The cough seems to be dry. Keep going. He is Oscar, he is 68 years old and he is sick with what is called Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, better known as COPD, and he was admitted to a center for the elderly in Mexico. I spoke to him more than a month ago.
Between coughing fits, I asked him if he wanted to go outside. His eyes lit up. Turning from side to side to make sure no one heard him, he told me in a very low voice: “A few cigarettes.”
COPD usually affects people who smoke for a long time. However, they are not the only ones, says the Colombian doctor María Artunduaga, a postgraduate from Harvard Medical School and founder of Respira Labs, a company whose purpose is to help people with diseases of respiratory.
According to Artunduaga, doctors have now found that COPD also affects many people who never smoke, but are exposed to pollutants in the environment, or through jobs such as mining.
“We even see that there are many women affected by COPD because in many Latin American countries they cook with firewood or gasoline,” said the specialist.
To easily explain the feelings of COPD patients, Artunduaga compared it to COVID. “They feel like they’re suffocating every day of their lives.”
The most common lung diseases
COPD. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, wheezing, and excessive mucus production. It is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.
Treatment: Bronchodilator drugs, inhaled steroids, lifestyle changes (smoking cessation, regular exercise), and in severe cases, oxygen therapy.
Asthma. It affects millions of people in the United States, including children and adults.
Symptoms: Coughing, shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness.
Treatment: Bronchodilator inhaler, inhaled steroids, antileukotriene medication, and avoidance of environmental triggers.
Lung cancer. It is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Symptoms: Persistent cough, shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss, chest pain.
Treatment: Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapies and immunotherapy therapies.
Pneumonia. It is a common cause of hospitalization in the United States.
Symptoms: Cough, fever, difficulty breathing, chest pain.
Treatment: Antibiotics (if bacterial), antivirals (if viral), rest and medication to relieve symptoms.
Pulmonary fibrosis. It is a chronic interstitial lung disease.
Symptoms: dry cough, shortness of breath, fatigue.
Treatment: There is no cure, but medications can be used to relieve symptoms and, in some cases, lung transplant is considered.
It is important that anyone experiencing respiratory symptoms consult a health care professional for a proper diagnosis and personalized treatment plan. In addition, preventive measures, such as quitting smoking, avoiding exposure to smoke and pollution, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, are key to reducing the risk of lung diseases.
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