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Asthma and Copd

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Asthma and Copd
Living With Asthma and COPD Jaclyn Carroll University of Phoenix

Living With Asthma and COPD There are many things to take into consideration when diagnosing and treating asthma and COPD. They have many characteristics that can confuse one for the other and lead to the misdiagnosis and treatments that are associated with each respiratory disease. If one has never been faced with the reality of living with either of these diseases knowing what to look for is something that is not easy. While asthma and COPD are both similar respiratory defects, COPD is often misdiagnosed asthma and goes untreated. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory of the airways. The inflammation of the airways is usually associated with constant wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest and usually occurs late at night or early in the mornings. These symptoms are usually associated with airflow obstruction within the lungs that is usually relieved with the use of inhalers or subsequently on its own. Some of the things that cause these attacks are air pollutants, colds, indoor and outdoor pollutants, and smoke. There are many things that factor into what may really be the causes asthma. People who have allergies, smokers, people who are obese, stress, genes, and environmental air pollutants are usually the main causes of asthma. There are many treatments for asthma, steroid inhalants and breathing treatments are among the most common treatments for asthma. There are some medications that act fast, and some are taken on a day-to-day basis to help in the aid of reducing the risk of having an attack. Fast acting treatments are used to treat a person when an attack occurs and something is need right then to relieve the attack at a spur of the moment notice. Asthma is generally found in younger people and young children. COPD also known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary

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