Cough & COPD: What’s the link?

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COPD is linked to coughing due to inflammation in the lungs causing mucus production and a cough to expel it. Smoking is a common cause, and avoiding irritants is the best treatment as the damage is usually permanent. Chronic cough problems should be taken seriously to avoid potentially deadly consequences.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease of a person’s lungs. Cough and COPD are linked because the most common symptom of COPD is a coughing problem. People who have COPD often experience a particular type of cough that causes them to pass large amounts of phlegm. This cough generally begins during the early stages of the disease and, in many cases, is the first symptom a person will exhibit.

The reason for the connection between COPD and cough is mainly related to the underlying mechanisms of COPD. The disease is caused by inflammation of the tissue in a person’s lungs. When the lungs become inflamed, they often produce mucus as a defensive reaction. If the lungs are constantly inflamed, they can produce enough mucus to interfere with normal breathing. In cases where this happens, the lungs will produce a cough to expel some of that mucus.

Cough and COPD are also often related to smoking, and people sometimes describe COPD as specifically caused by smoking. This isn’t entirely true, but there is a relationship between the two. COPD is usually the result of a reaction to some type of lung irritant. This could be chemicals that a person inhales while working, or any number of other substances. Smoking is the most common cause of COPD, but it is not always the main cause.

When a person develops cough and COPD, the best treatment is usually to move away from the irritant causing the discomfort. During COPD, actual physical damage occurs to a person’s lungs. This damage is usually permanent and there is no way to repair it. Sometimes it is possible to stop further damage by avoiding any irritants that may have caused COPD. If the COPD patient is a smoker, this will generally lead to giving up cigarettes, and if someone works in a polluted factory, he may have to quit his job.

Many people don’t realize that cough and COPD are connected and may ignore chronic cough problems. This can have potentially deadly consequences in the long run. People with severe COPD may suffer from a lack of oxygen in their bloodstream. They can also become nearly paralyzed from their basic inability to breathe. For this reason, people at high risk for COPD are generally advised to take any chronic cough problem seriously.




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