Patient Education Video Transcript:
Hello, Mr. D.J. After reviewing your case in further detail, I am concerned that you may have a disease in your lungs. Now, there are many types of diseases that can specifically affect your lungs and make it difficult to breathe. With your cough and increase in mucus production, how breathing becomes more difficult when you move around, your occupation in the agricultural field, and because of your smoking history, I believe you have a condition called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD.
Chronic: This develops over a long period of time and cannot be cured.
Obstructive: Refers to air not being able to be exhaled out of the lungs due to swelling and extra mucus.
Pulmonary Disease: Refers to damage that has occurred in the lungs.
In normal functioning lungs, we breathe air in and it travels down a series of pipes and tubes that make up the lungs. Think of our lungs like large trees. The main trunk continues to divide into smaller branches, and at the end of these branches are grape like clusters of tiny air sacs called alveoli. This is the end point for all the air that is inhaled into our lungs. When we inhale, oxygen containing air, gets pulled into the lungs, and when we exhale the air gets pushed back out of the lungs.
In COPD, the airways become inflamed, swollen, and filled with mucus, which obstructs the flow of air. The air sacs become damaged, and lose their elastic quality. Think of the normal airways as a paper towel roll and a balloon, and airways in COPD as a straw and plastic bag. This becomes a problem because it makes it harder to get oxygen to the rest of your body.
COPD is actually caused by 2 conditions, which are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic Bronchitis primarily causes issues in the small airways with mucus and swelling, while emphysema leads to the small air sacs becoming “less elastic”.
This explains the fact that you’ve been coughing up a lot of mucus, as well as why you’ve had trouble with breathing with increased activity. Your body is having difficulty getting the oxygen it requires.
Although smoking is the biggest cause of the development of COPD, quitting smoking is the best recommendation I can give to you to stop the disease from becoming worse.
I look forward to meeting with you next week at our scheduled appointment, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out. Goodbye!