COPD
Meaning
Chronic
Meaning long-term - COPD is a condition patients live
with for many, many years.
Obstructive
Means the airflow from the lungs is decreased and lung
function is compromised.
Pulmonary Disease
Refers to the fact that this disease affects your
lungs- in fact, it affects all the tubes that take in
air through your mouth and nose into your lungs
What is COPD?
COPD is an abbreviation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and is a condition which is characterised by a gradual decline in lung function. In COPD, there is a chronic inflammation of the airways which causes obstruction of the air flow into and out of the lungs.
If you have COPD, you are not alone
COPD is one of the leading causes of death in South Africa. Worldwide, millions of people have been diagnosed with the disease, however, just as many people have some form of lung impairment but have not been to the doctor for a diagnosis – and many thousands more have COPD and are completely unaware. COPD may go unnoticed in its early stages because it is often confused with asthma, a bad cough, or a natural part of aging. Also, many people think of COPD as a disease that only affects the elderly, when in fact, almost 50% of patients are under the age of 65 and some people start having symptoms in their early 40s!
COPD includes both chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
You can have one or the other. Most patients have a combination of both.
CHRONIC BRONCHITIS:
The bronchial tubes become inflamed and clogged with mucus, narrowing the airways, making it more difficult to get air into and out of the lungs. The muscles around the airways constrict, making them even tighter: this is called bronchoconstriction. Cough and phlegm is the body's attempt to clear these airways.
EMPHYSEMA:
Deformed or destroyed alveoli interfere with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide: the amount of oxygen in the blood decreases while the amount of carbon dioxide increases. The muscles around the airways constrict, making them even tighter - bronchoconstriction. Because damaged alveoli do not "anchor" the bronchial tubes as well as they do in a healthy lung, the airways collapse, restricting airflow.