How to recognize emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Emphysema is related to the lungs, appearing in people with damaged lungs, mostly due to smoking with manifestations that make the patient difficult to breathe. If emphysema is not treated properly and promptly, the alveoli will gradually weaken and break down, forming large spaces that cause a decrease in the lung surface area, and the amount of oxygen entering the blood decreases.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease that causes symptoms of shortness of breath, impaired breathing and limited ability to perform daily activities, reducing the patient's quality of life.
Although emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are different, they are closely related. People with emphysema are more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Symptoms of emphysema include: Persistent, unrelenting cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, fatigue, barrel-shaped chest, pale skin, blue fingers and nails, weakened immune system fluid increases the risk of pneumonia... Meanwhile, symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease include: persistent cough, productive cough, coughing up white, yellow, gray or green sputum , sometimes sputum can be bloody, flu and colds come and go again and again, shortness of breath, labored breathing, feeling of tightness in the chest, wheezing, fatigue...
So far not find a cure for emphysema. Doctors can only give methods to relieve symptoms and prevent disease progression such as: Stop smoking, use drugs such as drugs: bronchodilators, steroids, antibiotics... Measures: pulmonary rehabilitation, nutritional therapy or supplemental oxygen to improve breathing. Lung volume reduction surgery. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations are available.
Like emphysema, there is no complete cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The best way to treat the disease is to treat it to relieve symptoms, slow its progression, improve exercise capacity, and prevent and treat complications. Specifically: Using bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroids... Vaccination against influenza, pneumococcal, oxygen therapy, surgery..