General Information About COPD
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a permanent, insidious, and progressive lung disease where the airways in the lungs become inflamed and narrowed, and the air sacs (alveoli) through which oxygen passes into the blood rupture and lose their elasticity.
In asthma, airway narrowing is 'reversible'; when the patient takes medication during an attack (or when the attack passes), their lungs return to completely normal. In COPD, however, lung damage and narrowing are 'permanent' (irreversible). Medications only provide relief to the patient but cannot return the lung to its former healthy days.
COPD is a combination of these two diseases.
Chronic Bronchitis: It is the constant inflammation of the airways, producing excessive sputum and blocking the tubes.
Emphysema: It is the melting and bursting of the membrane of the oxygen balloons (alveoli) at the very end of the lung, causing the lung to lose its spongy structure, expand, and become unable to expel air.
The single and definitive cause of more than 90% of cases is SMOKING and the use of tobacco products. Almost everyone who smokes 1 pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years develops some degree of COPD. Furthermore, long-term exposure to smoke from tandoori, dung, or wood fires (Biomass smoke) causes COPD, especially in rural women.
Smokers ignore the symptoms for years, saying 'It's a smoker's cough'. However, persistent morning sputum, shortness of breath while climbing uphill/stairs that wasn't there before, wheezing (whistling sound) in the chest, and in advanced stages, bruising on the lips/nails are the clearest signs of the disease.
The diagnosis is made with a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT - Spirometry), performed when the patient takes a deep breath and blows into a computer (tube) with all their might. The decrease in the FEV1 value determines the stage of COPD.
Treatment: Smoking must definitely be stopped (if not, medications will not work). Bronchodilators, which are inhaled (Inhaler / Puffer), are given to open the narrowed tubes. Advanced stage (Stage 4) patients are forced to use an Oxygen Concentrator (Oxygen machine) constantly at home.
Our health library contents are prepared for informational purposes only and with scientific data available at the time of recording. For all your questions, concerns, diagnosis, or treatment regarding your health, please consult your doctor or a healthcare institution.
