Yes, you can lead a relatively normal and full life with emphysema, especially if diagnosed early and managed proactively, but the key is consistent treatment, lifestyle changes (like quitting smoking), and managing expectations as it's a progressive disease with no cure for the lung damage itself. Early detection allows for better control, improving quality of life, while severe cases require more intensive management for symptoms like breathlessness, fatigue, and preventing serious complications.
Avoid secondhand smoke: This can also help you prevent emphysema from getting worse. Avoid respiratory irritants: Changing furnace filters and air conditioner filters frequently can help reduce airborne pollutants. Avoiding paint and automobile exhaust fumes and other airborne irritants can help.
These strategies can help people with COPD feel better and slow the damage to their lungs:
Lifestyle Changes. The most important step you can take in treating emphysema is to quit smoking. Your doctor can help you by recommending programs and products that can help you quit. In addition, joining a support group with other people who are quitting smoking can be very helpful.
As the alveoli break down, your bronchial tubes can start to collapse, too. Emphysema can't be cured. It's progressive, so over time it will get harder and harder for you to catch your breath. But you might not know you have the disease for the first few years unless your doctor tests your breathing.
Three Simple Breathing Exercises for COPD
Exercising with COPD can improve breathing and reduce some of your symptoms. Many people find joining a walking or singing group helpful. Others find physiotherapy, tai chi or yoga can help their fitness and breathing.
Here are five ways to do that:
Doctors prescribe short-acting beta2-agonists (SABA) when a person needs immediate relief from symptoms or long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) as maintenance therapy. Examples of SABAs include: albuterol (Ventolin) levosalbutamol (Xopenex HFA)
The following home remedies and natural treatments can help people with COPD manage their symptoms and slow disease progression:
Emphysema is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that damages the air sacs in your lungs and makes it hard to breathe. You can't reverse emphysema damage, and it'll gradually get worse.
Researchers have found that for people with COPD, the ideal temperature is 70 degrees with a humidity level of 40%. Temperatures above 90°F (32°C) can be particularly dangerous for people with COPD. You can avoid COPD exacerbations by staying indoors with air conditioning during the hottest times of the day.
Sometimes, emphysema can be more severe than COPD with chronic bronchitis, but other times the chronic bronchitis form of the disease can cause worse symptoms than emphysema.
How long you live with COPD depends on how severe it is and how quickly it's progressing. Many people can live for decades after diagnosis, especially with early treatment. People in stage 3 or 4 have a life expectancy that's six to nine years shorter than average.
Once a patient's COPD has progressed to the point that they begin to show continued shortness of breath even with other regular therapies, pulmonologists are likely to prescribe oxygen therapy to COPD patients who: Have oxygen saturation of 92% or below while breathing air. Experience severe airflow obstruction.
Simple deep breathing
Deep breathing can help you get closer to reaching your lungs' full capacity. As you slowly inhale, consciously expand your belly with awareness of lowering the diaphragm. Next, expand your ribs, allowing them to float open like wings. Finally, allow the upper chest to expand and lift.
It is measured with a medical device that clips to the finger, called a pulse oximeter. Healthy pulse oximeter values often range from 95% to 100%. Values under 90% are considered low. Often, hypoxemia treatment involves receiving extra oxygen.
Hypoxemia is low levels of oxygen in your blood. It causes symptoms like headache, difficulty breathing, rapid heart rate and bluish skin. Many heart and lung conditions put you at risk for hypoxemia. It can also happen at high altitudes.
Quitting smoking
The most important step in any treatment plan for emphysema is to quit all smoking. Stopping smoking can keep emphysema from getting worse and making it harder to breathe. Talk with your healthcare professional about stop-smoking programs, nicotine replacement products and medicines that might help.
Walking is an effective low-impact workout, whether you're outside or on a treadmill. Treadmill and outdoor walking offer similar health benefits when the effort is the same. Two 15-minute walks can be just as effective as one 30-minute walk. Walking longer may be better than running shorter for many people.
According to the Lung Institute, swimming is a great cardio exercise that's kind on your joints. That being said, some may find that the chemicals used in pools aggravate their COPD, so salt water pools or natural bodies of water may be a better option in nice weather.
Close your lips and inhale through your nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale completely through your mouth making a whoosh sound for a count of eight. This completes one cycle.
Regular exercise doesn't only make your lungs stronger, but it makes your heart stronger too. Your body becomes more efficient at getting oxygen into the bloodstream and transporting it to the working muscles which is one of the reasons that you become less likely to get short of breath during exercise over time.