COPD is chronic bronchitis that leads to long driven lung problems. The patient suffers from the difficulty to breathe. The disease is becoming progressively common in Americans. It is estimated to be the third cause of disease among the US citizens. Chronic pulmonary disease is treatable and often prevented with the correct measure.

In this article, you will come across some of the information that will make the understanding about COPD clearer. This information helps people to understand the treatment options and the causes of the disease.

1. Causes of COPD
It is estimated that maximum chain smokers may develop the disease over time. The irritants of the lungs enter the air passage causing swelling and destroy the air sacs. Sometimes, nonsmokers may also develop the disease. Exposure to environmental air pollutants like dust, fumes, secondhand smoke, and chemicals can also contribute to causing the disease.

A rare number of sufferers of chronic pulmonary disease may have an alpha-1 deficiency that causes emphysema. This form of COPD is generally inheritable from one generation to the other.

2. Symptoms of COPD
People generally avoid the early symptoms of the disease. The disease thereby advances to the advanced level causing trouble in breathing and resuming normal activities. The symptoms that are common are as follows:

• Breath shortness or Dyspnea;
• A chronic cough;
• Respiratory infections;
• Production of frequent phlegm;
• Wheezing; and
• Fatigue.

One should not wait until the severe symptoms of COPD appear. Treatment should be done immediately after being diagnosed so that the valuable time is not lost.

3. Diagnosis of COPD
The doctors generally ask about the common question of family history and the smoking habits to get an idea of the disease. The symptoms may be checked through the following diagnostic measures:

• Spirometry is done in which the lung function is mainly determined. In this test, the air is blown into a device that measures the capacity of the air that is pumped in and out. This is a physical test that can give an idea about the incidence of the disease.
• X-ray can be done by the doctor to strike out the possibilities of other diseases.
• Sometimes the arterial gas test may be done that determines the level of oxygen in the blood. This enables one to determine how well the oxygen is eliminated from the lungs.

4. Treatment of COPD
When concerned with the treatment of COPD, it is certain that the treatments are planned in accordance with the stage of the given chronic pulmonary disease. Every person should have a personalized treatment option. One should consult a doctor to know about the disease.

• The chronic pulmonary disease has a number of medicines to get the disease treated. Every medicine works differently and the treatment and the doses may differ from one person to the other.
• The patient may be given Supplemental oxygen. Extra oxygen may be supplied to the body to execute the body processes efficiently.
• There are surgical ways to treat the disease. This improves the breathing rate but it is not applicable for all.
• Thus, inclining to these facts one can determine whether they are suffering from COPD and get instant help to improve on the living standards.
• Doctors may also prescribe medications such as Symbicort or Stiolto inhaler for COPD. Both Symbicort and Stiolot have been FDA-approved as effective treatments in the daily management of COPD symptoms.