medical disease

Saturday, January 20, 2007

COPD

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which encompasses both chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is one of the commonest respiratory conditions of adults in the the developed world. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) poses an enormous burden to society both in terms of direct cost to healthcare services and indirect costs to society through loss of productivity. The exact prevalence of COPD is difficult to determine because of problems with definition and coding. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between COPD and chronic severe asthma, and patients with mild to moderate disease may not be identified as suffering from COPD.

Overview

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (also called COPD) is a chronic lung disease that includes two main illnesses: chronic bronchitis and emphysema (say: "em-fa-see-ma"). There is no cure for COPD.

Your lungs have 2 main parts: bronchial tubes (also called airways) and alveoli (also called air sacs). When you breathe in through your wind pipe, the air moves through your bronchial tubes and into your alveoli. From the alveoli, oxygen goes into your blood while carbon dioxide moves out of your blood.

If you have chronic bronchitis, the lining in your bronchial tubes gets red and full of mucus. This mucus blocks your tubes, and makes it hard to breathe.

If you have emphysema, your alveoli are irritated. They get stiff and can't hold enough air. This makes it hard for you to get oxygen into and carbon dioxide out of your blood.

Causes of COPD

a. Smoking and bronchial hyperactivity. There can be little doubt now that the most important risk factor in the development of COPD is cigarette smoking. The effects of cigarette smoke on the lung are manifold.

b. Air pollution and occupational exposure. Outdoor air pollution is very heterogeneous and is different in different areas. It is mainly comprised of particulates and gases with some background radioactivity. The particulates mainly originate from the incomplete combustion of solid fuels and diesel, ash and fine dusts. The main gaseous components are the various oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and carbon, again from the combustion of fossil fuels; hydrocarbons and ozone.

c. Passive smoking. Most of the tobacco smoke in a room it that which is coming form the burning end of the cigarette rather than the smoke exhaled from the smoker's lungs. This smoke (called sidestream smoke) is actually higher in concentration of toxic substances than exhaled smoke (mainstream smoke).

d. Infections. The role of viral infections of upper and lower respiratory tract in the pathogenesis of COPD remains to be clarified. Viral infections in the lung enhance inflammation and predispose to bronchial hyperreactivity.

e. Race, gender and sosio economic status. This may be related to poorer housing and nutrition and use of fossil fuels for heating without adequate ventilation.

Treatment of COPD

a. Stop smoking

b.Antibiotic and steroids if you get respiratory infection

c. Breathing exercise

d. Oxygen if needed

e. Surgery if the people who have not done well with others treatments.