Once you have received a COPD diagnosis, your doctor will put together a COPD treatment program to help make you more comfortable and to improve the quality of your life.

Of course, one of the most important things you will need to do, if you are a smoker, is stop smoking.  Again, smoking is one of the leading causes of COPD and causes irreparable damage to your lungs, so it is vital to quit smoking as a part of your COPD treatment.

COPD Treatment – Typical Treatments for COPD

Medications are one way that you doctor has to help control your COPD.  Your doctor may prescribe one or more medications to help you breathe easier and cough less.  Theses medications can be in the form of pills or powders that you inhale.  As you begin your new course of COPD treatment, here are some things that may make your treatment easier.

• Be sure to have your doctor write down the names of your medicines along with any generic substitutes and help you with the pronunciation of each medication.
• A chart is helpful to keep up with when you are to take each medication.  The chart could include the time of day and  whether the medications should be taken with or without food.
• A large partitioned pill box is also handy.  These boxes usually have a compartment for each day of the week, which allows you to place the meds you will need for each day in the various compartments.  In fact, some pill boxes even come with multiple compartments for each day to allow you to put meds in according to the time of day you take them.
• As always, never take anyone else’s medications.  This is dangerous.

A couple of possible medications that you may take as part of your COPD treatment include expectorants, bronchodilators, antibiotics, corticosteroids and nebulizer medications.

Expectorants, or mucolytic agents, are medications that come in pill or liquid form.  These medicines help thin the mucus that clogs your airways making it easier for your to cough it up.  One of the most common brand names is Robitussin.  One excellent expectorant is actually water.  Water helps thin mucus making it easier to cough up.  It is important to drink eight 8 oz glasses of water per day.

Bronchodilators are prescription medications that relax the muscles of your constricted airways.  This type of medicine dilates or widens your breathing passages making it easier to breathe and cough up sputum.  These medications are usually administered through an inhaler often called a “puffer.”  These inhalers deliver a measured dosage of medicine with each puff.

Albuterol is one of the many types of bronchodilators, and some of the brand names include Ventolin and Proventil.  There are some possible side effects of using bronchodilators, which include nervousness, headache, tremor, dry mouth, hoarseness and heartburn.   More serious side effects include chest pain, rapid heart beat, bluish color to fingernails and lips and loss of speech.

Nebulizer Medications are metered-dose medications that are administered through a nebulizer, which is a small device that delivers your medicine through a fine mist that is inhaled through a mask or a mouthpiece.

Antibiotics are often prescribed at the first signs of respiratory infection, which is signaled by an increase in sputum or a change in sputum color as well as a low-grade fever.  Do not wait to contact your doctor if you begin exhibiting these signs.  The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to arrest the infection.  People with COPD have weakened immune systems and can end up with serious complications such as pneumonia.

COPD Treatment – Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary rehabilitation is usually part of a COPD treatment program.  Pulmonary rehabilitation is an individualized program specific to each patient.  It includes education, support, exercise, physical therapy, relaxation and breathing techniques, nutritional advice and emotional support.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is intended to empower patients diagnosed with COPD by equipping them with better knowledge about their disease as well as a set of strategies designed to help them with an improved quality of life.

A good rehabilitation program is designed to control and lessen the symptoms of COPD.  It is also intended to teach you how to achieve the highest level of independence.  It is intended to help increase physical stamina and promote recreational pursuits.  Finally, it is intended to reduce hospitalizations.

Pursed Lip Breathing is a very important breathing technique, which helps you breath more efficiently and with less effort.  Everyone has some air left in the lungs after exhaling; however, those suffering from COPD may have as much as 200 percent more air trapped in the alveoli or little air sacks, which branch off from the lungs.  This trapped air makes it more difficult for someone with COPD to get a good full breath.

The key is to exhale 2 to 3 times longer than you inhale to reduce air trapping.  It is easy to become panicked by breathing too fast or breathing in and out at the same rate thereby feeling short of breath.

With pursed lip breathing, you are to concentrate on breathing out–again 2 to 3 times longer than you inhale.  Start by breathing in deeply and slowly through your nose.  Then breathe out through pursed lips with a small opening in the middle of your lips as if you are blowing out a candle.  Breathe out slowly and do not exert any unusual force.  If you can hear yourself breathing out, you are breathing too hard.  Also, if you feel uncomfortable while utilizing pursed lip breathing, you are breathing too hard.

With pursed lip breathing, it is possible to raise you oxygen level more quickly than being put on 2 liters of oxygen per minute.

COPD Treatment  – Home Oxygen Therapy

For many COPD patients, home oxygen therapy may be prescribed as a part of their COPD treatment plan.  It often comes as a shock to many COPD patients when they have oxygen therapy prescribed by their doctor; however, supplemental oxygen can make life more enjoyable for those who struggle to breathe.

Home oxygen therapy is prescribed when oxygen levels in the blood are low.  This condition is known as hypoxia.  Once it is decided that you need oxygen, your doctor will determine the flow rate or how much oxygen you need per minute.  The flow rate is measures in liters per minute (LPM or L/M).  Also, it will be determined if you need oxygen all the time or only when you sleep or exercise.

There are several ways oxygen can be administered in the home including a home oxygen concentrator,an oxygen-gas cylinder and a liquid-oxygen cylinder.

A Home Oxygen Concentrator is a suit-case sized device that converts oxygen from the air into a concentrated form until it is needed.  This method of oxygen delivery is less expensive than liquid oxygen.  With this type of portable system, you have freedom to move around easily.  A home oxygen concentrator does run on electricity, so you will need to have some type of backup in case the power goes out.  It is also a good idea to let you power company know that you are using this type of oxygen system so they can put you on emergency status.

An Oxygen-gas Cylinder is a tank with a regulating valve that looks much like the tanks used by scuba divers.  These large, heavy tanks contain compressed oxygen that is to be used while you are at home.  There also small portable tanks available as well.

An oxygen-gas cylinder requires the use of a regulator or valve, which regulates the flow of oxygen administered through the cannula.  There are two types of regulators available–a constant flow regulator and a conserving regulator.  With a constant flow regulator, oxygen continues to be expelled through the cannula or nose tube while you inhale and exhale.  With a conserving regulator, oxygen is only expelled when you inhale.  A conserving regulator will double the life of a typical E-tank to around 9 plus hours depending on the flow rate.  An E-tank used with a constant flow regulator with last around 4-5 hours depending on flow rate.

A Liquid-oxygen Cylinder is also another way to get supplemental oxygen.  Liquid oxygen weighs more than compressed oxygen but it is more concentrated so you end up with more oxygen.  The liquid oxygen is converted into gas that you can inhale.  Liquid oxygen is more expensive that compressed oxygen, but it allows you more freedom than compressed oxygen.

COPD Treatment – Lung Volume Reduction Surgery

In extremes cases, COPD patients may elect to have lung volume reduction surgery as a part of their COPD treatment program.  With this procedure, around 20 to 30 percent of each lung are removed.  The parts that are removed are the areas that are most diseased and no longer functioning.

This procedure allows more space for the diaphragm to go back to its normal position so it can work more efficiently.  Patients over the age of 70 are not usually accepted for this type of surgery.

COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has no cure; however, with a proactive COPD treatment plan from your doctor, you can live a more comfortable and fulfilled life.

If you or someone you know is exhibiting signs of COPD, make sure to see a licensed doctor to determine if you have COPD.

For more information about COPD treatment, visit the American Lung Association website.

The information found on this website is not intended to be a substitute for guidance from a licensed physician.  Never self-diagnose, always seek proper medical attention.