Talking about COPD Treatment, those who have suffered COPD and has consulted the disease to a doctor must know the risk of the chronic lung disease. Actually, no recent cure is available for COPD. The severe damage of the lung makes it hard and seems impossible to cure and bring it back to the normal condition. However, there are some options of COPD treatment that can be given to reduce the risk of mortality. Some best treatments have been done by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease or GOLD. The treatments are done to evaluate and monitor the disease so that it will not worsen and manage the stability. Some information below is some common treatments for COPD.
1. Stop Smoking
Stop smoking is the most effective COPD treatment that has been done by most sufferers. It can stop the disease to be progressive or being worse. When someone is firstly diagnosed of suffering COPD in the low stage, the disease will not be progressive after he/ she stop smoking. Meanwhile, mortality risk will be held up for those who get COPD in the late stages. However, stop smoking is a treatment that should be done with a strong willingness of the sufferer for the effectiveness.
2. Supplemental Oxygen
It is another non-medicine COPD treatment with high effectiveness. The supplemental oxygen can give more oxygen to the lung and blood so that the COPD sufferer can do some activities like a normal one including exercise and other activities that need much moving and fast breathing. The oxygen supplement is done by using oxygen concentrator and the oxygen flows through oxygen mask or nasal cannula. This treatment will give life quality for lung diseases sufferers if done in along term and at least 16 hours each day.
3. Consuming Medicines to Relax the Lung Smooth Muscle
Most sufferers consume some medicines as another COPD treatment. Commonly, some medicines for COPD in the form of tablets or inhaler, work to relax the smooth muscle of the lung so that the oxygen can flow smoothly. The most common medicine consumed is bronchodilators. It can make better the breathe shortness symptoms had by the sufferers but doesn’t stop the progressiveness of the lung disease. Another common medicine is corticosteroid for acute exacerbation preventing in COPD but it also doesn’t prevent the progressive disease.
4. Nutrition Care, Rehabilitation and Surgery
By enhance their calorie intake, underweight COPD sufferers can improve the muscle strength to breathe. Besides, disease management and COPD treatment can be also effectively done by doing the pulmonary rehabilitation. Meanwhile, some sufferers also get some surgery to treat COPD. The surgery may be such as bullectomy that remove a bulla to get more normal lung. Reduction the volume of damaged lung; remaining good lung will work better. Then, lung transplantation is another surgery for severe COPD disease especially for young sufferer.
5. Lung Related Vaccines
There are two kinds of vaccines that can reduce the risk of COPD. They are quite common COPD treatment done to prevent the disease worsening. The first vaccine is the influenza vaccine; it should be gotten by COPD sufferer because flu may cause some serious problems. The second vaccine is for preventing pneumonia because COPD sufferers are more susceptive of pneumonia.
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