Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Prevention

Because the majority of cases of COPD are related to smoking, you can drastically reduce your risk of this illness by avoiding cigarettes. If you smoke, get the help you need to stop. If you don't smoke, don't start. You also may reduce your risk of COPD by limiting your exposure to secondhand smoke and by avoiding outdoor activities when air pollution levels are high.

If you have been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, avoid contact with anyone with symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection, because even a mild cold can trigger a flare-up of bronchitis symptoms. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face with your hands during the cold and flu season. Also, anyone with COPD should be vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia.

Treatment

No treatment can fully reverse or stop COPD, but steps can be taken to relieve symptoms, treat complications, and minimize disability. First, your doctor will tell you to quit smoking, the most critical factor for maintaining healthy lungs. Although quitting smoking is most effective during the early stages of COPD and can reverse some early changes, it can also slow down the rate of decline of lung function in later stages. Other COPD treatments may include:

• Environmental changes - If your doctor believes that your COPD is caused by work-related exposure to dusts or chemicals, he or she will recommend that you ask your employer to find an alternative work environment. In general, people with COPD also should avoid exposure to outdoor air pollution, secondhand smoke, and airborne toxins (deodorants, hair sprays, insecticides) in the home.

• Medications - Doctors generally prescribe medications that open up the airways, called bronchodilators, taken as a spray that is inhaled or in pill form. Antibiotics also may be necessary to treat acute respiratory infections, such as bacterial pneumonia. Daily inhaled corticosteroids may be given to reduce airway inflammation. For flare-ups, an oral corticosteroid called prednisone often is prescribed.

• Exercise programs - Regular exercise builds stamina and will improve your quality of life, even if it does not directly improve lung function. Pulmonary rehabilitation programs have been shown to lower the need for hospitalization.

• Good nutrition - A balanced diet can help maintain stamina and improve resistance against infection. Also, getting enough water and other fluids can help to keep mucus watery and easy to drain.

• Supplemental oxygen - If your lungs are not getting enough oxygen into your blood, oxygen therapy can improve your quality of life, increase your ability to exercise, help to relieve heart failure, prolong life, improve mental function, and lift your spirits.

• Lung volume-reduction surgery - In carefully selected patients, surgery to remove the most severely diseased portions of the lungs allows the less damaged areas of the lungs to expand better. The long-term value of this procedure is unknown.

• Lung transplants or heart-lung transplants - Transplants are rarely an option, except in very selected cases of early onset, severe COPD