Spirometry - For Early Detection of the Lung Disease COPD

Even for a cough that seems trivial, but that is persistent, more so if cough is accompanied by expectoration, and especially if signs of breathing disorder (shortness of breath), your general doctor will advise the patient to go to a pneumologists where he will recommend a lung function test (spirometry), by which can accurately assess disease severity.

Spirometry is a simple test that measures the quantity of air that a person can inspire or expire in a time. This type of investigation is necessary to confirm diagnosis of COPD, and can accurately determine the severity of disease and recommending appropriate treatment. COPD is an irreversible disease and therapeutic intervention usually fails to restore the normal breathing capacity, but just want to stop further loss. Therefore, early detection of disease is very important.

What are the risk factors? Active and passive smoking is the leading cause of illness. Can be added in a lesser extent part, air pollution, workplace or domestic pollution. So, there is the possibility that the disease is common in people who do not smoke.

Slowly, after many years of smoking, the first symptoms (cough with expectoration, weight breathing) are not considered by the patient being assigned to smoking, expert says considering that the patient often presents to the doctor with a mild form of disease that will develop to a severe one. At this stage symptoms increase in intensity, is" no air "to moderate or even small efforts (eg. Climbing stairs), limiting daily activities of the patient. If the disease is not treated and the patient continues to smoke, shortness of breath gets worse and the patient becomes an invalid.

There are different severities of COPD based on symptoms presented by the patient and the changes in lung function: that manifests with mild cough, sometimes accompanied by expectoration, or shortness of breath that can occur, for example when walking rapidly, longer recovery after a cold (lung function is changed) and severe or very with severe persistent cough, shortness of breath constantly (day and night), inability to perform physical activity, even easier (climbing stairs, walking at a faster rate). Also is recommended making a radiological examination to exclude other chronic bronchopulmonary disease, eg lung cancer.

What are the patient's treatment options? There are a number of measures that improve or even stopping the disease:

• Smoking cessation;


• Avoid irritants that may favor the evolution of the disease (atmospheric pollution, workplace);


• Medications: bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroids, in severe forms can appeal to long-term oxygen administration;


• Acceptance and proper administration of medications prescribed by pneumologists;


• Administration of inhaled medications correctly;


• Influenza or pneumococcal vaccination.