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COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has obvious symptoms. Unfortunately, they are confused with other ailments. If you cannot catch your breath after reaching the second floor, or you are tired of your morning cough, don't underestimate these symptoms. It could be Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). What are the causes of COPD? How is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treated?

COPDorchronic obstructive pulmonary diseasehas been symptomless for many years. The mysterious word in the name of the disease is "obstruction". In medicine, it means narrowing the inner diameter (so-called lumen) of e.g. a blood vessel or bronchus. In this case, it consists in a significant narrowing of the airways. The patient cannot push the air out of the lungs, although it may also be difficult to inhale it. A person who experiences bronchial obstruction feels:

  • shortness of breath
  • chest tightness
  • hears his own wheezing often

Smoking is the leading cause of COPD

Smoking is considered to be the main cause of the disease. There are over 4,000 in cigarette smoke. compounds that go to the lungs. They are so poisonous that they mobilize the lungs to defend themselves, i.e. to produce more mucus. At the same time, some substances in the smoke block the movement of the cilia and destroy them, depriving the lungs of the possibility of self-cleaning. A disease called chronic bronchitis develops, the first symptom of which is coughing.

Toxic substances from smoke, as well as air pollution, settle in the mucus covering the respiratory tract - from the trachea, through the bronchi, to the smallest bronchioles (at their ends there are alveoli). The mucus traps debris, then millions of microscopic cilia rhythmically move them back down the throat. We remove a lot of them by coughing and grunting.

How does COPD develop?

However, a large proportion of the toxins end up in the alveoli. To neutralize them, the body sends its army: white blood cells (leukocytes). In the fight against poisons, some leukocytes die and break down in the lung tissue, releasing the so-called elastase. This powerful enzyme damages the elastic fibers in the lungs and causes them to break downlots of alveoli and the rest of them are excessively distended. This is a state of the art of emphysema.

It is the alveoli that play a key role in gas exchange (i.e. the respiration process). They are surrounded by capillaries, through which blood flows, collecting carbon dioxide from the entire body - an unnecessary metabolic product. The alveoli take up carbon dioxide (we breathe it out), and the blood is saturated with life-giving oxygen. When we have few alveoli, the entire body is severely hypoxic. When the lung damage caused by chronic bronchitis and emphysema overlap, you develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Listen to what Prof. Paweł Śliwiński from the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Warsaw and the Polish Society of Lung Diseases.

Important

To stop COPD:

  • Take your medication regularly.
  • Quit smoking absolutely and avoid smoking.
  • Avoid contaminated air, e.g. coal dust, exhaust fumes, chimney smoke.
  • Protect yourself from respiratory tract infections, avoid large crowds of people during the infection season, get vaccinated annually against the flu.
  • Move in the fresh air, take a lot of walks and follow the breathing exercises recommended by your doctor.
  • Eat he althy - your diet should be rich in protein, calcium (but not dairy products, which increase mucus secretion), potassium, and vitamin C. It is important to drink plenty of still liquids. You need to eliminate s alt and products that increase the amount of gas in the intestines (e.g. legumes, cauliflower, onions, cabbage) from the menu.

Symptoms of COPD

94 percent Poles surveyed by TNS OBOP admit that they do not know the term COPD and have never heard of this disease. Meanwhile, it is worth knowing that the disease does not give any characteristic symptoms for years. Even so, it is progressing, and the changes in the lungs are only partially reversible.

It starts with a minor difficulty in breathing with an effort that we used to perform without any problem. We do not notice the deterioration of fitness until half of the lungs are destroyed.

Coughing and expectoration of sputum appear, mainly in the morning after contact with cool air. Then, shortness of breath also increases during rest or sleep. As obstructive disease progresses, your chest feels tight and you hear a loud whistling sound with every breath.

COPD diagnosis

You are short of breath, are you struggling with little effort? As part of the National He alth Fund, you need to get tested.

  • Spirometry - allows you to check if the lungs are older than our calendar age. DownThe computer enters the data: sex, age, height - this allows you to establish the norms for our lungs. First we exhale all the air, and then we draw as much air as possible into our lungs. Then, for 6 seconds, we exhale through the mouthpiece and thus measure the vital capacity of the lungs (VC), which is the largest volume of air that a person can draw after the deepest exhalation. The second lung feature studied is the rate of exhalation (FEV1), which is the maximum volume of air we exhale in the first second. The computer calculates the ratio of VC and FEV1 to the norms provided for us.
  • Gas measurement (blood gas test) - blood is taken from the artery for the test and the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in it is measured - low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels indicate chronic bronchitis.
  • Pulse oximetry - a sensor is placed on the finger or the ear lobe, which measures the oxygen content in the blood.
  • Lung X-ray - the photo shows advanced emphysema and some features of bronchitis.

COPD: Prescription Oxygen

If research shows that we have COPD and it is not yet advanced, it is usually enough to quit smoking, eat right and start exercising regularly to keep the disease from progressing.

If it is advanced, the chances of full recovery are slim. But we can extend our lives. The condition is to break the habit, take bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory drugs. Expectorants are also indispensable.

Oxygen therapy is helpful. Oxygen does not heal, but it provides relief.

In extreme cases, doctors sometimes decide to undergo surgical treatment. Life-saving therapy is lung transplant or lung reduction surgery. As paradoxical as it may sound, having part of your lungs removed alters the position of the ribs and makes it easier to breathe.

According to an expertprof. Tadeusz Orłowski, head of the Surgery Clinic of the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Warsaw

COPD: insidious disease

All smokers should be afraid of her. Primarily because it slowly destroys the lungs. In extreme cases, it leads to the imprisonment of a person in bed and a short life under an oxygen mask. It is assumed that the statistical patient with COPD is about 40 years old. Unfortunately, this age is getting lower. We even estimate that at least 10 percent. of the population has more or less noticeable symptoms of the disease. This is related not only to smoking, but also to the natural aging process of the lungs. Our lung function decreases with age. That is why you need to take care of the lungs and, just like we do X-rays, it is also worth doingevery few years spirometry - a simple test that does not burden the body and is cheap.

About the authorAnna Jarosz A journalist who has been involved in popularizing he alth education for over 40 years. Winner of many competitions for journalists dealing with medicine and he alth. She received, among others The "Golden OTIS" Trust Award in the "Media and He alth" category, St. Kamil awarded on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, twice the "Crystal Pen" in the national competition for journalists promoting he alth, and many awards and distinctions in competitions for the "Medical Journalist of the Year" organized by the Polish Association of Journalists for He alth.

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Respiratory system