You don’t hear about COPD often, but did you know that it’s the third leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.23 million deaths in 2019?
In conjunction with World COPD Day, we hope this article can raise awareness about this common, preventable and treatable lung disease. Spoiler alert: here’s another good reason why you should quit smoking, or encourage someone else to.
What is COPD?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung condition characterized by abnormalities in the small airways of the lungs that lead to limitation of airflow in and out of the lungs. A number of processes cause the airways to become narrow. There may be destruction of parts of the lung, mucus blocking the airways, and inflammation and swelling of the airway lining.
Image credit: http://www.myhealth.gov.my/en/c-8/copd/
In the early stages of COPD, there may be no symptoms, or you may only have mild symptoms. As COPD worsens, the symptoms may become more severe. Symptoms of COPD include:
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A cough that lingers for a long time and doesn’t go away completely, or a cough that produces a lot of mucus
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Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity
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Wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe)
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Tightness in the chest
Image credit: https://twitter.com/AnimCOPDPatient/status/655029112273248256/photo/1
COPD is sometimes called “emphysema” or “chronic bronchitis”. Emphysema usually refers to destruction of the tiny air sacs at the end of the airways in the lungs. Chronic bronchitis refers to a chronic cough with the production of phlegm resulting from inflammation in the airways.
COPD and asthma share common symptoms (cough, wheeze, and difficulty breathing) and people may have both conditions.
How is smoking related to COPD?
Overwhelming scientific evidence has confirmed that cigarette smoking is the leading risk factor that causes COPD. As an example, a retrospective cohort study (n = 8045) found that subjects who smoked cigarettes throughout a 25 year observation period were more likely than never smokers to develop COPD (36 versus 8 percent). This is an important fact, given that as many as 23 percent of the Malaysian population are smokers!
The damage of lung does not seem to be limited to smokers only — children and teenagers who are exposed to secondhand smoke released by the adults are also at higher risk of developing COPD in adulthood. Read more about the negative health impacts of secondhand smoke to children here.
The best way to prevent COPD
The best way to prevent COPD is to never start smoking, and if you do smoke, to quit.
Quit smoking with professional help
Quit smoking is not easy—even with smoking cessation treatment, let alone going cold turkey. Almost all lapses occur during the first 3 months after smoking cessation treatment and half of those who have their first lapse smoke their second cigarette within 24 hours of the first cigarette or immediately following treatment. Hence, if you would like to quit smoking, it’s important that you set a realistic expectation.
With that being said, there is still great value in smoking cessation treatment. Using pharmacological methods is one of the professional tools to help people quit smoking. The pharmacological treatment for smoking cessation include:
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Nicotine replacement therapies (NRT)
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Non-nicotine based therapy
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRT)
NRT helps to reduce withdrawal symptoms associated with stopping smoking by replacing the nicotine from cigarettes. It helps the patient to cope with withdrawal symptoms, while gradually tapering down the nicotine consumed daily and without inhaling harmful substances which are present in tobacco.
NRT is available as skin patches that deliver nicotine slowly, and chewing gum, inhalers/inhalators, oral mouth sprays, microtabs, nasal sprays and lozenges, all of which deliver nicotine to the brain more quickly than from skin patches, but less rapidly than from smoking cigarettes. The evidence shows that NRT increases the chance of stopping smoking by 50 to 70%. A combination of two NRT is more effective than using a single NRT alone.
NRT typically lasts for eight to twelve weeks, with gradual decrease of nicotine administered over the weeks. People who need NRT longer than twelve weeks can continue to use it.
Non-nicotine based therapy
Varenicline (brand name: Champix®) is a non-nicotine- based smoking cessation therapy. It works by maintaining moderate levels of dopamine in smokers (thereby reducing withdrawal symptoms) and reducing the urge to smoke Common adverse effects include nausea, abnormal dreams and sleep disturbance. More serious adverse events – such as cardiovascular events, depression, suicidal ideation and suicide – have been reported, although these are uncommon. If someone using varenicline experiences changes in mood or behaviour, stop taking varenicline and contact a health care provider immediately.
A word from DOC2US
If you have any questions related to COPD, you can consult our professional doctors and healthcare professionals on DOC2US. DOC2US is a mobile application that allows you to talk to a doctor or any healthcare professionals via text chat at any time and from anywhere. For better communication, you can even send our online doctor images or voice messages related to your medical inquiry.
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