Low awareness of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) causes that people suffering from this disease do not feel understood or accepted by those around them.
On Friday, COPD specialists debated during a journalism workshop in Warsaw. The meeting was organized on the occasion of the World Day of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease on November 18.
Dr. Iwona Damps-Konstańska from the University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Gdańsk said that with each exacerbation of COPD, the patient’s condition worsens, and so does the quality of his life. “We do not realize that this disease can lead to sudden death, just like a heart attack,” she emphasized.
The main symptoms of exacerbations of this disease are increasing shortness of breath and coughing. This is also indicated by the report “COPD: The reality of patients in Poland” published during the workshops. It shows that the vast majority of patients find it difficult to cope with everyday tasks, such as household chores, washing and dressing, as well as going to the store, running to the bus or climbing stairs.
The report was prepared on the basis of individual and group interviews conducted in September and October 2015 among 200 patients and 50 pulmonary doctors. Most of the patients included in the study have suffered from COPD for at least 5 years.
The vast majority of these patients have both exercise and rest dyspnoea, and complain of wheezing and chest tightness. Almost everyone experiences exacerbations of the disease. Most often they occur after some respiratory infection or exercise. Every second patient believed that stress also caused these symptoms.
“Patients with COPD need both emotional support and in providing them with knowledge on how to cope with the disease,” emphasizes the report prepared by the PBS agency.
Dr. Elżbieta Puścińska from the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Warsaw pointed out that patients should first of all get rid of the addiction to smoking. It is a major risk factor for disease, in addition to frequent exposure to polluted air and recurrent respiratory infections. However, the report shows that as much as 21% of people still smoke after the disease is detected. subjects.
“Due to the spread of cigarette smoking, COPD has ceased to be a disease almost exclusively for men, and women also suffer from it more and more often” – said Dr. Puścińska. The specialist cited the latest research which shows that 11,8% of patients suffer from COPD. men and 8,5 percent. women over 40.
This condition reduces the volume of the lungs, which reduces the flow of air through the airways. Hence the name “obstructive pulmonary disease” because it means narrowing of the airways. Due to disturbed gas exchange, there is too much carbon dioxide in the blood and not enough oxygen. As a result, coughing, shortness of breath and expectoration appear.
Vice-president of the Polish Society of Lung Diseases prof. Paweł Śliwiński warns that these symptoms may be accompanied by other ailments, such as enlargement of the left ventricle and swelling of the lower limbs. “A person with COPD may have blue lips, a prolonged breathing phase and increased activity in the respiratory muscles,” she adds.
All specialists emphasize that it is very important to start treatment as early as possible. “You have to remember that this disease cannot be cured, you can only slow it down and relieve its symptoms. The sooner this is done, the better the prognosis and the better quality of life of the patient ”- emphasizes Prof. Śliwioński.
According to the data presented by Dr. Iwona Damps-Konstańska, 23 million people in Europe suffer from COPD, of which 1,1 million require hospitalization each year, and 150. dies (in Poland – 15 thousand). “In our country, the cost of hospital treatment for one patient in 2010 was estimated at PLN 6. PLN (this is the only available data – PAP), but now it is certainly bigger, ”said the specialist.
According to Dr. Puścińska, COPD is detected in every second patient relatively early, in the first or second stage of the disease. Only 15 percent. of them, the therapy begins when the disease is already in the fourth, most advanced stage. Still, 80 percent. patients have no diagnosed disease. The number of all patients in Poland is estimated at about 2 million, which means that 1,6 million people are not aware that they develop COPD insidiously.