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What is COPD ?
Chronic means it won't go away
Obstructive means partially blocked
Pulmonary refers to your lungs
Disease means sickness
When we breathe, our airways carry air to the
lungs. At the end of each branch there are many small air sacs, like tiny
balloons. In healthy people, each airways is clear and open. Each tiny air sac
fills up with air, and then the air quickly goes out so fresh air can take its
place.
In a Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
sufferer, long-term exposure to cigarette smoke (and/ or other air pollutants)
affects the lungs and airways in two main ways:
1. Airways : The muscles around the airways
constrict in an attempt to block off air irritants, thus producing more mucus in
the airways, leading to further blockage. This causes airflow problems.
2. Air Sacs : Walls of air sacs are broken
down, leaving less surface area for the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen.
These walls also lose elasticity, causing air to be trapped in the lungs.
The combination of these two factors causes air
to be trapped in the lungs as carbon dioxide is not completely exhaled. This
leaves less room for oxygen to be inhaled, which in turn leaves Chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients increasingly breathless.
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