COPD, a chronic tormenting disease! In the late stage of the disease, what I feel every minute is the pain of not being able to breathe!

It is a respiratory disease characterized by not fully reversible airflow limitation. Patients with COPD often experience progressive decline in lung function, which can cause chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, and decreased activity tolerance, which can also lead to poor quality of life. continued decline.

How can patients with COPD delay the decline in lung function and ensure the quality of life? Mainly rely on attention to conditioning and maintenance in daily life. Today I will summarize for you how to maintain COPD in life, which can be summarized as the following "" 4 dos and 4 don'ts.

COPD "4 essentials"

1) Strengthen nutrition

Since the course of COPD is usually long, and the disease is prone to relapse during the period, even if COPD patients are in a quiet state, the body will be in a state of high metabolism. Inadequate nutritional supplementation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will lead to decreased respiratory muscle function, respiratory muscle weakness, and aggravated dyspnea.

In addition, due to malnutrition, the body's immunity will also decrease, and the chance of being infected by pathogenic bacteria will increase, which will increase the risk of acute attack. Therefore, patients with COPD should eat a high-protein and high-fiber diet and maintain a normal weight, so as to increase the muscle strength of the respiratory muscles and improve the body's immunity.

2) Adhere to pulmonary rehabilitation exercise

Many patients with COPD will give up exercising because of shortness of breath due to a little activity, but the correct approach is just the opposite. The maintenance and recovery of lung function mainly depends on exercise, so COPD should insist on pulmonary rehabilitation exercise.

There are many types of pulmonary rehabilitation exercises, including exercise training, respiratory muscle training, and oxygen therapy. Among them, exercise training is the main method, and appropriate fast walking, jogging, and up and down stairs can be performed.

Respiratory exercise training includes pursed lip breathing exercise and diaphragm breathing exercise. For specific methods, you can consult a respiratory specialist.

For the acute stage of COPD, when the symptoms of cough and sputum are obvious, cough and sputum expectoration training is needed to avoid subsequent complications caused by sputum accumulation. The correct way is to sit up as straight as possible, take a deep breath, press the abdomen with both hands, lean forward slightly 20-45 degrees, cough continuously, contract the abdominal muscles when coughing, and forcefully expel the sputum deep in the lungs. Cough training can be combined with body position changes, chest tapping, and nebulized inhalation for better therapeutic effect.

3) Regular follow-up visits

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a life-long treatment disease. During this process, patients need regular follow-up visits to let doctors know the patient's recent physical condition and drug treatment effects in time, so that doctors can adjust treatment drugs for patients in time or formulate individualized pulmonary rehabilitation training programs. .

4) Adhere to drug maintenance treatment

In the stable stage of COPD, drug maintenance therapy is the main treatment measure to reduce acute exacerbations and relieve symptoms of COPD. The main therapeutic drugs for COPD in the stable stage are glucocorticoids and bronchodilators, mainly local nebulized inhalation, and patients should adhere to the medication.

COPD 4 Don't

1) Don't catch a cold

Both viral and bacterial infections can induce acute exacerbations in patients with COPD, and each acute exacerbation may cause a further decline in lung function, so patients with COPD should keep warm in winter and avoid catching a cold. If you often have acute attacks, you can also consider getting vaccinations, such as influenza vaccines, pneumococcal vaccines, etc.

2) Do not smoke and drink

Smoking is the biggest risk factor for COPD, and drinking alcohol is not conducive to the recovery of lung function, so patients with COPD should not smoke or drink.

3) Do not change or interrupt treatment drugs by yourself

When you feel that the medicine you are using is inappropriate or intolerable, it is best to consult the doctor in charge, and do not stop or change the medicine without authorization.

4) Do not inhale oxygen blindly

When the patient does not have obvious dyspnea and shortness of breath, that is, the body is not hypoxic, do not inhale oxygen blindly, as this is not conducive to lung function repeatedly.

To sum up, patients with COPD need to pay more attention to the details of life, remember the above 4 dos and 4 don’ts, so as to maintain lung function as much as possible and ensure that the quality of life does not decline. Due to COPD, smoking, and inhalation of harmful particles are closely related, so the prevention of COPD focuses on smoking cessation, staying away from second-hand smoke, and minimizing the inhalation of lampblack and harmful gas particles.

references:

[1] Chen Yahong. Interpretation of the Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of GOLD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in 2021 [J]. 2021, 13 (1): 16-37.

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