COPD which is a short term of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a kind of breathing disorder which grows worse over time, causing coughing and producing a large number of mucus. Because of its nature to worsen with time COPD is considered to be a progressive disease.
COPD also causes wheezing and makes the breathing shorter besides showing other symptoms like tightness in chest.
Understanding COPD makes it easy to know the functioning of lung. The air breathed by you travels through windpipe to reach your lung airways which look like trees on upside-down position having several branches. The airways are also known as bronchial tubes of lung.
Airways along with small air sacs existing at the end of the branches work like rubber. On breathing in, the air fills in each elastic air sac making it swollen like small balloon. On breathing out, the air sac starts deflating with air going out of it.
When COPD occurs it reduces the amount of air flowing in and out of the airways by causing loss of elastic quality of airways and the air sacs and destroying walls between most of the air sacs.
COPD also leads to thickness and inflammation in the walls of airways. Because of COPD the airways become clogged with production of more than usual amount of mucus.
Cigarette smokers are the potential victims of COPD. COPD may also occur due to prolonged exposure to dusty and polluted environment, chemical fumes and other substances that directly irritate the lung. The prolonged exposure to pollution and lung irritants eventually causes damage to lung and airways.
In America, COPD commonly occurs due to cigarette smoking. Pipe, cigar too can lead to COPD particularly with the inhalation of smoke. COPD may also affect a person exposed to smoke released by smokers.
The deficient alpha-1 antitrypsin- a hereditary condition rarely leads to COPD. alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein which is produced in the liver.
Risk factors
Smoking is considered to be the major risk factor behind COPD. Those with COPD can be found to be smoking. Even those who used to smoke can also be found to have COPD.
Moreover those having a family history of this disease are at the risk of developing it if they start smoking.
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