Topics: Quit Smoking,, COPD, COPD Treatment, Disease Management

 

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, Disease Management

Answering The Frequently Asked COPD Questions

Chances are if you have been recently diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease then you have a more than a few questions.

Such as what exactly is COPD, how will this affect my everyday life, will I be stuck in the house 24/7, what are my treatment options, or how long do I have to live?

These are all valid questions and remember you are not the first with a question about COPD and you will certainly not be the last, so never feel ashamed of asking a question.

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, Disease Management

 

COPD, Why Me?

Have you or a loved one been recently diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? If so the chances are you have a lot of questions regarding what got me here, what are the treatment options, and is my life ever gonna be the same?

Any questions or concerns should be discussed with your doctor and it is encouraged to have a very open and honest relationship with them.

After all they are a medical professional and your best tool in living a healthy life with COPD.

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, Disease Management

Upon your diagnosis of COPD your life immediately changes, how you let those changes affect you is 100% in your control.

Now the aspect of the course that COPD will take is of course out of your hands, however there are a few things that can be done to both better manage your COPD and most importantly help you breathe clearer and more efficiently.

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, Disease Management

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will have flare-ups, also known as, exacerbations from time to time. A COPD exacerbation, or flare-up, is when your COPD symptoms have an abrupt increase in severity.

Breathing may become increasingly harder, you may have more mucus production, more coughing, but each case is different.

Sometimes the cause for a flare-up is unknown or it could be a combination of a couple of things, which is why we will be talking about the most known causes for COPD flare-ups.

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, COPD Exacerbations

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a umbrella term that includes emphysema.

Emphysema is a progressive lung condition that affects the tiny air sacs in the lungs, alveoli, and causes them to fill with air.

Over time these air sacs expand causing them to burst or become damaged, which causes the lungs to form scar tissues.

These scar tissues will begin to affect the patients breathing ability by making them progressively short of breath, which is a side affect known as dyspnea.

Eventually the alveoli turn into swollen air pockets referred to as bullae, eventually causing less and less surface area for the lungs resulting in less oxygen entering into the bloodstream.

When the alveoli becomes damaged so do the tiny fibers that hold open the airways leading to the alveoli, causing them to collapse and trap air every time the patient expels air.

The number one cause of emphysema is long-term cigarette use.

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, Emphysema

 

 

Topics: Quit Smoking,, COPD, COPD Treatment

 

Topics: COPD, oxygen therapy, COPD Treatment, pulmonary rehabilitation

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is just that: chronic.

There is no known cure for many respiratory diseases, from asthma to emphysema, but there are medications, whether oral or in aerosolized form, that your doctor may prescribe to slow down the progression of your disease and its symptoms.

The good news is that there are five non-medical treatments you can do on your own to keep your respiratory symptoms at bay and continue to enjoy quality of life with a chronic ailment.

Topics: COPD, COPD Treatment, Cystic Fibrosis, Emphysema, Respiratory Disease, Disease Management