At the last French-language pneumology congress, a survey showed that this disease is still unknown …
Yes, unrecognized and insidious… Thus, more than one in three patients is diagnosed four years after the first symptoms! This is the result of a survey carried out by the French Federation of associations of patients with insufficient or respiratory disabilities (the FFAIR) which was presented at the pneumology congress in Lille.
What explains these four years of delay before the diagnosis?
Because the disease advances hidden … For example, in the morning, a chronic cough, with or without fever, a little fatigue, weight loss … Signs that do not always encourage us to go to the doctor. However, COPD is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease … Clearly, it is a disease that gradually clogs the airways, “the pipes” of the lungs. COPD thus slowly reduces breathing capacity and destroys the lungs. And if we don’t take care over time, the consequences are serious …
Can this disease be fatal?
Yes, it kills over 15,000 people a year. The numbers are increasing, experts estimate that in 2020 COPD will be the 3e cause of death worldwide. And, you should also know that in severe forms of COPD, patients are forced to be connected to a machine to breathe.
What can alert us anyway?
Simple signs such as a daily cough that does not pass, especially if it is in the morning when you get up and you cough up a little mucus… You have to be even more vigilant if you are a smoker, in more than 8 out of 10 cases , this disease is caused by tobacco! And often behind the “chronic bronchitis” of the smoker hides a COPD… The FFAIR investigation also shows that being exposed to toxic fumes, especially at work, is a risk factor…
Can we cure this disease?
No, there is no cure for COPD. We can just reduce the symptoms, and block its development … This is why it is important and urgent to detect it as soon as possible. For this, the doctor, the pulmonologist, will do a “spirometry”: it is an examination which allows you to measure your respiratory capacity and to see if it does not decrease.
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