When COPD Turns Into an Emergency

Jul 11, 2016

When COPD Turns Into an Emergency

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Chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD) affects more than 24 million people in the United States. Unfortunately, the symptoms of COPD can be mistaken for many other prognoses, and by the time the symptoms are serious enough to be caught it’s likely that damage to the lungs has already been done.

When COPD Needs Attention

As you breathe, you take air into your windpipe and it travels into your bronchial tubes in your lungs. These bronchial tubes branch out into tiny networks of tubes called bronchioles that end with little air sacs called alveoli. Like elastic these balloons of air expand and contract when you breathe in and out.  The air sacs disperse oxygen into your blood through capillaries surrounding the sacs.

One form of COPD, Emphysema, destroys the elasticity of the air sacs and hardens/thickens the walls of the air sacs. COPD’s second form is chronic bronchitis, which clogs airways and causes irritation in airflow passages. Both forms damage the lungs and decrease the body’s ability to carry oxygen to the blood.  As you can imagine, any lack of oxygen in the body can turn into an emergency very quickly.

COPD Exacerbation

COPD is a progressive lung disease, meaning it can only remain stable or get worse without proper treatment.  It is likely that at some point the person affected by COPD will experience exacerbation (a COPD flair-up). COPD exacerbation is a period where the symptoms become more severe.  Lack of airflow from COPD complications can lead to Hypoxia (inadequate oxygen supply to the cells of the body).

COPD exacerbation is a period where the symptoms become more severe.  Lack of airflow from COPD complications can lead to hypoxia, which is an inadequate oxygen supply to the cells of the body.

Warning signs of exacerbation and hypoxia:

  • Discoloration of phlegm
  • Increased production of phlegm
  • Thickening of phlegm
  • Chest pain
  • Fever
  • Cannot sleep unless sitting upright
  • Headache or dizziness
  • Insomnia
  • Swelling of ankles, feet, or legs
  • Weight loss
  • Difficulty catching your breath
  • Difficulty speaking without shortness of breath
  • Lips or fingernails take on a bluish or greyish hue
  • Lack of mental alertness or clarity
  • Racing heartbeat

When these symptoms become severe and cannot be controlled by normal methods or the action plan that was provided by your physician, call 911 or seek immediate emergency medical attention.

If left untreated, COPD Hypoxia may lead to depression, high blood pressure, pulmonary hypertension, increased risk of heart failure, acute respiratory failure, and abnormal increase in red blood cells.

When COPD Turns Into an Emergency
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