Chronic Lung Disease Often Mistaken Asthma

Chronic lung disease often mistaken for asthma

During this time, most people still difficult to distinguish between asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or also known as COPD.

This is according to Prof. Dr. Faisal Yoenoes SpP (K), from the Department of Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia (Faculty of medicine) is caused because the symptoms caused almost the same.

“Sometimes people confuse asthma and COPD. If asthma that typically occurs at a young age and worsened at night. If nighttime increasingly congested, more and more frequent asthma coughing it,” he said during the show Socialization Public Discussion Non-Communicable Diseases, Monday, (15/08/2011) and then, in Jakarta.

While COPD is generally experienced at the age of about 45 years and no history of disease or illness in the family. The biggest risk factor for smoking and air pollution.

Early symptoms such as cough with phlegm in the morning to watch as a sign of COPD. Moreover, in people with COPD will experience shortness of breath during walking. Thus, if the person is running slower than people his age, there is the possibility of suffering from COPD.

“The symptoms, cough, shortness of breath, grew worse, so similar to asthma. During this time, people know only asthma alone. Better check your lung function obstruction what already exists or not. If you already have, then COPD,” he said.

He also added, for the treatment of people with COPD are not much different with asthma. But the difference is, asthma may disappear with age, whereas COPD can not be cured completely and will continue to deteriorate with age.

Faisal added that so far no exact data on the number of COPD cases in Indonesia. In the near future, about September 2011, Faisal said, Balitbangkes Ministry of Health will conduct the survey together with the Faculty of Medicine to investigate cases of COPD.

“Then we’ll know how much. The survey itself will we do for three months, hopefully at the end of the year we have a number of COPD in Indonesia,” he explained.

To find out if someone is at risk of suffering from COPD or not, can be easily determined by taking into account Brinkman index. Someone said to be at risk of developing COPD if the index is above 200.

“The trick, the number of cigarettes per day multiplied by the average year. For example if the person smoking 10 cigarettes a day, then if the result is multiplied by 20 years of his 200. So when it’s over, he had a risk of COPD, “he said.