How is COPD Treated?

There is no cure for COPD. Damage to your airways and lungs cannot be reversed, but there are things you can do to feel better. COPD symptoms can be managed and damage to the lungs can be slowed. The most important thing you can do to slow the progress of the disease is to quit smoking. Your doctor may recommend treatments to relieve your symptoms and there are things you can do to live better with the disease. The goals of COPD treatment are to:

• Relieve symptoms with no or minimal side effects of treatment
• Slow the progress of the disease
• Improve the ability to stay active and exercise
• Prevent any complications from the disease
• Improve health overall

Treatment for each person is different and is based on whether symptoms are mild, moderate or severe. There are a variety of treatments that can help reduce symptoms and manage complications, including:

• Bronchodilators - medications that work by relaxing the muscles around your airways, opening them and making it easier to breathe. They can last either 4-6 hours or 12 hours, depending on the type. Most are inhaled directly into the lungs with the use of an inhaler.
• Inhaled steroids - used for some people with moderate or severe COPD to reduce the inflammation or swelling in the airways.
• Vaccines - it is recommended that you get a pneumococcal vaccine to prevent pneumonia and an annual flu shot to avoid any breathing complications.
• Pulmonary or lung rehabilitation (rehab) - helps you stay active despite your COPD. It includes exercise training, nutrition advice and education about managing the disease. A custom pulmonary rehab program is managed by a multidisciplinary team (doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists, dietitians).
• Oxygen therapy - for severe COPD and low levels of oxygen in the blood. Using extra oxygen can help you perform tasks or activities with less shortness of breath, protect
the heart and other organs from damage, improve the quality and duration of your sleep, improve your alertness during the day and help you live longer.
• Surgery - is usually done for patients who have severe symptoms, have not improved with medications and have a hard time breathing most of the time. There are two types of surgery for COPD: a bullectomy, which removes a large air sac that may compress a good lung, or a lung transplant.

The goal of COPD treatment is to prevent or minimize the progression of the disease. During a disaster or emergency situation it may be difficult to follow all treatment recommendations. Stopping treatments may increase the frequency or severity of breathing difficulties. You may also become overly tired and eventually require hospitalization. You should also call your doctor if you have sudden chest tightness, more coughing, a change in your sputum or fever.

This could signal a lung infection. It is important that all treatment recommendations be followed to the best of your ability in order to maintain lung function, prevent further lung damage and maintain your quality of life.