How often do you pay attention to your breathing? Are you out of breath while you are dressing? Are you breathing hard while you are walking to the bathroom? Can you breathe well while you are resting? These are common questions for those who suffer from COPD or a respiratory condition. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a group of progressive lung diseases. There are two of them that fit in the COPD category. These are:
- Emphysema: Causes damage to the air sac, also known as Alveoli. The walls inside of the Alveoli disappear as it progresses.
- Chronic Bronchitis: Causes damage to the bronchial tubes from chronic inflammation and swelling in the tubes. If the cough lasts 3 months to two years then it is chronic bronchitis.
Tobacco use is one of the top causes of both types of COPD. Doctors use stages to determine how severe your illness is. This is called Gold Staging.
Gold Staging is grading is based on these things:
- Your symptoms
- How many times your COPD has gotten worse
- If you have had a hospital stay because of COPD
- Results from your Spirometry test
A spirometry test uses two measurements to test how your lungs exhale and inhale oxygen. These two graphs are called: Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Forced Air Expiratory (FEV-1).
- Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) tests how you use the largest amount of your air you breathe out after breathing in deeply.
- Forced Air Expiratory (FEV-1) tests how much air you can exhale out from your lungs.
Watch COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema-NCLEX Part 1 by RegisteredNurseRN on YouTube
Here is the Gold Standard test:
- Gold 1: You have a mild case of COPD. This would include having a hard time catching your breath when walking for a few minutes.
- Gold 2: You have a moderate case of COPD. This is when you have issues breathing while walking on flat ground or stairs.
- Gold 3: You have a severe case of COPD. You are not able to walk or do anything that exerts energy without having issues breathing.
- Gold 4: You have a very severe case of COPD. This is when you are having issues breathing even when at rest.
There are four stages of COPD. After your spirometry test the doctor will determine what stage you are in.
The grades of the spirometry go like this. This graph shows you how the doctor decides in what category you are in. The grades go like this:
- SG 0: You are considered normal.
- SG 1: Mild
- SG 2: Moderate
- SG 3: Severe
- SG 4: Undefined
The Stages of COPD are:
- Stage 1: You have a mild case of COPD. Your FEV-1 from spirometry is between 80 and 90 percent. You may have no symptoms or mild symptoms. These include shortness of breath when walking fast on level ground or a slight hill.
- Stage 2: You have a moderate case of COPD. Your FEV-1 between 50 to 79 percent. When you are walking you must stop every few minutes to catch your breathe.
- Stage 3: You have a severe case of COPD. Your FEV-1 is between 30 to 49 percent. You are too short of breath to leave your home. You get out of breath doing simple things like walking to the bathroom or dressing.
- Stage 4: You have a very severe case of COPD. Your FEV-1 is between 0 and 30 percent. You have lung and heart failure. You cannot catch your breath even while resting.
The Respiratory System is an amazing system that helps keep your body oxygenated so you can move and do all the activities you enjoy doing. Without breathing you would not be able to accomplish anything. The respiratory system consists of these parts:
- Trachea: This is the largest airway in your body
- Diaphragm: This is the muscle that separates the stomach from the chest cavity.
- Bronchial tubes and Bronchioles: These are airway tubes inside of the lungs to keep the oxygen flowing through the body.
- Alveoli: This are tiny sacs at the end of the branchial tubes that fill up with the oxygen you need.
- Cilia: This are hair fibers that lines the bronchioles. These hair fibers move the mucus through the tubes in the lungs.
Here are some tips to help if you have COPD:
- Do not smoke or stop smoking
- Avoid unhealthy air: This means dust, fumes, and smoke.
- Get your yearly flu shot
- Eat healthy foods
- Move your body: Exercise will help. The recommend you use the Borg Scale when exercising. The Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion helps you and your wellness team know when it is safe for your to exercise and how it affects you.
- Know when it is not safe to exercise: Do not exercise if you are nauseated. Do not exercise if you have unexpected leg pain. Do not exercise if you have chest pain. Do not exercise if you have a fever. Do not exercise if you are out of oxygen. Do not exercise if you have a sore throat.
- Be sure to clear the mucus out before you exercise and again after you are done with exercise. You do this by doing either deep coughing, Huff coughing, and other techniques your doctor will show you how to do. (Deep Coughing is when you start by taking a deep breath. Hold the breath for 2-3 seconds. Use your stomach muscles to forcefully expel the air. Avoid a hacking cough or merely clearing the throat. A deep cough is less tiring and more effective in clearing mucus out of the lungs.) (Huff coughing, is an alternative to deep coughing if you have trouble clearing your mucus. Take a breath that is slightly deeper than normal. Use your stomach muscles to make a series of three rapid exhalations with the airway open, making a “ha, ha, ha” sound. Follow this by controlled diaphragmatic breathing and a deep cough if you feel mucus moving)
Breathing is something we all have in common. We all need it. We should all protect it. Even if you have breathing issues like any of the COPD diseases you can still live well by eating well and moving your body. Karen and the Wellness Works NW Team will be happy to create a regiment to help you maintain your health. We understand how important being able to breathe is. A couple of us have breathing issues and we can empathize with you. We would love to help you.
Here are some links I would like to share with you:
- COPD Stages and the Gold Criteria by WebMD Staff
- Everything You Need to Know About Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) by Ann Pietrangelo and medically reviewed by Stacy Sampson, D.O. for Healthline
- Perceived Exertion (Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale) by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Staff
- Techniques to Bring Up Mucus by National Jewish Health Staff and medically reviewed by Barry J. Make, MD and Irina Petrache, MD
- Image Credit: Stages of COPD by COPD Foundation Staff
- Video Credit: COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema-NCLEX Part 1 by RegisteredNurseRN on YouTube
- Video Credit: Understanding COPD by Animated COPD Patient on YouTube
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Jamie Holloway is a co-owner of Wellness Works NW and she is also our Research Manager and writes our Chasing Wellness with Jamie Holloway and Dear Jamie columns. Jamie is also an Independent Wellness Advocate at dōTERRA. She lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing. If you would like to help support Jamie’s writing efforts please Donate now.
