Posted on October 22, 2016 by Kate Halsall
Some of you may already be familiar with the acronym COPD….it’s been doing the rounds on social media at the moment. You know, those posts where people ask their friends to put it on their status for an hour….. In a way it does raise some awareness, but personally, I think it’s more important to make people aware of WHAT they are actually posting about (and I don’t doubt that some people do). The acronym doesn’t explain anything about what it means, how it affects people, how they can recognise the symptoms, what they can do about it and so on. So let’s get to the point – what is COPD – well here are the facts.
COPD – Explaining the Acronym:
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease affects approximately 3 million people in the UK
- It’s the name given to a number of lung conditions which can affect breathing, namely damage to the air sacs in your lungs and inflammation of the airways (NB it is NOT the same as having asthma!)
- The predominant cause for the disease is smoking
- According to the NHS it is a largely a preventable condition
COPD – Understanding the Symptoms:
**It’s important to note that these symptoms alone do NOT mean you have COPD, if in doubt get it checked!
- If you are over 35 and have been or still are a heavy smoker (or have been exposed to fumes or dust over time), and you suffer from:
- breathlessness
- wheezing
- tight chest
COPD – The Treatment:
Good and bad news, which would you like first? Here’s the bad news – once you have COPD you can’t get rid of it. Here’s the good news, you can treat the symptoms and you can help improve your overall energy – what’s more, they are mostly simple solutions too:
- Stop smoking
- Eat right
- Where appropriate lose weight
- Exercise
This blog isn’t designed to make you think “Oh God I May Have COPD” – if you’re in any doubt get checked out! We can all get breathless at times, a bad chest infection or cold can give us a cough or wheezing; it doesn’t mean that you have COPD! The point is, think before you update your status for 1 hour – what are you REALLY trying to raise awareness for – and are you actually doing it?
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx