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Disease Index Respiratory Diseases

COPD

Hpathy | Hpathy Ezine, May, 2011 | Print This Post

COPD

Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by chronic

air ow limitation that is not fully reversible and an abnormal in ammatory
response in the lungs. The latter represent the innate and adaptive immune
responses to a lifetime of exposure to noxious particles, fumes and gases,
particularly cigarette smoke. All cigarette smokers have in ammatory
changes within their lungs, but those who develop COPD exhibit an
enhanced or abnormal in ammatory response may result in mucous hyper-
secretion (chronic bronchitis), tissue destruction (emphysema), disruption of
normal repair and defense mechanism causing small airway in ammation
(bronchiolitis) and brosis.

These pathological changes result in increased resistance to air ow in the

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small conducting airways
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and increased
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compliance
and reduced Engage
elastic

recoil of the lungs. This causes progressive air ow limitation and air trapping,
which are the hallmark features of COPD. There is increasing understanding
of the cell and the molecular mechanism that result in the pathological
changes found and how these lead to physiological abnormalities and
subsequent development of symptoms.

What are the causes of a COPD exacerbation?

These are two very common causes of COPD exacerbation:

Lung infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Infections are the most common cause
of COPD exacerbations and are usually caused by a virus, but they can also be caused by
bacteria.
Lung irritation from dust, fumes, and other sources of air pollution.

When you experience a COPD exacerbation, there is a dramatic increase in

mucus production in your lungs as well as narrowing of the airways of the
lungs a (bronchial tubes). The increased mucus production and airway
narrowing decrease the air ow in the lungs, worsening the symptoms of
cough and shortness of breath.

Other cases of COPD exacerbations include heart failure, allergic reactions,

accidental inhalation of food or stomach contents into the lungs, and
exposure to temperature changes or chemicals. In about one third of COPD
exacerbations, doctors cannot nd a cause.

Symptoms of COPD
The most common symptoms seen in COPD are breathlessness, cough and
fatigue. There is no good correlation between lung function and symptoms of
COPD, not even the standardized scoring of breathlessness correlates well
with FEV; the important message being that a simple physiological measure
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can never substitute a symptom history.
Breathlessness

Breathlessness is the most signi cant symptom in COPD and it is associated

with signi cant disability, poor quality of life and poor prognosis.

Cough and Sputum Production

Cough is respiratory defense mechanism protecting the airways and cough is

the major method of clearing excess mucus production. In COPD patients,
cough as a symptom is almost as common as breathlessness and may
actually precede the onset of breathlessness. Cough is usually worse in the
morning but seldom disturbs the patients sleep; it can, nevertheless, be
disabling because of the embarrassment felt by many patients when they
have bursts of productive cough on social occasions and may contribute to
the isolation often imposed on patients due to breathlessness.

Wheezing

Wheezing is generally seen as an asthma symptom but frequently occurs in

COPD as well. However, nocturnal wheeze is uncommon in COPD and
Suggests the presence of asthma and/or heart failure.

Fatigue

Fatigue is frequently reported by COPD patients.

Other symptoms

Chest pain is a common complaint in COPD, mostly secondary to muscle

pain. However, it should be noted that ischemic heart disease is frequent in
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any population of heavy smokers and COPD patients may be at particular
risk. Acid re ux occurrence is also frequent in COPD.
Ankle swelling may result from immobility secondary to breathlessness or as
result of right heart failure. Anorexia and weight loss often occurs as the
disease advances and should be mirrored by measurements of body mass
index (BMI) and body composition. Psychiatric morbidity is high in COPD,
re ecting the social isolation, the neurological e ects of hypoxemia and
possibly the e ects of systemic in ammation. Sleep quality is impaired in
advanced disease and this may contribute to neuropsychiatric comorbidity.

How is COPD diagnosed?

The diagnosis is largely made on the clinical grounds in patients who have
smoked. It is con rmed by demonstrating air ow obstruction that shows
little day to day or diurnal variation and minimal response to
bronchodilators. Air ow obstruction can only be accurately showed by
spirometry rather than by measuring peak ow rates.

Many patients will only present at the time of an exacerbation and will be unaware that they
have a chronic illness. Some will have had a cough or been breathless for some time but will
not have recognized that these were symptoms of a lung condition. It is often only in
retrospect that patients realize that they have been breathless on exertion or have had a
productive cough for several years. Many smokers have a morning cough that they regard
as normal for them and become breathless on exertion, which they regard as a part of
normal ageing.

Age is risk factor for COPD and the presence of symptoms suggestive of a diagnosis of COPD
in patients under the age of 40 should raise the possibility of an alternative diagnosis or an
unusual etiology such as a-1 antitrypsin de ciency.

Homeopathic treatment of COPD symptoms

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The

selection of remedy is based upon the theory of individualization and
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symptoms similarity by using holistic

approach. This is the onlyway through

which a state of complete health can be regained by removing all the sign
and symptoms from which the patient is su ering. The aim of homeopathy is
not only to treat COPD symptoms but to address its underlying cause and
individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned,
several medicines are available for COPD symptoms treatment that can be
selected on the basis of cause, sensation, modalities of the complaints. For
individualized remedy selection and treatment, the patient should consult a
quali ed homeopathic doctor in person. There are some speci c
homeopathic remedies which are quite helpful in the treatment of COPD
symptoms:

Kali Carb, Kali Iod, Anacardium, Cina, Carbo Veg, Lachesis, Naja, Cuprum Ars,
Hepar Sulph, Lycopodium, Opium, Phosphorous, Sulphur, Spongia, Selenium,
Stannum Met, Rumex, Silicea, Nux vomica, kali bi, and many other
medicines..

Reference

1. Graema P. Currie- ABC of COPD ;2011;6

2. Campion Quinn- 100 questions & answers about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD); 2005; 45-46
3. Nicola Hanania- COPD: A Guide to Diagnosis and Clinical Management; 2010; 24
4. David M. G. Halpin- Copd : Your Question Answered; 2004; 25

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4 Comments

Venkatesh Sansgani
June 19, 2016 at 7:48 am

Su ering from chronic bronchitis and Subtle centrilobular emhysematous changes.

Reply

c. sreenivas
Services
July 21, pmStudents
2016 at 3:54 Patients Professional Engage

good guidance.excellent
 Reply

c. sreenivas
July 21, 2016 at 3:56 pm

good .informative.excellent

Reply

tracy
August 16, 2016 at 2:51 am

hello everybody.
i was diagnosed of idiopathic pulmonary brosis (IPF) 2014 ,so There are two
medications that can only help me slow down the progression of IPF which was
pirfenidone and nintedanib,so i chose
Pirfenidone helps to slow the development of scarring in the lungs by reducing the
activity of the immune system. Its normally taken as capsules three times a day..i spent
a lot of money taking this medication ,so one day Mrs linda posted a testimony saying
Dr mapipa cured her of COPD,so copied the email address and website which are
;drmapipaherbalmedicinehome(at)gmail(dot)com,
www(dot)drmapipaherbal(dot)weebly(dot)com.then i contact dr mapipa asking him if he
can cure me of idiopathic pulmonary brosis (IPF),he replied and said yes ,so i thought
he was joking ,i just decided to try out his herbal medicine with faith ,then i purchased
the herbal medicine ,which was not that expensive ,then Dr mapipa sent the herbal
medicine to me through courier service ,after 2 days i received the herbal medicine
,then i called him ,he told me how to use the herbal medicine ,he said i will be cured
within 4 weeks of usage ,so after 4 weeks of usage ,then i went for idiopathic pulmonary
brosis (IPF) test ,the doctor con rmed that my lungs is 100% repaired ..thanks to Dr
mapipa once again.GOD I WILL BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY

Reply

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