Health tips
Keep your lungs healthy
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a long-term disease of the lungs. It causes the airways to narrow and the air sacs in the lungs to become gradually damaged. As a result, patients cannot take in enough air and breathing difficulties gradually worsen over time.
Main causes of COPD:
Smoking, long-term exposure to cooking smoke, air pollution, dust and working in chemical factories, hereditary alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency and other factors.
People over the age of 40, long term smokers, women in rural areas who cook using wood or other fuels, people working in brick kilns, factories or dusty environments and those who have had a persistent cough for a long time are at risk of COPD.
Symptoms of COPD include long term cough and phlegm, shortness of breath while walking or climbing stairs, a whistling sound while breathing and frequent chest infections. Shortness of breath can also occur while resting.
Treatment:
- Quit smoking
- Use inhalers correctly
- Take medications and use a nebulizer as needed
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
- Get influenza and pneumonia vaccines
- In severe cases, receive long term oxygen therapy
To keep your lungs healthy, stop smoking today. Ensure adequate ventilation in the kitchen. Use clean fuel instead of wood or straw stoves. Walk regularly and do breathing exercises. Do not stop using your inhaler without consulting a doctor.
Author: Assistant Professor, Alok Healthcare, Mirpur.
