Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)natural treatment(010)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Find out the best recipe for COPD. Stopping is the most effective way to prevent COPD from getting worse
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties.
It includes:
- emphysema – damage to the air sacs in the lungs
- chronic bronchitis – long-term inflammation of the airways
COPD is a common condition that mainly affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke. Many people do not realise they have it.
The breathing problems tend to get gradually worse over time and can limit your normal activities, although treatment can help keep the condition under control.
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Symptoms of COPD
The main symptoms of COPD are:
- increasing breathlessness, particularly when you’re active
- a persistent chesty cough with phlegm – some people may dismiss this as just a « smoker’s cough »
- frequent chest infections
- persistent wheezing
Without treatment, the symptoms usually get progressively worse. There may also be periods when they get suddenly worse, known as a flare-up or exacerbation.
Find out more about the symptoms of COPD.
When to get medical advice
See a GP if you have persistent symptoms of COPD, particularly if you’re over 35 and smoke or used to smoke.
Do not ignore the symptoms. If they’re caused by COPD, it’s best to start treatment as soon as possible, before your lungs become significantly damaged.
The GP will ask about your symptoms and whether you smoke or have smoked in the past. They can organise a breathing test to help diagnose COPD and rule out other lung conditions, such as asthma.
Find out more about how COPD is diagnosed.
Causes of COPD
COPD happens when the lungs become inflamed, damaged and narrowed. The main cause is smoking, although the condition can sometimes affect people who have never smoked.
The likelihood of developing COPD increases the more you smoke and the longer you’ve smoked.
Some cases of COPD are caused by long-term exposure to harmful fumes or dust. Others are the result of a rare genetic problem which means the lungs are more vulnerable to damage.
Find out more about the causes of COPD.
Treatments for COPD
The damage to the lungs caused by COPD is permanent, but treatment can help slow down the progression of the condition.
Treatments include:
- stopping smoking – if you have COPD and you smoke, this is the most important thing you can do
- inhalers and medicines – to help make breathing easier
- pulmonary rehabilitation – a specialised programme of exercise and education
- surgery or a lung transplant – although this is only an option for a very small number of people
Find out more about how COPD is treated and living with COPD.
There’s currently no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but treatment can help slow the progression of the condition and control the symptoms.
Treatments include:
- stopping smoking – if you have COPD and you smoke, this is the most important thing you can do
- inhalers and tablets – to help make breathing easier
- pulmonary rehabilitation – a specialised programme of exercise and education
- surgery or a lung transplant – although this is only an option for a very small number of people
A doctor will discuss the various treatment options with you.
Stop smoking:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
If you smoke, stopping is the most effective way to prevent COPD from getting worse.
Although any damage done to your lungs and airways cannot be reversed, giving up smoking can help prevent further damage.
This may be all the treatment that’s needed in the early stages of COPD, but it’s never too late to stop – even people with more advanced COPD will benefit from quitting.
If you think you need help to stop smoking, you can contact NHS Smokefree for free advice and support. You may also want to talk to a GP about the stop smoking treatments available to you.
Find out more about stop smoking support or find a stop smoking service near you.
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Inhalers
If COPD is affecting your breathing, you’ll usually be given an inhaler. This is a device that delivers medicine directly into your lungs as you breathe in.
A doctor or nurse will advise you on how to use an inhaler correctly and how often to use it.
There are several different types of inhalers for COPD. The main types include:
Short-acting bronchodilator inhalers
For most people with COPD, short-acting bronchodilator inhalers are the first treatment used.
Bronchodilators are medicines that make breathing easier by relaxing and widening your airways.
There are 2 types of short-acting bronchodilator inhalers:
- beta-2 agonist inhalers – such as salbutamol and terbutaline
- antimuscarinic inhalers – such as ipratropium
Short-acting inhalers should be used when you feel breathless, up to a maximum of 4 times a day.
Long-acting bronchodilator inhalers:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
If you experience symptoms regularly throughout the day, a long-acting bronchodilator inhaler will be recommended.
These work in a similar way to short-acting bronchodilators, but each dose lasts for at least 12 hours, so they only need to be used once or twice a day.
There are 2 types of long-acting bronchodilator inhalers:
- beta-2 agonist inhalers – such as salmeterol, formoterol and indacaterol
- antimuscarinic inhalers – such as tiotropium, glycopyronium and aclidinium
Some new inhalers contain a combination of a long-acting beta-2 agonist and antimuscarinic.
Steroid inhalers:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
If you’re still becoming breathless when using a long-acting inhaler, or you have frequent flare-ups (exacerbations), a GP may suggest including a steroid inhaler as part of your treatment.
Steroid inhalers contain corticosteroid medicines, which can help to reduce the inflammation in your airways.
Steroid inhalers are normally prescribed as part of a combination inhaler that also includes a long-acting medicine.
Tablets
If your symptoms are not controlled with inhalers, a doctor may recommend taking tablets or capsules as well.
Theophylline tablets
Theophylline is a type of bronchodilator. It’s unclear exactly how theophylline works, but it seems to reduce swelling (inflammation) in the airways and relax the muscles lining them.
Theophylline comes as tablets or capsules and is usually taken twice a day.
You may need to have regular blood tests during treatment to check the level of medicine in your blood.
This will help a doctor work out the best dose to control your symptoms while reducing the risk of side effects.
Possible side effects include:
- feeling and being sick
- headaches
- difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
- noticeable pounding, fluttering or irregular heartbeats (palpitations)
Sometimes a similar medicine called aminophylline is also used.
Mucolytics
If you have a persistent chesty cough with lots of thick phlegm, the doctor may recommend taking a mucolytic medicine called carbocisteine.
Mucolytic medicines make the phlegm in your throat thinner and easier to cough up.
Carbocisteine comes as tablets or capsules and is usually taken 3 or 4 times a day.
If carbocisteine does not help your symptoms, or you cannot take it for medical reasons, another mucolytic medicine called acetylcysteine is available.
This comes as a powder that you mix with water. Acetylcysteine powder has an unpleasant smell, like rotten eggs, but this smell should go away once you mix it with the water.
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