When two diseases show similar symptoms, it is easy to make a mistake in diagnosis. However, asthma and COPD have different origins, course and prognosis.
Asthma is allergic, it may be a complication of untreated or poorly treated inhalation allergy (often the causes of asthma are allergies to house dust mites, animal hair and epidermis, pollen of grasses, trees, fungal spores). In the history of patients, doctors also show allergies in other family members, therefore they associate the development of asthma with a genetically determined predisposition to paroxysmal bronchospasms.
COPD, on the other hand, is not allergic. It is mainly associated with active or passive smoking or exposure to irritants. While 90% of asthma patients can control their disease thanks to modern drugs and physiotherapy, COPD, even if treated well, progresses, and treatment only reduces the severity of symptoms or inhibits its development.
Not only the doctor
Of course, if you are diagnosed with both diseases, the most important thing is to follow your doctor’s instructions. For asthma, avoid exposure to allergens, and for COPD, quit smoking. In the course of both diseases, properly selected physical activity and a proper diet are also important. Therefore, patients diagnosed with asthma or COPD should be under the care of a physician, physiotherapist and consult a dietitian. Contact with a physiotherapist is especially important in the case of people suffering from asthma, who limit their exercise due to the fear of shortness of breath. Unnecessarily, because under the supervision of a qualified physiotherapist, you can learn to control your breathing, and thus better control the disease.
Although the prognosis for COPD is unfavorable, pulmonary rehabilitation can inhibit disease progression and improve the quality of life of patients at all stages of the disease.
Working age pensioners
The prevalence of COPD is costly to the welfare system. Every year, patients are awarded 20. disability pensions, of which the majority of pensioners are people of working age. A patient with an advanced form of COPD also requires constant care, i.e. the second non-working person in the family.
| 10000113 | C0000111AC | 0000112 | C0000111ACAstma | 0000112 | C0000111ACPOChP |
| 10000113 | L0000110AL Onset of disease | Usually in childhood or young age | Usually after the age of 50 | ||
| 10000113 | L0000110AL Family and childhood allergic history | Often yes | No or rarely | ||
| 10000113 | L0000110AL Smoking | Rarely | 90% of patients smoke or smoked, 5% are passive smokers | ||
| 10000113 | L0000110AL Dyspnoea | Paroxysmal, spontaneously resolving or after administration of a bronchodilator | Exercise, increasing during the course of the disease | ||
| 10000113 | L0000110ALSpirometria | Normal between seizures. In exacerbation – obstruction, reversible after an exacerbation has subsided | Obstruction that increases with the duration of the disease. Sometimes reversible, but not completely | ||
| 10000113 | L0000110AL Treatment efficacy | Proper treatment allows the patient to function normally | Proper treatment only reduces the severity of symptoms and slows the progression of the disease | ||
| 10000113 | L0000110AL Prognosis (both diseases are incurable) | Successful | Unsuccessful |
Bogusława Majewska
Source: Let’s live longer
Source: materials of the Society of Friends of Asthma Patients, www.astma.waw.pl.