In anticipation of the upcoming peak season for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), doctors urged those with signs of the illness to receive help before it’s too late.
COPD is a progressive and degenerative condition where the airways of the lungs become narrowed, leading to dyspnea (shortness of breath), nonstop coughing, sputum and wheezing.
COPD affects about 210 million people in the world, making it one of the major chronic diseases worldwide. While it is estimated that there are about 1 million people in Taiwan suffering from COPD, as many as 50 percent of them have yet to be diagnosed, said Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池), the dean of National Taiwan University’s College of Medicine.
Most COPD patients show symptoms of the disease after the age of 40.
“Many people pass off the signs of coughing and wheezing as simply signs of old age or long-term smoking — this delays the patient’s diagnosis and treatment,” said Shiao Guang-ming (蕭光明), director of Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s pulmonary function laboratory.
Delayed treatment can lead to a worsening of the condition where the patient becomes unable to perform everyday activities and could eventually lead to death, Shiao said.
While there is currently no medication to prevent the functioning of the lungs from declining, if the disease is detected at an early stage there are forms of treatment available, including medication, surgery and lung rehabilitation, while more physical activity can effectively relieve the symptoms and prevent the condition from worsening, Shiao said.
Celebrity and lifelong volunteer Sun Yueh (孫越) discovered last year at a COPD press conference that he had COPD when he took a spirometer test, a test normally used to diagnose COPD.
Those who are more than 40 years old, smoke, breathe second-hand smoke or live in areas of high air pollution should take a test “so that the disease can be detected and treated before it takes over your life,” Sun said.
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