Understanding and Managing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Comprehensive Guide
COPD is a common lung disease and as opposed to asthma it can be prevented by taking action against risk factors for the condition earlier in life. COPD is an age-associated condition and is most common in middle-aged to elderly people with a history of smoking or occupational exposure to harmful and polluted air such as from dust in coal mines [1].
COPD is the umbrella term for airway diseases that are persistent and restrictive in nature and it includes both emphysema (damaged sacs in the lungs) and chronic emphysema (inflamed and irritated airways.
COPD is a progressive disease meaning it tends to get worse with time as the cause of the disease is not reversible. In COPD – the airways are narrowed but stay those ways unlike in Asthma.
The goals of COPD therapy are to improve symptoms, prevent progression and reduce the number of exacerbations (flare ups) of the condition). Some patients with COPD will have features that overlap with asthma or may already have asthma and then develop COPD.
Common Symptoms
Shortness of breath is the main symptom of COPD and this may be accompanied by:
- Chest productive cough (bringing up phlegm)
- Recurring chest infections (infective exacerbation)
- Wheezing
Top Tips to Stay Healthy
Treatment of COPD includes inhalers to relieve symptoms and self-care to reduce exposure to risk factors. You will likely be given a preventer inhaler (to use every day) and a reliever inhaler (to use when short of breath).
The main cause of COPD is smoking and the biggest thing you can do to help prevent COPD is stop smoking. If you have already been diagnosed with COPD, stopping smoking is the most important action you can take to improve your symptoms and prevent the condition progressing as well as prevent infections, smokers are 5x more likely to catch the flu and twice as likely to get pneumonia.
Remember to use your preventer inhalers every day as prescribed, even if you don’t feel breathless. Familiarise yourself with which of your inhalers is your preventer, missing doses of your preventer inhaler can lead to feeling breathless more often in the day.
Advice
Quitting smoking will be the single most important action you can take to improve symptoms of COPD protect yourself against other diseases such as cancer and heart disease. The NHS offers support and resources to those looking for help.
If you are looking for more personalised in-person support talk to your GP or your pharmacist for advice on smoking cessation programmes including nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
Master your inhaler technique to get the most out of your medicine – RightBreathe offers handy videos on inhaler technique for nearly all inhalers on the market, check out their website or download their app and search for your inhaler for videos from experts in inhaler technique!
Learn more about pulmonary rehabilitation – this is a form of exercise for people with lung-conditions that helps you to manage and cope with the feelings of breathlessness – this will be tailored to your individual needs and severity of breathlessness. Asthma and Lung UK provides some great information alongside a helpline if you need support with your condition.
Get vaccinated against flu and pneumonia to prevent infective exacerbations of your condition – the flu vaccine is free on the NHS for people with COPD and you should get this each flu season. If you’ve not been contacted about your pneumonia vaccine by your GP surgery, speak to them to see if you are eligible.
Sources
Asthma and Lung UK. Why is smoking bad for me? Asthmaandlung.org.uk, February 2023, https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/living-with/stop-smoking/why-is-it-bad
Joint Formulary Committee. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, NICE, Oct. 2023, https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/asthma-chronic/.
NHS, Overview – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, NHS.UK, April 2023, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd
