More than 8,000 patients with COPD have signed up to a scheme that warns people with the condition when a cold snap is on the way, helping to cut hospital admissions.
The Met Office sends out alerts telling sufferers when the cold weather is due and the British Lung Foundation says users can plan ahead to avoid cold snaps that could harm their health.
Cold air makes a patient's airways narrow, making it harder than normal to breathe. Deaths due to breathing conditions like COPD increase 12 days after a drop in temperature.
Patients can sign up to the scheme through their medical practice - there are more than 8,000 currently taking part.
goodtoknow says: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is usually caused by smoking. The main symptoms are a cough, breathlessness, phlegm and recurrent chest infections. COPD basically means a condition which affects the airflow to the lungs. It includes persistent (chronic) bronchitis and emphysema and accounts for more sick leave than any other illness. It's most common in smokers over 40. Around 3 in 20 one-pack-a-day- smokers will get COPD. Symptoms can be eased with inhalers, steroids, antibiotics and oxygen. But the best possible solution is to stop smoking. See your GP if you're having trouble giving up.
For a full medical explanation of the causes, symptoms and treatments of COPD from patient.co.uk, read on.
COPD is an 'umbrella' term for people with chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both. In this conditon the airflow to the lungs is restricted (obstructed). COPD is usually caused by smoking. Symptoms include cough and breathlessness. The most important treatment is to stop smoking. Inhalers are commonly used to ease symptoms. Other treatments such as steroids, antibiotics, oxygen, and mucolytic medicines are sometimes prescribed in severe cases, or during a flare-up (exacerbation) of symptoms.
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a general term which includes the conditions chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Chronic bronchitis or emphysema can cause obstruction (narrowing) of the airways. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema commonly occur together. The term COPD is used to describe airways which are narrowed due to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both.
COPD is common in the UK. It mainly affects people over the age of 40. It accounts for more time off work than any other illness. A flare-up (exacerbation) of COPD is one of the commonest reasons for admission to hospital.
Smoking is the cause in the vast majority of cases. There is no doubt about this. The lining of the airways becomes inflamed and damaged by smoking. About 3 in 20 one-pack-per-day smokers, and 1 in 4 two-pack-per-day smokers develop COPD if they continue to smoke. Air pollution and polluted work conditions may play a part or make the disease worse. However, people who have never smoked rarely develop COPD.
Asthma and COPD cause similar symptoms. However, they are different diseases. Very briefly:
Both asthma and COPD are common, and some people have both conditions.
A test called spirometry is often done to confirm the diagnosis. This test measures how much air you can blow into a machine. A value is calculated of the amount of air you can blow out in one second divided by the total amount of air you blow out. A low value indicates that you have narrowed airways. A low value combined with the typical symptoms of COPD usually confirms the diagnosis.
Symptoms usually begin in people aged over 40 who have smoked for 20 years or more. A 'smokers cough' tends to develop at first. Once symptoms start, if you continue to smoke, there is usually a gradual decline over several years. You tend to become more and more breathless. Chest infections tend to become more frequent as time goes by. A flare-up of of symptoms (exacerbation) occurs from time to time, typically during a chest infection.
As the disease becomes more severe, not enough oxygen may get into the lungs through the narrowed airways. As a result, the amount of oxygen that gets into the bloodstream is less than normal. This can cause heart failure as the heart needs a good oxygen supply.
At least 25,000 people die each year in the UK from the end stages of COPD. Many of these people have several years of ill health and poor quality of life before they die. Chronic ill health and death due to COPD is preventable in most cases (see below).
This cannot be stressed enough. If you stop smoking at an early stage of the disease, it will make a huge difference. Any damage already done to your airways cannot be reversed, but stopping smoking prevents the disease from getting much worse. It is never too late to stop at any stage of the disease. Even if you have fairly advanced COPD, you are likely to benefit and prevent further progression of the disease.
Cough may become worse for a while when you give up smoking. This often happens as the lining of the airways 'come back to life'. Resist the temptation to start smoking again to ease the cough. An increase in cough after you stop smoking usually settles in a few weeks.
See a practice nurse or doctor if you have difficulty in stopping smoking. Help is available. For example, counselling, nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine gum etc), or other medicines to help with stopping smoking may help. The following information discusses giving up smoking in more detail.
This is the most important treatment. No other treatment may be needed if symptoms are mild.
An inhaler with a bronchodilator medicine is often prescribed. They relax the muscles in the airways (bronchi) to open them up (dilate) as wide as possible. They include:
These inhalers work well for some people, but not so well in others. Some people with mild or intermittent symptoms only need an inhaler 'as required' for when breathlessness or wheeze occur. Some people need to use an inhaler regularly. The beta agonist and anticholinergic inhalers work in different ways. Using two, one of each type, may help some people better than one type alone.
These include the beta agonists called formoterol and salmeterol, and the anticholinergic called tiotropium. They work in a similar way to the short acting inhalers, but each dose lasts at least 12 hours. One may be an option if symptoms remain troublesome despite taking a short acting bronchodilator.
A steroid inhaler may help in addition to a bronchodilator inhaler if you have more severe COPD. Steroids reduce inflammation. There are several brands of steroid inhaler. A steroid inhaler may not have much effect on your 'usual' symptoms, but may help to prevent flare-ups.
These contain medicines such as theophylline that 'open the airways'. Side-effects are quite common and inhalers are usually better. However, some people find inhalers difficult to use, and tablets are an alternative. They may also be added in to the above treatments in severe cases.
A short course of steroid tablets is sometimes prescribed if you have a bad flare-up of wheeze and breathlessness (often during a chest infection). They help by reducing the extra inflammation in the airways caused by infections. Taking steroid tablets long-term is not advised due to the serious side-effects which can develop.
A mucolytic medicine such as carbocisteine makes the sputum less thick and easier to cough up. This may also have a knock-on effect of making it less easy for bacteria (bugs) to infect the mucus and cause chest infections. The number of flare-ups of symptoms (exacerbations) tends to be less in people who take a mucolytic. It needs to be taken regularly, and is most likely to help if you have moderate or severe COPD and have frequent or bad flare-ups.
A short course is often prescribed if you have a chest infection.
This may help some people with severe symptoms. It does not help in all cases. A specialist usually does some breathing tests to assess whether oxygen will help. If found to help, oxygen needs to be taken for at least 15-20 hours a day to be of benefit.
This is an option in a very small number of cases. For example, removing a section of lung that has become useless may improve symptoms. Lung transplantation is being studied, but is not a realistic option in most cases.
Prodigy Guidance COPD 2004