Throughout the day, your lungs work on autopilot, taking around 25,000 breaths each day.
But for the 1.4 million people in the UK who have the respiratory condition COPD, the simple act of breathing can be difficult and laboured.
World COPD Day takes place on Wednesday 20th November and this year’s theme is ‘Know Your Lung Function’. Measuring lung function can provide opportunities for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of multiple lung diseases, including COPD.
What is COPD?
COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It’s a long-term, incurable and irreversible condition where narrowed airways cause air to get trapped in the lungs.
People with COPD usually have bronchitis and/or emphysema. Lung tissue gets damaged, airways are inflamed and blocked with mucus, and the body struggles to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
It’s different from asthma. With asthma, symptoms are usually brought on by triggers and inhaled medication can open airways. Whereas with COPD, inhalers only partially open airways.
Who’s at risk of COPD?
Your lungs are like a sponge, soaking up pollutants, bacteria and viruses from the environment.
COPD mainly affects middle aged or older adults who smoke or have previously smoked. It can also be caused by exposure to dust, fumes and chemicals, or a history of childhood asthma.
South Yorkshire, because of its industrial past, smoking prevalence and social deprivation, has a higher percentage of COPD than the national average, at 2.6 percent of the population.
What are the symptoms of COPD?
COPD can cause mild symptoms to severe attacks of breathlessness. You may get flare-ups, especially during winter.
Symptoms include:
- Becoming short of breath easily when doing everyday tasks
- A cough that lasts a long time
- Persistent wheezing
- Coughing up more phlegm than usual
- Frequent chest infections
- Loss of appetite and/or weight loss
- Swelling in ankles
- Fatigue
Many people dismiss symptoms as a ‘smoker’s cough’. But without treatment for COPD, lungs can become significantly damaged and flare-ups worsen to the point of needing hospital treatment or becoming fatal. COPD is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
How is COPD diagnosed and treated?
If you think you have COPD, your GP should perform a spirometry to measure your lung function. This is a simple test where you blow hard and fast into a machine to check your lung capacity.
If you are diagnosed with COPD, you can be referred for pulmonary rehabilitation. This is a six-week NHS programme combining exercise with education about looking after your lungs.
The twice-weekly group sessions include a gym class to strengthen your muscles which aids your breathing. The pulmonary team also teach breath control techniques and how to cope when feeling out of breath.
They can also give smoking cessation support, oxygen assessments for ambulatory oxygen, dietary advice, and educate patients and their families about how to self-manage COPD.
In Barnsley, pulmonary rehabilitation is delivered by the BREATHE community team at venues in Hoyland, Penistone, Royston and Thurnscoe. In Rotherham the sessions run at BreathingSpace on Badsley Moor Lane.
BreathingSpace has supported Rotherham woman, Miranda, who was diagnosed with COPD in February 2023 following recurrent chest infections that led to hospitalisation.
“At its worst, my condition felt like being suffocated. I couldn’t breathe in or out and felt like I was going to pass out. I couldn’t walk any distance; I couldn’t do anything. If I wanted a cup of tea, it would take me 20 minutes just to walk to the kettle. You get into a real rut, and I was so lonely,” she says.
Miranda was referred to pulmonary rehabilitation at BreathingSpace which she says has been a game changer for her health. Since finishing the course, she’s not had a chest infection and no longer feels isolated thanks to the community she’s become part of.
“At first I thought ‘How can I do exercises if I can’t walk up the stairs?’ But it’s nothing strenuous. You build up your strength and your breath, and become stronger, more confident and understand the importance of getting blood travelling around your body.
“After the gym class, there is an education session where the nurses teach you how to breathe, how to cough, how to bring mucus up; all the important aspects of managing your condition. I used to worry – what happens if I can’t breathe? But they’ve given me the knowledge and confidence I needed.
“I owe everything to the team – they push you, encourage you, take their time with you when you are struggling, and they make it fun. I have something to keep going for. This is my life now and I’m making the best of it.”
BreathingSpace is hosting a World COPD Day information event on Wednesday 20th November between 10.30am-2pm. All welcome. Badsley Moor Lane, East Dene, Rotherham S65 2QL
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