In smoggy weather, actively prevent and treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory diseases

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD for short, seems to be little known compared with common lung diseases such as tuberculosis, asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. In fact, as smog persists, COPD has been quietly approaching, especially among middle-aged and older people and those with a history of smoking. According to incomplete statistics, among people over 40 in China, the incidence of COPD has reached more than 8.7%, already higher than the incidence rate in developed countries.

When it is difficult for pollution such as ambient air quality in China to improve in time, it is necessary to actively change bad habits such as smoking. In particular, patients who already have a history of smoking and have developed symptoms such as cough, sputum production and shortness of breath (airflow limitation) should pay attention and seek treatment. This is because these are potential warning signs of COPD, or the person may already have COPD without knowing it, and failing to take them seriously will mean losing the best opportunity for treatment.

Smoking triggers COPD

The manifestations, pathogenesis and progression of COPD. In traditional thinking, people do not take any mild symptoms seriously, and many people ignore symptoms such as cough, which often makes it easy for COPD to develop over many years of persistent recurrence. He Ming, an expert in the pulmonary disease department of Dongcheng Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said: In the early stage, COPD may also present only as occasional cough and sputum production. By the middle stage, there are often symptoms such as cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath after activity, along with airflow limitation and sputum production. If ignored, it will be complicated by or secondary to chronic cor pulmonale, causing impairment of heart and lung function. It may even lead to respiratory failure, cor pulmonale and pulmonary encephalopathy, and finally cause multiple organ failure, threatening life.