Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of two commonly co-existing diseases of the lungs in which the airways become narrowed. This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs causing shortness of breath. In contrast to asthma, the limitation of airflow is poorly reversible and usually gets progressively worse over time.

COPD is caused by noxious particles or gas, most commonly from tobacco smoking, which triggers an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung. The inflammatory response in the larger airways is known as chronic bronchitis, which is diagnosed clinically when people regularly cough up sputum. In the alveoli, the inflammatory response causes destruction of the tissues of the lung, a process known as emphysema. The natural course of COPD is characterized by occasional sudden worsenings of symptoms called acute exacerbations, most of which are caused by infections or air pollution.

Literature Review

With the innovation and the advancement in medical sciences, many more people are at present living in their 70's, 80's and beyond. This endured “lifeness” has brought and endured with it diseases of chronic nature such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis, diabetes mellitus, mental illness, asthma and other chronic diseases. Subsequently, the prevalent pattern of disease at present in many developed nations is chronic ailment and not the acute ailment (Donaldson, 1999).

Describing the chronic diseases, they are longer-term ailments that often do not ameliorate and are very seldom cured totally. These diseases, as named above, have severe effects on the physical, emotional and mental health of individuals, generally making it hard to sustain with every day work and relationships. Nonetheless, in myriad cases, decline in health can be decreased by good care, that ultimately depends on the individual's will and determination in the choices that he or she makes in the well being of one's own health. In this connection, the Chronic Disease Management or CDM is a methodical means to bettering health care for people with chronic disease. Thereby, in the like manner, elaborating the systematic care, it can be done more effectively and efficiently if patients with chronic diseases take an active part in their own care. This approach emphasizes assisting individuals affirm independence and keep as healthy as likely via prevention, beforehand detection, and handling of chronic conditions. But such an approach is not handy. It comes with the challenges not only for the individual suffering from the chronic disease, but also the other relationships. Therefore, in order to have successful self-management interventions in the chronic cases, it is obligatory by the patient's aptitude to follow medical advice, adapt lifestyle changes, and access resources.

Developed at Stanford by Professor Lorig, the chronic disease self-management program (CDSMP) trains instructors with chronic disease educate and train course volunteer tutors with illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, HIV, stroke and heart disease. The work initiated over the year show that the people managing long-term conditions yield ...