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Coughing up in the morning and breathlessness when exercising – these could be symptoms of a fatal disease. Many patients are sick for more than 20 years before they see a doctor. Meanwhile, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death.
COPD causes irreversible narrowing of the airways which, in the final stage of the disease, prevents breathing and causes death. Breathing is the supply of oxygen to the blood from the air in the air. The air inhaled through the bronchi enters the alveoli. There, oxygen is combined with the blood and goes through the bloodstream to all organs. The greater the patency and capacity of our respiratory system, the better oxygenation of all organs.
The amount of air you breathe out in COPD
The more air we can blow out in the first second of exhalation, the better the condition of our lungs. – It turns out that it is of great importance for the condition of the whole organism and determines the length of life. The hypoxic body is weaker, especially the heart, says Prof. Piotr Kuna from the Department of Internal Diseases, Asthma and Allergy at the Medical University of Lodz.
The human lungs reach their full potential in the age of 20. From then on, a healthy person reduces the amount of exhaled air in the first second by 25 ml per year. – In a COPD patient, this loss is between 60 and 120 ml. This is because, simply put, COPD is a defect in the tube and tube system that carries air to the alveoli, explains the professor.
The causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COPD can be caused by cigarette smoking, air pollution, and viral and bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, and untreated bronchial asthma. – Passive smoking is also a problem. I have many patients who have never smoked, but during the interview it always turns out that at work or at home they were exposed to being with smokers – says Prof. Marten. He adds that smoking increases the risk of developing COPD threefold, while untreated asthma – thirteen times.
Smoke and air gases can also be pathogens. “In poor countries, where people cook and heat mainly with home stoves, air pollution is the most common cause of COPD,” explains the professor. He also adds that open fireplaces and gas stoves in our apartments do not serve our health.
– The problem is not only gases, but also dust that floats in the air, e.g. rubber rubbing off car tires while driving. – lists prof. Marten.
Spirometry test in the diagnosis of COPD
COPD is diagnosed through a spirometric test. The patient blows air into a tube connected to a special machine that measures the ratio of the amount of air blown out in the first second to the total lung capacity. – If the patient has narrowed airways, then we see abnormalities on the test graph. A healthy person blows air which constitutes 85% of lung capacity in the first second, a sick person less – explains Prof. Marten.
Spirometry is a very difficult test and not all clinics have a reliable result – warns the professor. The proper conduct of the examination requires a lot of time and a lot of experience of the doctor. Prof. Kuna recommends using only those clinics that are certified by the Polish Society of Lung Diseases. There are over a dozen of them in the country, mainly at academic centers. The professor also regrets that the National Health Fund contracts the services of clinics, which do not always have good quality equipment and appropriate professionals. To get yourself spirometry you will need to get a referral from your GP and go to a lung clinic. – In my clinic operating at the hospital, there is a queue of two weeks.
The spirometry test should be done by smokers who are 40 years old or people who have been exposed to passive smoking for 20 years. Spirometry should be repeated every two years.
Treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
The most important thing is to detect the disease early, because COPD cannot be cured, but its progression can only be stopped. If the condition is diagnosed at an early stage, the chances of stopping the progression of the disease are greater. First of all, the patient must quit smoking.
Dr Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko, Deputy for Science, Director of the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Warsaw, even thinks that the National Health Fund should refund smoking cessation drugs. – COPD medications are very expensive. Meanwhile, many people who use them continue to smoke, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of these expensive pharmaceuticals reimbursed by the National Health Fund.
However, Deputy Minister of Health Marek Twardowski replies that due to the limited amount of funds for drug reimbursement, the Ministry of Health must choose between financing expensive drugs for patients who had no influence on their illness and reimbursement of the treatment of diseases that patients treat themselves. on your own wish. He advises smokers with COPD to spend their money on smoking cessation drugs.
Patients with COPD – apart from quitting smoking – must get vaccinated against flu every 5 years, against pneumococci and start playing sports. COPD is treated with bronchodilators. Taking them extends the life of patients and reduces the risk of heart attack and other chronic diseases, and extends the life of patients.
Text: Halina Pilonis
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