People with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) suffer from shortness of breath cause by narrowing of the airways. The symptoms are similar to those of asthma sufferers but the narrowed airway is reversible with asthma. COPD becomes progressively worse with time and cannot be reversed.
Tobacco smoke is the primary cause of COPD. The diagnosis refers to the presence of two diseases present in the patient. Chronic bronchitis is caused by an inflammatory response in the larger airways of the body. Emphysema is damage to the tissues of the lungs caused by an inflammatory response that affecting alveoli of the lungs. The inflammation is triggered by noxious gases and particles inhaled by tobacco users.
Symptoms can worsen suddenly leading to acute episodes of COPD. Pollution in the air or an inflection can quickly lead to an acute episode. Lung function tests are used to diagnose COPD with testing to measure the volume of air and the speed of air flow of the patient.
Those who suffer from COPD require long term oxygen therapy. We’ve all noticed people in public who are carrying an oxygen pack or pulling a cart with an oxygen tank to help them breathe.
COPD is not curable but relies on management to delay the advance of the disease and to help avoid acute attacks. Management strategies outlined by doctors include advice to stop smoking tobacco and to participate in rehabilitation and drug therapy. Inhalers are the most common drug therapy prescribed for patients.
Physicians often report frustration in dealing with patients who continue a two to three pack a day tobacco habit even after a diagnosis of COPD. The belief may be that the damage is already done so it’s too late to quit smoking or the patient may think they do not have the will power required to stop.
Sessions of breathing steam are part of the rehabilitation treatment for COPD. The steam increases the flow through the airways of the patient and provides at least temporary relief. Participating in rehabilitation is not always effective for those who continue to smoke two or three packs of cigarettes a day. The best electronic cigarettes now provide a real alternative for those who suffer from COPD. Many of these smokers are addicted not only to tobacco but to the total physical activity of smoking. Patches and gums do not fill the psychological need for a person whose habit includes the act of holding a cigarette, of taking draws on a cigarette and inhaling.
Highly addicted smokers suffering from COPD find e-cigarettes to be a real alternative for them. The lack of toxic smoke allows them to gain greater benefit from rehabilitation and steam therapy. E-cigs allow the smoker to inhale a vapor that tastes and feels like cigarette smoke without inhaling the harmful chemicals of burning tobacco. The popularity of e-cigs for this sector of society has grown rapidly. Patients report an increase in their quality of life and some even claim the steam vapor produce by e-cigarettes is helpful as a steam therapy. Until scientific studies are conducted, proof of advantages of the vapor are only anecdotal. it may be that simply stopping the inhalation of the additives in tobacco smoke is responsible for the improvement in patients.
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