COPD Stages Can Progress Rapidly if Untreated

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The disease itself develops rather slowly over many years so the first of the copd stages may be occurring without a person ever knowing it. Most people who develop the disease have either smoked cigarettes in the past or continue to smoke. However, there are indications that long term exposure to certain chemicals or even dust particles can cause copd stages to begin.

It is usually not diagnosed until the copd stages become more severe and start happening more rapidly when people reach middle age or later. At this point patients will start to find themselves suffering from shortness of breath even when they do any exercise and usually develop a cough that will not go away. There is no cure for the disease, but there are treatments available to slow down its progressions. When the copd stages have advanced to the severe stage than the person becomes virtually disabled and death is not far away.

The treatment for copd is not the same for everyone even in the early copd stages. Patients should see a pulmonologist that specializes in the treatment of the disease and a treatment will be tailored to fit each individual patient. This will probably include some medications as well as breathing treatments and the possible use of an inhaler. Patients must follow the treatment regimen exactly as prescribed if the treatment is to be successful in relieving the symptoms and slowing the progression of the disease towards the final stages. If a patient is smoking at the time of diagnosis they should stop smoking immediately or the treatment will be less effective and the disease will progress at an accelerated rate.

Because the disease is a major cause of death and in the later copd stages there is more of an effort being made to educate the public about the causes of the disease and how widespread it has become. The primary way to avoid contracting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is to never smoke or to immediately stop smoking. This prevents the walls in the air sacs in the lungs from losing their elasticity and finally becoming swollen and then being totally destroyed. This occurs rapidly in the final stage and is irreversible because once the walls of the air sacs are destroyed they cant be replaced. In other words, this disease is deadly but preventable.

About The Author:
Balva Rudick is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com

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Title:	COPD Stages Can Progress Rapidly if Untreated
Author:	Balva Rudick
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COPD Stages Can Progress Rapidly if Untreated