This week we are taking a look at COPD, this is a serious condition, my dad suffered from it. So, what is it, well COPD stands for Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems. It is sometimes called emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

In people with COPD, the lungs can get damaged or clogged with phlegm. Symptoms include cough, sometimes with phlegm, difficulty breathing, wheezing and tiredness.

Smoking and air pollution are the most common causes of COPD. People with COPD are at higher risk of other health problems.

COPD is not curable, but symptoms can improve if one avoids smoking and exposure to air pollution and gets vaccines to prevent infections. It can also be treated with medicines, oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Some websites say there are four stages of COPD but most said there are three.

The first symptoms of COPD tend to come on slowly and can be very mild. In the early stages, you may not have symptoms all the time and you may find there is very little or no impact on your life or independence. You may cough up mucus in the mornings or feel more short of breath than usual if you walk quickly or exert yourself. You may be prescribed a bronchodilator inhaler, and you should get yearly flu shots.

As COPD progresses, you may gradually notice symptoms almost every day and find it harder to do your normal daily activities such as gardening, hanging out the washing, or carrying groceries without feeling short of breath. You may also experience a repetitive cough, and increased phlegm production which is often thick and white or brownish in colour. Feeling tired and getting more chest infections or taking longer to recover from an illness can also be experienced in the moderate stage of COPD.

This is often the stage where you may first become aware of symptoms and seek treatment. Your doctor may prescribe a bronchodilator medication if they haven’t already, along with recommending breathing exercises techniques like pursed lip breathing and coordinated breathing can help you exert yourself less during physical activities and maintain an active lifestyle.

You may also be offered pulmonary rehabilitation which my dad did and he found it helpful, it is designed to give those with COPD the tools to manage their condition and reduce the severity of their symptoms, thus giving them a better quality of life.

In severe COPD, you will likely experience symptoms most of the time. You may find it very hard to walk upstairs or across the room without feeling very short of breath, feel tired more of the time despite resting and cough frequently with a lot more mucus. It is common to feel frustrated with the constant need to clear your mucus from your airways and to experience frequent chest infections that take several weeks to recover from.

At stage 3, lung function has significantly decreased. As the walls of the air sacs in the lungs continue to weaken, it becomes more difficult to take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide while exhaling.

Previous symptoms are more intense and more noticeable: shortness of breath has worsened, coughing or wheezing occurs more frequently, and you may produce thicker mucus.

Some experience any or all off of the following symptoms

Extreme fatigue or weakness

Feelings of confusion or forgetfulness

Swelling of the ankles, feet and legs

Tightness in the chest

More frequent chest infections

You may also experience what are called flare-us when these flare-ups happen the symptoms suddenly become more severe and lung function dramatically changes. When this happens, you may feel greater amounts of mucus clogging your bronchial tubes and sudden constrictions of the muscles around your airways.

Flare-ups are the main cause of COPD suffers end up in hospital, during a flare-up suffers will experience

Breathlessness or shortness of breath

Increase in coughing attacks

Wheezing or whistling noises when you breathe

Increase of mucus

Fatigue or sleep problems

Cognitive impairment including confusion, depression, or memory lapses

In what is called stage 4 of COPD, lung function is very low, symptoms worsen and become more persistent. Shortness of breath and chest tightness occur with everyday activities, and it becomes a big effort just to breathe.  Resulting in the suffered having to go to hospital more. Suffers may also notice a crackling sound to their breathing and an irregular or fast heartbeat. This stage is also called the ends stage.