COPD IS PREDICTED TO BECOME THE THIRD BIGGEST KILLER

By Nurul Halawati Azhari

In conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day on 31 May

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- Smokers beware! Stop burning a hole in
your pocket and in your lungs.

You may feel alright now, but down the road, 10 or 20 years from now, you
may just add to the long list of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
patients.

Life will never be the same again if you are diagnosed with COPD. When you
are healthy, a 10 meter walk is easy and may take a few minutes only, but with
COPD you may feel the distance is just too far and you have to walk your whole
life!

This is the narrative of a COPD patient, Shahrom Zainal Abidin, 72, who
started smoking while he was in school. Smoking became a daily habit since then
until he reached 40.

Without warning or any early indication Shahrom suddenly had breathing
difficulties and became tired fast. He was diagnosed with asthma and chronic
cough and this prompted him to cut down on cigarettes.

It was tough, but against all odds Shahrom managed to kick the habit.
Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with COPD in 2007 and was referred to the
Institute of Respiratory Medicine (IRM).

He has been in and out of the hospital and the quality of life deteriorated.
Shahrom admitted that, in fact the whole family suffered because of his ailment.
At times he became despondent. He could hardly sleep because of the persistent
cough.

He feels very uncomfortable when doing heavy work. The persistent cough and
phlegm made work difficult.

At present, Shahrom is a permanent patient to IPR under the supervision of
Dr Aziah Ahmad Mahayiddin. Though Sharom¡¯s words at times difficult to
decipher because of the COPD, his suffering has been ameliorated through the
assistance of an oxygen concentrator.

A LONG TERM CONDITION

According to Dr Aziah who is also the IPR¡¯s Director, COPD or smoker¡¯s cough
is a long term condition and can prove to be fatal on adults above 40.

¡°It can appear suddenly without any early symptoms until severe damage
to
the lungs had occurred.

Most of the COPD cases are due to long term exposure to noxious particles
especially from cigarette smoke that damages the lungs and airways. In fact
passive smoke too could damage the lungs and cause COPD.

Apart from sleep being disturbed, those with COPD will also have shortness
of breath even when carrying out simple routines like walking and getting up the
staircase. The respiratory tract over time narrows and in the end the lungs have
to work hard to inhale.

The diagnosis of this condition is done by identifying the patient¡¯s
history, physical check-up, x-ray and through the lung function test.

But does kicking the smoking habit help?

¡°Yes, it reduces the risks. But there are cases where COPD appeared even
after a person has stopped smoking and started leading a healty life. At present
there is no cure for this disease but can be managed through oxygen
concentrator," explained Dr Aziah.

Apart from lethargy and difficulties in breathing, COPD can create physical
complications like frequent lung infection, the failure of the respiratory
system, weak heart and loss of weight.

UNDERGO TEST

If you are a smoker, you don¡¯t have to wait until the COPD signs appear and
instead should start taking preventive steps by undergoing liver function test
using the spirometer.

It is a simple test. Patients only need to inhale as much as they could and
blow out all the air through a tube attached to the spirometer.

This test that measures the air volume in the lungs can help detect COPD and
whether it is at the mild, moderate or severe state.

The latest estimate of the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2007,
indicates about 210 million people were suffering because of COPD and in 2005
about 3 million people died because of the disease. It has killed more people
compared with HIV/AIDS. By 2030, WHO estimates that the COPD will emerge as the
world¡¯s third biggest killer disease.

The COPD incidence is expected to increase with the number of smokers. In
Malaysia, it is estimated that 50 per cent of the men smoke, while women smokers
account for 20 per cent of the more than 1 billion smokers in the world.

There is no cure for COPD but doctors could help COPD patients by slowing
down the deterioration of the lungs. This may provide some relief for the
patients and help resume many of their daily routines.

In conjunction with the World No Tobacco Day on May 31, WHO is using this
year¡¯s celebration to disseminate information to the public on the dangers posed
by tobacco.

WHO calls upon the societies all over the world to ponder on what they can
do to advocate their rights on health, healthy lifestyle and protecting the
younger generation.

-- BERNAMA




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