Fighting for Every Breath

When you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) then every breath you take is a difficult one.

Most patients that have COPD describe their condition as being continuously out of breath, that they feel “out of breath” and “I can’t get enough oxygen”. This shortness of breath, called dyspnea, is a condition in which the bronchial tubes are constricted because of inflammation to the airways. The earliest warning signs of dyspnea is usually after a strenuous workout or labor as the patient has much difficulty breathing. Dyspnea gradually becomes worse as the patient continues to live with their COPD untreated, making everyday activities, tasks and chores become laborious and difficult.

As COPD becomes more advanced in the patient, the dyspnea can become much worse up to the point where the patient cannot get a decent breath even when they are laying down or resting. At this point the dyspnea caused by the COPD is constant. COPD will also cause the patient to have persistent physiological symptoms such as sputum, chronic coughing, tightness of the chest, wheezing, and lethargy.

In the most severe cases of COPD the patient will actually suffer respiratory failure, developing a blush cast to the lips known as cyanosis, which occurs when there is a massive lack of oxygen in the bloodstream. This causes carbon dioxide to build up continuously in the bloodstream, which causes drowsiness, headaches or a condition of involuntary muscles spasms known as asterixis. Complications will develop as the heart becomes strained from working too hard pumping blood through the affected lungs. This condition, known as cor pulmonale, has its own symptoms which include dyspnea and a general swelling of tissue around the angles.

Common COPD Symptoms

Trained clinicians and physicians are often able to identify the common signs of COPD. Those signs are an elevated breathing rate known as tachypnea. Other common signs of COPD include a wheezing or crackling of the lungs and bronchial pathways as heard via stethoscope, exhaling will take an exponentially longer time than inhaling, there will be a general enlargement of the chest known as hyperinflation, neck muscles will become strained while aiding breathing, lips will become pursed and the lateral ratio of the chest will become more rounded – this is a condition known as “barrel chest”.

While many COPD attacks can be confused with conditions and symptoms that are commonly associated with bronchitis and pneumonia, COPD flare ups can become extremely dangerous and should be attended to right away by a physician. As symptoms worsen the sputum may become thicker, the color and texture changing. Many physicians will perform a lung-function test to determine the level of functionality of the lung. These stages of COPD to determine lung function are measured in the symptomology.

Stages of COPD

Mild COPD: Characterized by a chronic cough mixed with sputum from the bronchial tubes and lungs with lung function of 80-percent of their normal lung capacity.

Moderate COPD: Characterized by a chronic cough with a pronounced level of sputum, a shortness of breath that occurs during exercise with the occasional COPD flare up with lung function reduced to that of 50 to 80-percent.

Severe COPD: Severe COPD is usually characterized by a severe cough with pronounced amounts of mucus, a distinct shortness of breath, weight loss, an escalated rate of COPD flare ups, and lung function reduced to that of 30 to 49-percent.

Extreme COPD: The final – and sometimes fatal – manifestation of COPD, this is characterized by a chronic cough with substantial amounts of sputum, shortness of breath, pronounced weight loss, cyanosis, fluid buildup in the feet and legs, rigidity of the abdomen, confusion and mental impairment, COPD flare ups, and lung function of 30-percent or lower.