COPD Symptoms. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Without being ill, the patient starts to cough suddenly, and it lasts for a while. Sooner or later, the patients become too annoyed and turn to the doctor just to find out they are having a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The patient does not have a fever. However, he has all other features typical for flu or cold. As a rule, the coughing manner is wet even though it can be dry too. The mucus is either yellow or regular, but thicker.

Regular attacks of cold or flu. Viral and bacterial respiratory disorders are closely interconnected. That’s why they may have the same symptoms. In the case of COPD, the flu is not gone for a while. The patients who can’t get rid of COPD for years share they often face such issues as bronchitis and pneumonia. They are the outcomes of bad COPD. The risks go up in winter.

Stable purification of the throat is one more symptom of COPD. First of all, the ongoing “ahem” of throat purification may cause a lot of annoyance. Notice whether you or people around have this sign. Many people think they have caught a cold by mistake. Even if something like that happens in winter when the risks are higher, it is still important to learn the causes by contacting a health care provider.

Being unable to fill the lungs with the necessary amount of oxygen is another symptom of COPD. The breathlessness of this type has a nature different from asthma or some other chronic disorders. The patients lose their ability to take deep breaths. Another time the patient may be feeling the way people feel at high altitude. High pressure on the chest may be the primary cause.

Loss of interest in food. Just because it becomes harder to breathe and get sufficient amount of oxygen, the patient might find it difficult to eat. Even if it’s time to have a meal, the person may deny taking it. Once such people start eating, they feel fed up very soon. Thus, they don’t get enough food. In some cases, patients share the food does not taste to them anymore.

Most of the patients with COPD find it hard to lay or take a nap as they face serious breathing obstacles in these positions. Sometimes, these people may wake up at night being unable to breathe and rest well. Each time such patient tries to take a lying position, the breathing gets impaired. Some patients manage to sleep for a while just to wake up suffocating.

Often, the patients with COPD notice their clothing size changes. As soon as their wardrobe stops fitting them, they may wonder why it is happening. Watch out: even doctors often confuse COPD with the heart failure due to this sign. When you suffer from COPD, the girth changes in the area of your chest. Thus, you may need to change the outwear.

If you notice someone around you wheezing and whistling too much without an obvious reason, recommend seeing a doctor. There is no need to have special tools or equipment to detect these sounds as they might be rather loud. The sound reminds of the wind in the trees or the walls. Inhale and exhale to detect whether you are wheezing or whistling.

Having headaches in the morning? Being unable to breathe with the full lungs, the patient may discover another supporting symptom – a harsh headache, especially once he or she wakes up from sleep. Apply the procedure of elimination to discover this sign of COPD. Do you have a sleep apnea or jaw clenching? These signs often come along with a headache.

Finally, a patient who suffers from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may complain of the fingertips getting thicker. From the medical point of view, this phenomenon is called clubbing. The fingertips do not only get too thick; they curve over a little bit. At the initial stage of COPD, the patient may notice the thickened fingertips symptom in the nail bed. These places feel spongy and soft.