Park Ji-eun, professor of respiratory medicine at Kyungpook National University Hospital
Breathing comfortably for a long time is one of the most basic elements in order to live a healthy and vibrant ‘100-year-old age’.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is so common that one in four people over the age of 65 in Korea suffers from it, is a disease that limits our daily lives and lowers our quality of life by making it difficult to do the very simple yet simple physical activity of breathing.
The name chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may sound difficult, but when translated literally, it means a lung disease that narrows the airways over a long period of time. In other words, it is a disease in which chronic inflammation occurs in the breathing bronchi and lungs due to cigarettes or harmful air, causing the lungs to age faster than other people’s.
The most common cause is smoking. It is known that in 20-30% of cases, it is caused by indoor and outdoor air pollution, occupational exposure to harmful gases, or infection, even if the patient does not smoke. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a disease that causes serious socioeconomic problems, ranking third after cardiovascular disease and stroke among the world’s top 10 causes of death announced by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The typical symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are a long-lasting cough, persistent phlegm, and difficulty breathing that worsens when climbing or walking stairs. In some cases, it may be accompanied by wheezing sounds. If infection occurs, you may experience rapid worsening of breathing difficulties. However, cough and phlegm are symptoms that can also appear in other diseases such as bronchial asthma, pneumonia, and bronchiectasis. Symptoms of shortness of breath do not appear until more than 50% of lung function is lost, so there are not many cases in which patients visit the hospital early.
The sooner you are diagnosed and begin treatment and management as early as possible, the better your quality of life and lower your mortality rate. If you have a history of smoking or have any feeling of shortness of breath, it would be a good idea to visit a hospital and get a pulmonary function test for diagnosis.
The most effective way to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and prevent its progression is to quit smoking. If you continue to smoke, you cannot prevent your lung function from deteriorating. Lungs that have already been destroyed cannot be returned to normal, so you must quit smoking regardless of your age. For medical treatment, inhaled bronchodilator drugs are used. Inhalants play a very important role in the treatment of this disease, so prescribed medications must be used regularly and correctly. In addition, it is recommended to follow lifestyle rules such as avoiding indoor and outdoor air pollution, receiving flu and pneumococcal vaccinations, and exercising regularly.
Park Ji-eun, professor of respiratory medicine at Kyungpook National University Hospital
2023-10-25 18:00:00
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