What is COPD?
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a name used to describe various conditions where people have difficulty breathing because of long term damage to their lungs. It includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema and many people have both. In COPD the airways in the lungs are damaged causing them to become narrower and making it harder for air to get in and out of the lungs.
As COPD encompasses chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic asthma many patients will have symptoms that can be related to all three. What ever the cause, there are four main symptoms:
- breathlessness
- cough
- sputum production
- wheeze
COPD tends to creep up on you. It can affect your lifestyle so gradually that you may not have even noticed that you have stopped doing the things you used to do, like walking to the shop or gardening. Significant airflow obstruction maybe present before you are aware of it. Chronic breathlessness is usually the symptom that will prompt you to consult a GP. The development of its symptoms may occur over many years until they reach a level that will make you go to your GP. So a diagnosis often seems sudden, for example after a persistent chest infection, and the doctor suggests further tests.
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