Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) may occur when bronchitis and emphysema co-exist. Shortness of breath due to a narrowing of the airways is the primary symptom of COPD. This disease cannot be reversed and symptoms progress in severity over time. Those who suffer from asthma may display the same symptoms but the narrowed airways are reversible for those afflicted with asthma attacks.
Tobacco smoke is the primary cause of COPD. The diagnosis refers to the presence of two diseases present in the patient. Chronic bronchitis is caused by an inflammatory response in the larger airways of the body. Emphysema is damage to the tissues of the lungs caused by an inflammatory response that affecting alveoli of the lungs. The inflammation is triggered by noxious gases and particles inhaled by tobacco users.
Symptoms can worsen suddenly leading to acute episodes of COPD. Pollution in the air or an inflection can quickly lead to an acute episode. Lung function tests are used to diagnose COPD with testing to measure the volume of air and the speed of air flow of the patient.
Those who suffer from COPD require long term oxygen therapy. We’ve all noticed people in public who are carrying an oxygen pack or pulling a cart with an oxygen tank to help them breathe.
COPD is not curable but relies on management to delay the advance of the disease and to help avoid acute attacks. Management strategies outlined by doctors include advice to stop smoking tobacco and to participate in rehabilitation and drug therapy. Inhalers are the most common drug therapy prescribed for patients.
COPD is often found in highly addicted tobacco users. Some have given up trying to quit smoking in the belief they do not have the will power required to do so. Many continue to smoke in spite of a diagnosis of COPD claiming there is no need to quit as the damage has already been done. Tobacco smokers have a lot of reasons for not quitting,
To increase flow to through the airways, rehabilitation for COPD patients includes sessions where they breathe steam. For those who continue to smoke two or three packs of tobacco a day the benefits of rehabilitation are short lived. These are people who are addicted to the total experience of smoking. Whether taking a puff, holding a cigarette in the hand or inhaling the smoke, this is someone who will not be placated by patches and gum. Their habit is too ingrained to be replaced by anything that does not provide the experience of smoking. Electronic cigarettes may prove to be a valuable tool for those with COPD.
Highly addicted smokers suffering from COPD find e-cigarettes to be a real alternative for them. The lack of toxic smoke allows them to gain greater benefit from rehabilitation and steam therapy. E-cigs allow the smoker to inhale a vapor that tastes and feels like cigarette smoke without inhaling the harmful chemicals of burning tobacco. The popularity of e-cigs for this sector of society has grown rapidly. Patients report an increase in their quality of life and some even claim the steam vapor produce by e-cigarettes is helpful as a steam therapy. Until scientific studies are conducted, proof of advantages of the vapor are only anecdotal. it may be that simply stopping the inhalation of the additives in tobacco smoke is responsible for the improvement in patients.
Mary Kay Rivers has become an expert in the field of electronic cigarettes. Her publications about electronic cigarettes containing propylene glycol or about the best e-cigarette have become well-known.
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