Severe lung diseases are mistaken for patients with smoker's cough

COPD: Pulmonary disease is often confused with smoker's cough
When smokers experience difficulty in breathing or cough, many see it as "normal". Tobacco consumers should not accept it. Behind such symptoms can be a serious lung disease.

Breathing difficulties as warning signals
Being out of breath walking up or down the walk can be a sign of a serious illness. Such chronic lung diseases often go undetected. The patient information page of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has pointed this out on his patient information portal. Other signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could include wheezing or wheezing during breathing, daily cough, and sputum. Also typical morning cough could be COPD.

Damage to the lungs due to years of smoking. Picture: Bilderzwerg - Fotolia

Pulmonary disease develops over years
COPD starts slowly and develops over years. One of the main risk factors is smoking, but the disease is also favored by age-related inflammatory processes, scientists found. In COPD, the airways are permanently constricted and the lungs are damaged. According to estimates, nearly seven million and around 600 million people worldwide are affected in Germany alone.

Diagnosis by pulmonary function test
Patients often confuse these symptoms with a "harmless" smoker's cough or with asthma. Understanding the cause of the symptoms can include a pulmonary function test. When diagnosing COPD, patients should stop giving up smoking. The main purpose of treatment is to alleviate the symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease. An essential part of the therapy are medications, where "depending on the stage of the disease, combinations of different medicines are common", as the IQWiG writes. Above all, medicines that expand the respiratory tract and thus facilitate breathing (bronchodilators) are used here. In addition - depending on the stage - a treatment with oxygen may be necessary. As supportive measures, for example, physical activities, breathing training or inhalation are possible. (Ad)