COPD day goes unnoticed

LAHORE – As in previous years, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Day went unnoticed as no government or private institution took the trouble to perform the ritual of organizing an event.

As the event takes place on Wednesday, November 21 (Wednesday) as the country celebrated Eid Milad-a-Nabi, it was possible to hold COPD Day by reporting events before or after after that date, but that did not happen.

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (OR) has been observing November 21, 2002, under different themes, in collaboration with health professionals to raise public awareness of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and to improve cares.

The theme for this year's COPD World Day was "never too early, never too late".

More than 2410 million people in the world suffer from COPD, with Pakistan sharing the burden of 6.9 million people. According to the pulmonologists, COPD will become the leading cause of death in the future, even before diabetes and depression if it is not duly taken into account.

COPD is a common preventable disease characterized by persistent, generally progressive, airflow limitation associated with an increased chronic inflammatory response in the airways and lungs to harmful particles and gases.

"We need to understand that COPD is a major threat. Being a chronic disease, once a man is preyed upon, there is no point of return. If it is not controlled, it advances with time. Breathing difficulties will prevent patients from being harsh and will become a non-productive part of the family and society, "said Dr. Abdul Rauf, who runs his clinic in the populous Usman Gunj.

Shortness of breath, persistent cough, mucus spitting, wheezing, fatigue, weight loss, morning headaches are signs of the disease. It is more prevalent in men than in women. The prevalence of COPD increases with age and mainly affects people aged 40 and over.

Dr. Rauf explained that the symptoms of the disease develop slowly and are ignored by most patients as "old age" or "smoker's cough", which is a dangerous attitude and when they realize that They often lost important lung function.

The prevalence rate for COPD-related symptoms is 18.5% and 26.7% of patients have comorbidities. Similarly, approximately 33.3% of patients with COPD are hospitalized due to illness and 26.7% have an emergency because of their respiratory problem. He said that smoking accounted for up to 75% of all cases of COPD. "Not only do smokers run a greater risk, but they also harm other people through passive smoking. Recent trends in "sheesha" and "e-cigarettes" are also harmful and contribute significantly to COPD.

People see them as a safe alternative but they are seriously wrong, "he said. He urged people to stay away from smoking and other air pollutants such as chemical fumes and dust.

"Once diagnosed with COPD, daily medications are needed, as well as short-acting relief inhalers. COPD is a chronic disease that is not cured. A healthy lifestyle and the use of prescribed therapies are the only way to counter this phenomenon, "he said.