What is COPD?
COPD is the acronym for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a label grouping two common obstructive lung diseases: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Caused by smoking, air pollution and occupational exposure, these two entities commonly coexist. Chronic bronchitis is defined as chronic cough productive of mucous for at least three months of the year and for at least two years. In emphysema, the obstructive component of the disease results from changes in lung tissue rather than from the increased production of mucous or the presence of chronic inflammation as in chronic bronchitis.

COPD Hard Facts
According to the World Health Organization, about 600 million people suffer from COPD, although many are undiagnosed. Currently, it is the fifth leading cause of death in the Philippines. In the country, more than two million Filipinos are suffering from it, excluding the unreported cases, said the Philippine College of Chest Physicians.

A World Bank (WB) study showed that 32 percent of jeepney drivers plying the streets of Metro Manila for at least 14 years have COPD. Sixteen percent of air-conditioned bus drivers who have been on the road for at least 10 years suffer from COPD while 14 percent of regular commuters suffer from respiratory disorders. It is and is projected to become the world's third leading fatal disease by 2020.

What Causes COPD?
Smoking is the most common cause of COPD.

Most cases of COPD develop after repeatedly breathing in fumes and other things that irritate and damage the lung and airways. Cigarette smoking is the most common irritant that causes COPD. Pipe, cigar, and other types of tobacco smoking can also cause COPD, especially if the smoke is inhaled. Breathing in other fumes and dusts over a long period of time may also cause COPD. The lungs and airways are highly sensitive to these irritants. They cause the airways to become inflamed, narrowed, and destroy the elastic fibers that allow the lung to stretch, then come back to its resting shape. This makes breathing air in and out of the lungs more difficult.

Other things that may irritate the lungs and contribute to COPD include:

• Working around certain kinds of chemicals and breathing in the fumes for many years
• Working in a dusty area over many years
• Heavy exposure to air pollution.

Genes, tiny bits of information in your body cells passed on by your parents, may play a role in developing COPD. In rare cases, COPD is caused by a gene-related disorder called alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency. It is a protein in your blood that inactivates destructive proteins in the blood. People with antitrypsin deficiency have low levels of alpha 1 antitrypsin; the imbalance of proteins leads to the destruction of the lung and COPD. If people with this condition smoke, the disease progresses more rapidly.

Signs and Symptoms of COPD
The symptoms of COPD include:

• Cough
• Sputum (mucus) production
• Shortness of breath, especially with exercise
• Wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe)
• Chest tightness.

A cough that doesn't go away and coughing up lots of mucus are common symptoms of COPD. These often occur years before the flow of air in and out of the lungs is reduced. However, not everyone with a cough and sputum production goes on to develop COPD, and not everyone with COPD has a cough.

The severity of the symptoms depends on how much of the lung has been destroyed. If you continue to smoke, the lung destruction is faster than if you stop smoking.