WHAT IS COPD?
COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is an umbrella term used to describe chronic inflammatory lung diseases such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible asthma), some forms of bronchiectasis, and a wide range of other respiratory problems.
This disease causes an obstructed airflow from the lungs and is characterized by increasing breathlessness, frequent cough, wheezing, and tightness in the chest. If you are suffering from COPD, there are treatments, however this and incurable disease.
All County Health Care has an IPV (Intrapulmonary Percussive Ventilator) device for COPD treatment.
This device delivers short bursts of air to help individuals with lung disease clear sputum. Although an IPV device doesn’t cure your COPD, it does help make your treatments easier and improve your daily function. Furthermore, it will help you visit your doctor and hospital less frequently. If you are interested in using an IPV device to manage your COPD, contact All County Health Care, Inc. and our respiratory therapist in Florida today. We are the only home health care agency that provides IPV devices to our patients for COPD treatment.
WHAT CAUSES COPD?
Most cases of COPD are caused by inhaling pollutants; that includes tobacco smoking (cigarettes, pipes, cigars, etc.), and second-hand smoke.
Fumes, chemicals and dust found in many work environments are contributing factors for many individuals who develop COPD.
Genetics can also play a role in an individual’s development of COPD—even if the person has never smoked or has ever been exposed to strong lung irritants in the workplace.
Top Three Causes and Risk Factors for Developing COPD
Smoking
COPD most often occurs in people 40 years of age and older who have a history of smoking. These may be individuals who are current or former smokers. While not everybody who smokes gets COPD, most of the individuals who have COPD (about 90% of them) have smoked. However, only one in five smokers will get significant COPD.
Environmental Factors
COPD can also occur in those who have had long term exposure and contact with harmful pollutants in the workplace. Some of these harmful lung irritants include certain chemicals, dust, or fumes. Heavy or long-term contact with secondhand smoke or other lung irritants in the home, such as organic cooking fuel, may also cause COPD. Individuals who have worked for many years around these irritants are at risk for developing mild COPD.
Genetic Factors
Even if an individual has never smoked or been exposed to pollutants for an extended period of time, they can still develop COPD. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) is the most commonly known genetic risk factor for emphysema2. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin related COPD is caused by a deficiency of the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin protein in the bloodstream. Without the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin protein, white blood cells begin to harm the lungs and lung deterioration occurs. The World Health Organization and the American Thoracic Society recommends that every individual diagnosed with COPD be tested for Alpha-1.
Because not all individuals with COPD have AATD, and because some individuals with COPD have never smoked, it is believed that there are other genetic predispositions to developing COPD.
Information provided by https://www.copdfoundation.org/