My first intention for tonight, as I mentioned last night, was to repost my Saturday COPD post. However, I had an encounter with an accidental editor - my Mom. Yesterday she mentioned that she read my blog - "long - boy that was long - it just went on and on, I finally gave up." OUCH. I said that yes it was and I knew it was, but I had read over 100 pages of stuff so I had to get it out there. Then I asked Mom a few carefully worded questions to see if my main points were absorbed, and ah - NO, they were not. This is, of course, a reflection of the writer, not the reader - so that being said - please DO read the whole post if this is an issue that you may be at risk for, know someone who may be at risk for it, or have an educational role in your life. Otherwise - my main points are:
COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. This condition is usually found after a person has entered a more serious stage. Signs at the time will be shortness of breath, especially with activity and sometimes a chronic cough. Anytime you have cough with phlegm, sputum, gook - see a doctor. It could be acute bronchitis - or chronic. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are considered to be COPD.
A person with COPD has trouble breathing and this difficulty is not completely resolved with a medicine called a bronchodilator. COPD can lead to significant lung changes - scarring, swelling, mucus entrapment, inflammation, destruction, increased volume and collapse.
The risk factors, in order of most causes to least:
tobacco smoke
indoor air pollution from heating or cooking with biomass fuels -
coal, straw, dung, wood
work related chemical and gas exposures
infections - esp from the adenoids
gender can play a role as well
genes
All of us lose some amount of lung function over time - we have a lung age that is based on years of life and gender - that lung age is what a lung function test will compare to. COPD is diagnosed through clinical exam and especially through spirometry -
The spirometry test and the diagnosis includes two values. When one blows into this device the first thing it measures is FEVone - or the amount of air you can force out in one second. The second measure is FVC or the amount you can blow out - completely - your total expiration.
The FEVone is divided by the FVC and that score is what defines COPD. If it is less than .70 it can indicate the disease. The second measure determines the stage of COPD. The FEVone is compared to FEVone of people similar to you who are healthy. Having 80% or less of that predicted value is stage one. Having between 50-80% is stage two and so on.
Treatment exists for COPD. The most important thing is to stop any exposure to the cause - tobacco smoke, fuels, chemicals. It is also important to prevent worsening conditions - so disease monitoring and medication management are important.
I am going to stop now. References and links are in the previous post which was linked earlier.
