COPD- CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISORDER

What is COPD?
COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. The first symptoms can be so mild that people mistakenly chalk them up to "getting old." People with COPD may develop chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both. COPD tends to get worse over time, but catching it early, along with good care, can help many people stay active and may slow the disease.


Symptoms of COPD
Inside the lungs, COPD can clog the airways and damage the tiny, balloon-like sacs (alveoli) that absorb oxygen. These changes can cause the following symptoms:
Shortness of breath in everyday activities
Wheezing
Chest tightness
Constant coughing
Producing a lot of mucus (sputum)
Feeling tired
Frequent colds or flu

Advanced Symptoms of COPD
Severe COPD can make it difficult to walk, cook, clean house, or even bathe. Coughing up excess mucus and feeling short of breath may worsen. Advanced illness can also cause:
Swollen legs or feet from fluid buildup
Weight loss
Less muscle strength and endurance
A headache in the morning

Blue or grey lips or fingernails (due to low oxygen levels)


COPD: Chronic Bronchitis

This condition is the main problem for some people with COPD. Its calling card is a nagging cough with plenty of mucus (phlegm). Inside the lungs, the small airways have swollen walls, constant oozing of mucus, and scarring. Trapped mucus can block airflow and become a breeding ground for germs. A  "smoker's cough" is typically a sign of chronic bronchitis. The cough is often worse in the morning and in damp, cold weather.

COPD: Emphysema

Emphysema damages the tiny air sacs in the lungs, which inflate when we take in a breath and move oxygen into the blood.  They also push out carbon dioxide, a waste gas, when we breathe out. When you have emphysema, these delicate air sacs can't expand and contract properly. In time, the damage destroys the air sacs, leaving large holes in the lungs, which trap stale air. People with emphysema can have great trouble exhaling.

Diagnosis: Physical Exam

First, your doctor will listen to your chest as you breathe, then will ask about your smoking history and whether you have a family history of COPD. The amount of oxygen in your blood may be measured with a blood test or a pulse oximeter, a painless device that clips to a finger.

Diagnosis: Spirometry Breath Test

Spirometry is the main test for COPD. It measures how much air you can move in and out of your lungs, and how quickly you do it. You take a deep breath and blow as hard as you can into a tube. You might repeat the test after inhaling a puff of a bronchodilator medicine, which opens your airways. Spirometry can find problems even before you have symptoms of COPD. It also helps determine the stage of COPD.

Diagnosis: Chest X-Ray

A chest X-ray isn't used to diagnose COPD, but it may help rule out conditions that cause similar symptoms, such as pneumonia. In advanced COPD, a chest X-ray might show lungs that appear much larger than normal.

Treatment: Bronchodilators

Bronchodilators are medications that relax the muscles of the airways to help keep them open and make it easier to breathe. Anticholinergics, a type of bronchodilator, are often used by people with COPD. Short-acting bronchodilators last about four to six hours and are used on an as-needed basis. Longer-acting bronchodilators can be used every day for people with more persistent symptoms. People with COPD may use both types of bronchodilators.

Treatment: Corticosteroids

If bronchodilators don't provide enough relief, people with COPD may take corticosteroids. These are usually taken by inhaler. They may reduce inflammation in the airways. Steroids may also be given by pill or injection to treat flare-ups of COPD.

Treatment: Lung Training

Pulmonary rehabilitation classes teach people ways to keep up with their daily activities without as much shortness of breath. Specific exercises help to build muscle strength, including the muscles used in breathing. You also will learn to manage stress and control your breathing.

Breathing Better With COPD

Pursed-lip breathing can reduce the work of breathing. Breathe in normally through your nose. Then slowly blow the air out through your mouth with your lips in a whistle or kissing position. Your exhale should be longer than the inhale. To strengthen your diaphragm, you can lie on your back on a bed with one hand on your abdomen and one on your chest. Keep your chest as still as possible but let your stomach rise and fall as you breathe.

Treatment: Oxygen Therapy

Severe COPD lowers the oxygen in your blood, so extra oxygen may be needed for your body. It can help you stay active without feeling as tired or out of breath and help protect your brain, heart, and other organs. If you have COPD and need supplemental oxygen, you will typically get the oxygen through tubing from an oxygen tank to the nostrils. Smoking, candles, and other flames are off-limits near oxygen tanks.

Treatment: Antibiotics

People with COPD are at greater risk for lung infections than healthy people. If your cough and shortness of breath get worse or you develop fever, talk to your doctor. These are signs that a lung infection may be taking hold, and your doctor may prescribe medications to help knock it out as quickly as possible. You may also need adjustments to your COPD regimen.

Treatment: Surgery

A small number of people with COPD may benefit from surgery. Bullectomy and lung volume reduction surgery remove the diseased parts of the lung, allowing the healthy tissue to perform better and making breathing easier. A lung transplant may help some people with the most severe COPD who have lung failure, but it can have serious complications.

COPD and Exercise

Walking is one of the best things you can do if you have COPD. Start with just five or 10 minutes at a time, three to five days a week. If you can walk without stopping to rest, add another minute or two. Even if you have severe COPD, you may be able to reach 30 minutes of walking at a time. Use your oxygen while exercising if you are on oxygen therapy. Discuss your exercise plans with your doctor.

What Causes COPD?

About 90% of people with COPD are current or former smokers -- and their disease usually appears after age 40. Second hand smoke and exposure to environmental irritants and pollution also can increase your risk of COPD. In rare cases, the DNA passed down through a family can lead to COPD, even in "never smokers." One of these genetic conditions is called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency.

How Quitting Smoking Helps

Smokers with COPD will lose lung function more quickly. Tobacco smoke destroys the tiny hair-like cilia that normally repair and clean the airways -- and harms the lungs in other ways, too. Quitting will slow or stop the damage, and is simply the most important step you can take for COPD. You'll also get the other benefits of quitting: foods taste better, and your blood pressure and heart rate lower to healthier levels.

COPD and Diet

Being overweight can make it harder to breathe, and being underweight can make you weak.  Common guidelines include:

Drink 6-8 glasses of water or non-caffeinated beverages daily.

Eat high-fiber foods such as whole grain bread, bran, and fresh fruit.

Avoid overeating.

Avoid gassy foods such as fried foods, beans, or carbonated drinks.

Eat 4-6 small meals each day.

COPD and Cancer

Many people with COPD also develop lung cancer -- likely due to a history of smoking cigarettes. Researchers are studying whether specific genes make some people more vulnerable to COPD or cancer, or both illnesses. Chronic inflammation, caused by smoking or other lung irritants, could play a role in COPD and cancer, as well.

Living With COPD

It’s important to stay active, even if you feel short of breath. You may need to pace yourself or use oxygen therapy, but staying active will make you stronger. Avoid second hand smoke, chemical fumes, and other lung irritants.  Be sure to get vaccinated against the flu and pneumococcal disease. Wash your hands frequently, and avoid hacking, sniffling people during cold and flu season. An online community may provide support and practical tips from others with COPD to get the most out of every day.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

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HOW MUCH CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT DOES ONE NEED?

Are you getting enough calcium in your diet? Maybe not.  It depends on your age. According 

to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended daily amount of calcium to get is:

• 
  
• 1-3 years: 700 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 4-8 years: 1,000 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 9-18 years: 1,300 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 19-50 years: 1,000 milligrams daily
• 
  
• 51-70 years: 1,200 milligrams daily for women; 1,000 milligrams daily for men
• 
  
• 71 and older: 1,200 milligrams daily

According to a study, most get enough calcium, except for girls 9 to 18 years old. Although 

women’s recommended calcium needs to increase with menopause, post-menopausal 

woman taking supplements may also be at greater risk of getting too much calcium.

We know that peak bone mass occurs around age 30, so it's very important in childhood 

and adolescence to have a healthy intake of calcium early on. 

After age 30, we start to gradually lose bone, and that loss accelerates for women at the 

time of menopause. So it's very important to stave off bone loss with adequate calcium 

intake.

Your health care provider may recommend calcium supplements. But with so many 

choices of calcium supplements, where should you start? Here's what you need to know.

What kind of calcium supplement should you take?

Best is  to take the kind that one tolerates best and is least expensive. A Dr. recommends 

calcium carbonate because "it's inexpensive, won't cause discomfort, and is a good source 

of calcium."

Some people's bodies may have problems making enough stomach acid, or may be 

taking medications that suppress acid production. For them, a calcium citrate supplement 

might be better because it "dissolves a little better than calcium carbonate for these 

people.

Experts note that supplements that combine calcium with vitamin D -- which is essential for 

the body to appropriately absorb calcium -- provide an added benefit.

What calcium supplement dose is best?

The body can absorb only about 500 milligrams of a calcium supplement at any one time, 

 so you can't just down a 1000-mg supplement first thing in the morning and call it a day.

Instead, split your dose into two or three servings a day. "The best way to take it is, with a 

meal; calcium is absorbed better that way. If your daily diet includes calcium-containing 

foods and drinks, you may not need multiple doses.

Can you take too much calcium?

The upper limit of daily calcium for people between the ages of 19 and 50 is 2,500 

milligrams, and for those 51 and older it’s 2,000 mg.

Calcium supplements rarely cause excessive calcium levels in the bloodstream. "It 

doesn't hurt you, but it's not particularly beneficial, either.

One exception: people who have a tendency to make kidney stones. "You might make 

larger and more frequent stones with unusually high doses of calcium."

Can I skip calcium supplements and get what I need from my diet?

Yes. But it's going to take some work.

How can you tell if you're getting enough calcium? Try tracking how much you get for a 

week. "Write down what you eat for a week. Figure out how much calcium is in what you've 

eaten during that time. Then divide by seven, most probably you'll be well under 1,000 

milligrams.

Some of your best sources of dietary calcium are yoghurt (over 400 milligrams per 8-

ounce serving), non-fat milk (about 300 milligrams per serving), and cheeses like 

mozzarella and cheddar (between 275 and 315 milligrams per serving). Some dark green 

vegetables, like spinach, are fairly high in calcium as well.

Keep in mind that there's really not that much difference between getting calcium in a 

supplement and calcium in food.

Ideally, if you have a good, healthy diet, and get all your nutrients including calcium from 

that, that's best. But the calcium in food and the calcium in supplements is identical.

What would a good, calcium-rich diet look like?

If you drank a glass of milk (300 milligrams of calcium) with a calcium-fortified cereal for 

breakfast (400 milligrams of calcium), you'd get 70% of the 1,000-milligram 

recommended daily amount of calcium for an adult age 19-50 with that meal alone.

Or, you could have a carton of yoghurt (415 milligrams of calcium) with 6 ounces calcium-

fortified orange juice (250 milligrams of calcium) for a total of 665 milligrams of calcium. 

Calcium-fortified foods -- such as cereals, some juices, and soy milk -- are excellent 

sources of the mineral.

Later that day, if you add 3 ounces of canned salmon (180 milligrams of calcium) on your 

lunch salad, snack on 1.5 ounces of cheddar cheese (306 milligrams of calcium), have 

half a cup of spinach with dinner (120 milligrams of calcium), and enjoy half a cup of ice 

cream for desert (85 milligrams of calcium), you would have gotten more than enough 

calcium for an average adult. One can even add some sesame sweet balls, as then one 

can get calcium &  some iron too, black sesame seeds have 400 times more calcium 

than the white one, as black alone is difficult to eat, best is to combine black & white 

sesame seeds & use in your daily diet.

What would a good, calcium-rich diet look like? 

If you don't eat dairy products, good sources of calcium include tofu 

made with calcium sulfate (138 milligrams of calcium per half-cup 

serving); leafy dark green vegetables such as spinach, kale, or turnip 

greens; and calcium-fortified foods.

So do your best to get your calcium the tasty way. But if you can't, a 

simple, inexpensive calcium supplement can help keep your bones 

just as healthy.