Gasping breath

In our life we breathe more than 20,000 times a day for normal adult. But just think, each time attracting and breathe out, you like to grapple with life as a result of a narrow airway.
That volume traveled Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive disease due to narrowed airways that can be life threatening.
Many may never have heard or know what COPD than asthma or bronchitis. COPD is often associated with hardcore smoking, polluted air and exposed to a particular work environment to the occurrence of airway obstruction in the lungs. This situation causes the patient gasping due to shortness of breath. Not surprisingly, over time people with this condition becomes active. According to statistics, COPD affects 210 million people around the world, but is expected to become the third highest cause of death in 2020. Smoking is the main cause of COPD, with women smokers 13 times while male smokers 12 times more likely to die from COPD than those who are not smokers. However, smoking is not the only cause of COPD. Other factors include exposure to smoke or pollution of both internal and external, can also increase the chances of suffering from COPD. Some of COPD patients were infected as a result of long periods of time in dusty and smoky environment. Thoracic Society of the United States reported that exposure to work practices contribute 10 to 20 per cent of the symptoms or failure to function consistent with COPD. President of the Thoracic Society of Malaysia, Prof Dr Abdul Manap Roslina, COPD usually affects men but women are also affected. "This is due to the increase in tobacco use and high risk exposure to indoor pollution, such as solid fuel used for cooking and heating food. "There are some cases of COPD patients live in homes filled with smoke from the kitchen to cook or smoke from the heater used to heat the house," he said the column. Healthy Roslina Prof and Chief Medical Centre Respiratory Unit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM Medical Centre) said the most common symptoms of COPD or shortness of breath mencungap; sputum unusual; chronic cough; breath wheezing (wheezing) and tight chest. "Sometimes, routine and simple as walking up or down the ladder over time can be an inconvenience, "he said. He said, COPD is diagnosed using a simple test called spirometry to measure the strength of respiratory function (draw and blow) and how fast it is blown out. " Unfortunately, most patients the diagnosis of COPD is missed or not properly tested until the disease is more severe, "he said. Prof Roslina said physicians only conduct spirometry tests when patients show symptoms such as chronic cough, producing phlegm, dyspnea (shortness of breath), is exposed too long to tobacco smoke, dust and chemicals in the workplace and smoke from activities at home. He said, as a result most likely to associate symptoms of COPD patients with smoking and increasing age, they ignore the health check until the situation is increasingly serious. As a result, when the diagnosis is done, more than 50 percent of lung function and failure. "Although COPD can not be cured, it can be treated and prevented, so the main goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms and prevent complications or control of the impoverished with minimum side effects," he said. He said the drug Bronchodilators relax and open the air passages in the lungs plays an important role in managing the symptoms of COPD. "Most use an inhaler bronchodilators taken. Depending on the severity of illness, no matter how fast or slow reaction, inhaled bronchodilator may be given, "he said. Prof Roslina said inhaler bronchodilators fast reaction, ie after 15 to 20 minutes and can last from four to six hours can help reduce breath even known as rescue medication. He said that late effects bronchodilators are used every day to open the airway and make sure it's open 12 hours but in some cases up to 24 hours. "Treatment of COPD include either a drug or combination of drugs in one inhaler such as bronchodilators, corticosteroids, a combination of bronchodilators, and corticosteroids or a combination bronchodialators. "In addition, COPD can be treated with antibiotics, oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation and surgery," he said. He said the vaccine failure of the lungs (pneumonia ) and influenza should also be given to patients with COPD. In conclusion, COPD patients should change their lifestyle by adopting a healthy lifestyle by exercising, quitting smoking, and far from any form of pollution.