When you are out of breath and you smoke cigarettes

Proven content

If you are out of breath while making little effort, and you cough or cough up sputum almost every day, and you are a cigarette smoker, think about stopping the habit. If you have these symptoms, it is very likely that you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is associated with a progressive loss of healthy lung tissue. Stopping smoking will save your lungs, and the use of appropriate medications will improve your condition and physical performance.

New name, old disease

The term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD for short, includes chronic bronchitis, commonly known as chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, which were previously diagnosed in such cases. Both of these states most often occur simultaneously and this fact justified covering them with one name.

A frequent and serious problem

Public awareness of the existence of COPD is low, although the features of this disease are present in about 10 percent of people over 40 years of age. Among people with this disease, only one in ten is diagnosed. COPD is the fourth most common cause of death in the US, after diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. In Poland, the death rate due to COPD is estimated at approximately 17 people per year.

Smoking cigarettes the most common cause

Such a large scale of the phenomenon is associated with the widespread use of smoking (nearly one third of adult Poles smoke cigarettes), because the main cause of this disease is nicotine. It is responsible for about 90% of COPD cases, the rest are mainly caused by exposure to dust and airborne chemicals. This does not mean that every smoker will get COPD. This disease develops in 15% of smokers – those most susceptible to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. A small percentage of cases of this disease have a genetic cause (α1-antitrypsin deficiency).

The essence of COPD is the abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious smoke or dust in the air. On the one hand, it leads to obstruction, i.e. narrowing of the respiratory tract (bronchi, bronchioles) and thus to limitation of air flow through the lungs, and on the other, to excessive distension of the lungs and reduction of the area of ​​gas exchange (oxygen, carbon dioxide) that occurs in them.

The first signals

This process is irreversible and results in a decrease in the efficiency of the respiratory system, which manifests itself breathlessnesswhich is the feeling of lack of air. Initially, it occurs during exercise, and in the advanced stages, after several years of the disease, also at rest. It is accompanied by easy getting tired. The natural mechanisms of cleansing the lungs of harmful substances are the production of secretions in the respiratory tract and chronic cough facilitating expectoration of sputum.

To break the addiction, use Stop Addiction – a Panaseus dietary supplement, which, in addition to supporting the cleansing of the body of toxins, also has a beneficial effect on the well-being.

Basic spirometry research

Most people with COPD see their doctor when their symptoms are persistent and the disease is advanced. In order to facilitate the early diagnosis of the disease, a test has been developed to identify people at risk of COPD. It consists of 5 questions and they read as follows:

1. Do you cough almost every day?

2. Do you cough up sputum almost every day?

3. Do you have trouble breathing, tire quickly and do you have shortness of breath when exercising?

4. Are you over 40 years old?

5. Have you smoked or do you smoke cigarettes?

If you answered “YES” to at least 3 questions, please consult your doctor. Perhaps you may need a spirometry test. This test consists in making a few free and several intensified exhalations to the mouthpiece of the apparatus measuring the respiratory system, e.g. volume of air that the test subject is able to remove from the lungs during a rapid exhalation in the first second (FEV1 – forced expiratory volume in 1 second). This measurement is of crucial importance in the diagnosis of COPD. It allows you to make an appropriate diagnosis, determine the severity of the disease and start treatment that will make the patient feel better.

Accelerated aging of the lungs

A feature of COPD is its progressive nature. Gradual limitation of the ventilation capacity of the respiratory system is a natural process that progresses with age. A healthy person loses 20-30 ml of FEV volume each year₁. In COPD, lung aging is accelerated – this loss is increased, up to 80 ml per year. The only way to slow down this process is to stop exposure to a harmful factor, most often tobacco smoke. All drugs used in COPD, although they are effective in reducing the severity of symptoms and improving exercise tolerance, are not able to slow down the course of the disease. Therefore, quitting smoking is the only way to slow the progression of this serious disease.

Medications help reduce symptoms and improve exercise performance

There are a number of drugs for the treatment of COPD that act as a bronchodilator. These are inhaled drugs from the group of cholinolytics and beta drugs₂-mimetics and oral methylxanthines. In the most severe cases, anti-inflammatory glucocorticosteroids are also used. All these drugs require regular use, not only when you feel worse. Patients in extreme forms of the disease, with respiratory failure as a result, may require home oxygen treatment with the use of oxygen concentrators.

Exacerbations can be prevented

Another feature of COPD is the presence of exacerbations, i.e. periods when symptoms get worse. They are most often caused by infections. Patients with COPD exacerbation require intensification of pharmacological treatment, often the use of antibiotics, and often hospitalization in order to control it. Mechanical ventilation becomes necessary when the respiratory system is unable to provide sufficient gas exchange. Preventing exacerbations is important because each exacerbation leaves a mark in the lungs of further loss of tidal volume. One of the effective methods of preventing exacerbations, in addition to regular medication use, is the annual flu vaccination.

The most important goal in the fight against COPD is to prevent the disease, primarily by avoiding tobacco smoke. If symptoms of the disease appear as a result of smoking cigarettes, thanks to appropriate interventions (quitting smoking, using medications), its course can be slowed down and the symptoms can be significantly reduced. Lack of breath during exercise may be the first sign of it, which should not be underestimated, especially if you smoke and turn 40.

Text: lek. Marek Kaszuba

See Electronic Cigarettes – What is inside e-cigarettes?

See Diet for quitting smoking!