Silent Killer - COPD

COPD is also known as the "silent killer". Why is it called a killer? Every year, about 3 million people die from COPD, second only to ischemic heart disease, stroke and other diseases, and the older the age, the higher the incidence rate. COPD is also the abbreviation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a common respiratory disease that can be treated and prevented. The main cause of this disease is exposure to a large number of harmful particles or gases, which cause abnormalities in the airways and alveoli, leading to persistent respiratory symptoms and ventilation airflow limitation. Now many people do not know enough about this disease. At the same time, due to the lack of popularization of lung function tests at the grassroots level, there will be a high rate of missed diagnosis. The following is the popularization of COPD knowledge. I hope to help more people understand COPD and better prevent it in daily life.

1. What are the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the early stages?

The early symptoms of COPD mainly include coughing and expectoration. The symptoms are more severe in the early morning, with thick mucus that is difficult to cough up, and white foamy sputum. After infection or cold, the condition rapidly worsens, with increased sputum volume and viscosity or yellow purulent sputum. The general symptoms are coughing and expectoration, accompanied by increased expiratory resistance, which are manifestations of obstructive pulmonary disease and also prove the presence of dyspnea. Not all patients with cough and sputum will develop into COPD. Generally, COPD is caused by the progression of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

2. What harm will chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cause to people?

(1) Decreased lung function, severe breathlessness, and worsening quality of life: COPD can cause a decline in lung function, which manifests itself in the symptom of breathlessness. At first, you will feel breathless when working or exercising. As the disease progresses, you will be out of breath even after a little activity. In severe cases, you will even be breathless while sitting and watching TV. (2) Leading to cardiovascular disease attacks, and in severe cases, sudden death: "The heart and lungs have the same origin." When COPD develops to a certain stage, it will affect heart function, leading to heart failure and finally cor pulmonale. At the same time, if COPD patients also suffer from ischemic heart disease, they will be at a higher risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as unstable angina, myocardial infarction, and stroke. (3) Lung cancer: Many COPD patients are also found to have lung cancer. On the one hand, this is because COPD and lung cancer have the same risk factors, such as age and years of smoking history.

On the other hand, the characteristics of COPD include risk factors such as airflow limitation and emphysema. (4) Anxiety and depression: COPD is a chronic respiratory disease that requires long-term follow-up treatment. Due to long-term and repeated coughing, sputum, wheezing, and decreased exercise tolerance, these will affect the patient's quality of life. For example, patients often experience anxiety and depression. If the patient's negative emotions are not promptly relieved, it will have a great impact on the patient's determination, confidence in treatment, and the prognosis of the disease.

3. How can we prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

(1) Completely quit smoking: Smoking is the culprit of such diseases, so people need to quit smoking in their daily lives. Quitting smoking in time can delay the onset of most diseases by 20-30 years. (2) Prevent colds: People need to prevent colds in their daily lives, pay more attention to the real-time changes in the weather, and add or remove clothes in time according to the changes in the weather. (3) Reduce the inhalation of harmful gases or harmful particles. (4) Vaccination with influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, bacterial lysate, BCG polysaccharide, etc., can help improve the body's resistance. (5) Strengthen physical exercise, enhance one's own physical fitness, and improve the body's immunity, which can help improve the body's general condition. Exercises such as Ba Duan Jin and Tai Chi can delay the damage of lung function. (6) For patients with chronic cough, sputum or shortness of breath, especially middle-aged and elderly people over 40 years old who still smoke frequently, they need to go to the hospital for lung function tests regularly every year. Patients diagnosed with COPD need regular reexaminations and adjust the medical plan in time according to the specific situation.

The following groups of people need to start and focus on tracking their lung function as soon as possible: ① Those with symptoms of breathing difficulties such as chronic cough, sputum, shortness of breath and wheezing. ② People without respiratory symptoms but who smoke heavily and are passive smokers, as well as people working in special environments, such as absenteeism, welders, sanitation workers, bricklayers, chefs, etc. ③ People with allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, and a family history of COPD. ④ People over 40 years old. (7) Practice abdominal breathing more often in daily life: stand up and relax your abdominal muscles. When exhaling, exhale slowly through your mouth while contracting your abdominal muscles. When inhaling, inhale slowly through your nose and try your best to lift your abdomen, but keep your chest still. Breathe 7-8 times per minute, practice 2-3 sets a day, and each set should last at least 5-10 minutes. After you become proficient, gradually increase the number and time. (Mo Xueqiang, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province)