How Is COPD Treated?
COPD has no cure yet. However, treatments and
lifestyle changes can help you feel better, stay more active, and slow the
progress of the disease.
Quitting smoking is the most important step you can
take to treat COPD. Talk to your doctor about programs and products that can
help you quit. Many hospitals have programs that help people quit smoking, or
hospital staff can refer you to a program. Ask your family members and friends
to support you in your efforts to quit. Also, try to avoid secondhand
smoke.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's
"Your
Guide to a Healthy Heart" booklet has more information about how to quit
smoking.
Other treatments for COPD may include medicines,
vaccines, pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab), oxygen therapy, surgery, and
managing complications.
The goals of COPD treatment are to:
- Relieve your symptoms
- Slow the progress of the disease
- Improve your exercise tolerance (your ability to
stay active)
- Prevent and treat complications
- Improve your overall health
Specialists Involved
To assist with your treatment, your family doctor
may advise you to see a pulmonologist. This is a doctor who specializes in
treating people who have lung problems.
Medicines
Bronchodilators
Bronchodilators relax the muscles around your
airways. This helps open your airways and makes breathing easier.
Depending on how severe your disease is, your doctor
may prescribe short-acting or long-acting bronchodilators. Short-acting
bronchodilators last about 4 to 6 hours and should be used only when needed.
Long-acting bronchodilators last about 12 hours or more and are used every
day.
Most bronchodilators are taken using a device called
an inhaler. This device allows the medicine to go right to your lungs. Not all
inhalers are used the same way. Ask your health care team to show you the right
way to use your inhaler.
If your COPD is mild, your doctor may only prescribe
a short-acting inhaled bronchodilator. In this case, you may only use the
medicine when symptoms occur.
If your COPD is moderate or severe, your doctor may
prescribe regular treatment with short- and long-acting bronchodilators.
Inhaled Glucocorticosteroids (Steroids)
Inhaled steroids are used for some people who have
moderate or severe COPD. These medicines may reduce airway inflammation
(swelling).
Your doctor may ask you to try inhaled steroids for
a trial period of 6 weeks to 3 months to see whether the medicine is helping
with your breathing problems.
Vaccines
Flu Shots
The flu (influenza) can cause serious problems for
people who have COPD. Flu shots can reduce your risk for the flu. Talk with
your doctor about getting a yearly flu shot.
Pneumococcal Vaccine
This vaccine lowers your risk for pneumococcal
pneumonia
(nu-MO-ne-ah) and its complications. People who have COPD are at higher risk
for pneumonia than people who don't have COPD. Talk with your doctor about
whether you should get this vaccine.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Pulmonary rehab is a medically supervised program
that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have lung problems.
Rehab may include an exercise program, disease management training, and
nutritional and psychological counseling. The program aims to help you stay
more active and carry out your day-to-day activities.
Your rehab team may include doctors, nurses,
physical therapists, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists, and
dietitians. These health professionals work together and with you to create a
program that meets your needs.
Oxygen Therapy
If you have severe COPD and low levels of oxygen in
your blood, oxygen therapy can help you breathe better. For this treatment,
you're given oxygen through nasal prongs or a mask.
You may need extra oxygen all the time or just
sometimes. For some people who have severe COPD, using extra oxygen for most of
the day can help them:
- Do tasks or activities, while having fewer
symptoms
- Protect their hearts and other organs from
damage
- Sleep more during the night and improve alertness
during the day
- Live longer
Surgery
In rare cases, surgery may benefit some people who
have COPD. Surgery usually is a last resort for people who have severe symptoms
that have not improved from taking medicines.
Surgeries for people who have COPD that's mainly
related to
emphysema include bullectomy (bul-EK-to-me) and lung volume
reduction surgery (LVRS). A lung transplant may be done for people who have
very severe COPD.
Bullectomy
When the walls of the air sacs are destroyed, larger
air spaces called bullae form. These air spaces can become so large that they
interfere with breathing. In a bullectomy, doctors remove one or more very
large bullae from the lungs.
Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
In LVRS, surgeons remove damaged tissues from the
lungs. This helps the lungs work better. In carefully selected patients, LVRS
can improve breathing and quality of life.
Lung Transplant
A lung transplant may benefit some people who have
very severe COPD. During a lung transplant, your damaged lung is removed and
replaced with a healthy lung from a deceased donor.
A lung transplant can improve your lung function and
quality of life. However, lung transplants have a high risk of complications.
These include infections and death due to the body rejecting the transplanted
lung.
If you have very severe COPD, talk to your doctor
about whether a lung transplant is an option. Discuss with your doctor the
benefits and risks of this type of surgery.
Managing Complications
COPD symptoms usually slowly worsen over time.
However, they can become more severe suddenly. For instance, a cold, the flu,
or a lung infection may cause your symptoms to quickly worsen. You may have a
much harder time catching your breath. You also may have chest tightness, more
coughing, changes in the color or amount of your sputum (spit), and a
fever.
Call your doctor right away if this happens. He or
she may prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection and other medicines, such
as bronchodilators and glucocorticosteroids, to help with your breathing.
Some severe symptoms may require treatment in a
hospital. For more information, see
"What
Are the Signs and Symptoms of COPD?" |