COPD

What is COPD?

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is the overall name for a number of lung conditions that include chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
These diseases make it hard for you to breathe.

What are the symptoms of COPD?

The first symptoms of mild COPD are an early morning cough that may produce phlegm (a smoker's cough). You may also have shortness of breath.
As the condition gets worse, wheezing becomes more of a problem and everyday activities will make you more breathless.
With severe COPD you are breathless with the slightest activity, or even while resting.
All of these symptoms may be worse in the winter or after a cold.

Who gets COPD?

COPD usually affects people over the age of 40 and is more common in men. A few sufferers could have a family history of COPD.
The most common cause of COPD is smoking. Other causes include severe chest infections in childhood, repeated chest infections as an adult and environmental pollution.

What tests will I need?

If you are a smoker, have a cough that produces phlegm and suffer from shortness of breath, you may have COPD. Your doctor will need to confirm this by examining you.
You may be asked to blow into a machine called a spirometer which measures how well your lungs are working.
Your doctor may also refer you to a chest specialist for an X-ray or further tests.

Can COPD be treated?

There is no cure for COPD but a lot can be done to relieve your symptoms.
Stopping smoking at any stage of the disease will help reduce your cough and phlegm.
Drugs called bronchodilators (anticholinergics and beta agonists) open up the narrowed airways and make it easier for you to breathe.
Your doctor may give you these drugs either in tablet form or as an inhaler. If the drug is inhaled, it is more effective if a plastic bubble, called a spacer, is used.
If required, a higher dose of these drugs can be breathed in through a mask attached to a machine called a nebuliser.
In some cases, steroid inhalers are used to reduce inflammation and make it easier to breathe. Other tablets (such as theophyllines) may also help reduce sym ptoms.
You may have been prescribed a combination of drugs for your condition and you will need guidance from your doctor, practice nurse or pharmacist.
COPD can be made worse by chest infections, so if you have a fever or your phlegm becomes brown or green, you should see your doctor. A course of antibiotics may be prescribed to treat the infection.
Ask your doctor for a flu vaccination every autumn. This will reduce the possibility of chest infections.

Help yourself

• Stop smoking completely and avoid passive smoking.
• Avoid contact with anyone who has a cold or a chest infection. ? If you think you have a chest infection, see your doctor.
• Ask your doctor for a flu vaccination every autumn. ? Try to do some gentle exercise every day. Ask your doctor for advice.
• Dry air can make you cough. Make the air more moist with a humidifier or by placing a bowl of water on a window ledge.
• Breathing through your mouth can make you dehydrated, so try to drink plenty of fluids such as water and fruit juices.
• Try to eat little and often, five small meals rather than three large ones. A full stomach after a large meal will make it more difficult for you to breathe.

Further information

This factsheet supported by Boehringer Ingelheim

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