"Lungs" are no big deal! Here's what you need to know about COPD

The transition from autumn to winter is also a peak period for acute exacerbations of many patients with chronic respiratory diseases, especially those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Recently, the number of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease admitted to the outpatient and inpatient departments of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Hunan Provincial Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital) has been increasing day by day.

Grandpa Cao, 80, is one of them. This year marks his 15th year of living with COPD. As he gets older, he goes to the hospital almost every time the season or weather changes due to worsening dyspnea, coughing, and expectoration. He has become a frequent visitor to the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a senior COPD patient.

When I say "senior", I mean that Grandpa Cao is relatively standardized and self-disciplined in his home self-management. He seeks medical treatment in time after each acute attack and can be discharged safely after standardized treatment and care.

There are five main points for self-health management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:

(1) Learn respiratory rehabilitation skills such as pursed lip breathing, abdominal breathing, and simple breathing exercises.

(2) We should adopt a healthy lifestyle, take good respiratory protection when going out, quit smoking, and get the influenza and pneumonia vaccines in time.

(3) Use inhaled drugs correctly and regularly, and promptly provide medical staff with feedback on the effects, operation methods, and adverse reactions; visit medical institutions or receive follow-up visits from primary care doctors regularly, and have a lung function test at least once a year.

(IV) Depending on the patient's condition, you should equip your home with a pulse oximeter, oxygen concentrator or ventilator, and stock up on emergency medicines.

(V) You should learn to recognize acute exacerbations of your illness. If recent symptoms such as coughing, sputum production, and difficulty breathing are significantly worse than before, seek medical attention in a timely manner.

(6) Keep in close contact with your primary physician and follow up with him/her every three to four months.

In addition to the above respiratory rehabilitation skills, Grandpa Cao can also paint Chinese paintings, write calligraphy to regulate his breathing, do simple breathing exercises, ride a bicycle on the bed, soak his feet every day, etc. to exercise the lower limb muscle strength and promote blood circulation, which can also prevent deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs. Grandpa Cao said, "In short, try to get yourself moving while your breathing is smooth."

So what are the risk factors for COPD and how can you prevent it?

Smoking is the most important risk factor for COPD . Indoor and outdoor air pollution, occupational exposure, and early life events (such as low birth weight, childhood respiratory infections, etc.) should not be ignored.

To prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, one must first quit smoking and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.

Second, we must do a good job in protecting against indoor and outdoor air pollution, promote kitchen ventilation and stove renovations, and reduce going out or wear masks in foggy and smoggy weather.

Third, we must strengthen occupational protection, improve working conditions in the workplace, and reduce exposure to dust or harmful gases and heavy metal particles in the occupational environment.

Fourth, we should pay attention to preventing respiratory infections in infants and children to reduce abnormal damage during the bronchopulmonary development stage. Fifth, we should timely vaccinate against influenza and pneumonia to reduce the incidence of respiratory infections and avoid acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

When patients with COPD experience shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, worsening cough, fever, increased sputum volume, changes in color and/or viscosity, etc., it indicates that an acute exacerbation of COPD may have occurred and they need to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

Who are the high-risk groups for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

People aged 35 and above who have any of the following conditions are considered high-risk groups:

(1) Smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke;

(2) Those with recurrent respiratory infections during childhood;

(3) Those who are exposed to dust and harmful gases;

(4) Those who are often exposed to biofuels, kitchen fumes, air pollution, etc.;

How to detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in time?

When high-risk groups experience respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, chronic cough, and sputum, they need to go to a medical institution or respiratory specialist clinic for screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and, if necessary, undergo lung function tests to further clarify the diagnosis.

Pulmonary function tests are an important means of diagnosing chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is recommended that people aged 40 and above or those at high risk of chronic respiratory diseases have their lung function checked once a year.

Director Zeng Xiangbo of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine introduced that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, preventable and treatable chronic airway disease characterized by persistent airflow limitation and corresponding respiratory symptoms (dyspnea, cough, sputum, etc.). Diagnosis requires standardized pulmonary function tests, chest imaging, blood routine tests, and other examinations.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease seriously endangers the health of the Chinese people and has a high prevalence rate. The prevalence rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among residents aged 40 and above in my country is as high as 13.6%, and the number of patients is nearly 100 million. However, the prevalence awareness rate is 0.9%, and the lung function test rate is 4.5%, showing the characteristics of high prevalence, low awareness rate, and low standardized diagnosis and treatment rate. Therefore, it is very necessary for us to strengthen the public's understanding of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Li Dantian Aiyu, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Hunan Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital)

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(Edited by Wx)