself. You can try to keep your overall health at a good level as well as quitting smoking.
Sources
"Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Includes: Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 06 Feb. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"COPD Medications: Corticosteroids, Bronchodilators, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.