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Common Treatments for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Common Treatments for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

The Mayo Clinic characterizes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or COPD) as a type of chronic inflammatory lung disease that results in obstructed airflow in the lungs. COPD symptoms are indicative of obstructed airways—with chronic coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, increased mucus production, and extreme fatigue. COPD most commonly develops in patients with emphysema (destruction of the alveoli) and chronic bronchitis (swelling of the lining of the bronchial tubes), mainly due to damage caused from long-term smoking (i.e., cigarettes or pipe tobacco) or exposure to chemicals, pollutants, and gases.

COPD is treatable, however, the lung damage caused is irreversible, which is why COPD treatments focus on decreasing the patient’s risk of developing respiratory infections (i.e., pneumonia), cardiovascular disease, and lung cancer in addition to managing symptoms and improving quality of life. Here are the most common treatment options for COPD patients:

1. Quit smoking

Complete smoking cessation is imperative to improve breathing and keep COPD from progressing. However, butting out isn’t easy for long term smokers. Talk to your doctor about smoking cessation medications, nicotine replacements, and supports to help you quit smoking for good.

2. Oxygen therapy

Patients with moderate to severe COPD may benefit from oxygen therapy, which supplements blood oxygen levels using a lightweight, portable oxygen tank that is mobile with you. Other patients only need to administer oxygen therapy following physical activities or during sleeping.

3. Pulmonary rehabilitation

Doctors often refer patients to a pulmonary rehabilitation program, which is meant to help reduce the frequency of hospitalizations with nutrition counselling, daily exercise, and education with an array of specialists.

4. Bronchodilators

This inhaler device administers COPD medication to relax airway muscles to improve breathing while reducing symptoms of chest tightness, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chronic coughing. Depending on the severity of your condition, doctors can prescribe short-acting bronchodilators to be taken prior to exercise or long-acting bronchodilators that are administered daily.

5. Corticosteroids

Corticosteroid medications are prescribed as inhalants to decrease inflammation of the airways while reducing chest tightness and cough. Typical COPD inhaled corticosteroids include. Fluticasone and Pulmicort Flexhaler. Combination inhalers can also feature bronchodilator and inhaled steroid medications in one inhaler (i.e., fluticasone and Symbicort).

6. Oral COPD medications

Several oral medications are often prescribed alone or in combination with other COPD treatments. For instance, oral steroids can be taken only in short courses (i.e., less than a week) to stall COPD progression. While Theophylline medication can be prescribed to improve breathing. Finally, phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors for severe COPD can help decrease airway inflammation in COPD patients with chronic bronchitis. Keep in mind long term use of these medications can lead to weight loss/weight gain, diarrhea, increased heart rate, nausea, and headaches.

7. Lung surgery

When medications aren’t sufficiently helping, surgery for COPD is an option for patients with severe emphysema. Surgical options for COPD can include the following:

  • Bullectomy, which refers to the surgical removal of bullae (large air spaces) from the lungs to improve oxygen flow.
  • Lung volume reduction surgery, which surgically extracts small areas of damaged lung tissue from the upper lungs to create space for healthy lung tissue to expand and improve diaphragm function.
  • Lung transplantation, which is only performed in severe cases to fully replace an organ and significantly improve quality of life. Patients who undergo a lung transplant must take immunosuppressive medications for the rest of their lives.

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