What is emphysema / COPD?
COPD stands for “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease”. The word Chronic means it won’t go away. The word Obstructive means partly blocked. The word Pulmonary means in the lungs. The word Disease means sickness. This is the more modern term for what is also called chronic bronchitis (daily cough and spit, where the walls of the airways get thick and swollen, they make mucus that you cough up and eventually the openings of the airways become smaller allowing less air gets in) and emphysema (the tiny air sacs in the lungs are destroyed and cannot empty and your lungs feel very full). How do you know if you have COPD? This chronic lung disease is a major cause of illness, yet many people have it and don’t know it. If you answer these questions, it will help you find out if you could have COPD. 1. Do you cough several times most days? 2. Do you bring up phlegm or mucus most days? 3. Do you get out of breath more easily than others your age? 4. Are you older than 40 years? 5. Are you a cur
