Clinical

You hear the term bandied around. It’s described by the GOLD COPD guidelines as a key component of COPD. If you have it, and it’s always there to some degree...

So, you happen to be sitting in an emergency room. Here are some of the things you might hear or see. Scrubs. Comfortable, pajama-like uniforms worn by doctors, nurses, and...

Despite the label, "end-stage," there is no reason to give up once you reach stage 4 of COPD, which is considered "very severe." On the contrary, there are still many...

COPD is a chronic inflammatory illness of the lungs and airways that gets progressively worse over time. How long that takes can vary from months to years. Eventually, though, most...

Albuterol is a very effective rescue medicine. It’s the best selling beta adrenergic of all time. It opens airways fast, making breathing easy. It does this with negligible side effects...

There are so many doctors capable and ready to help you. And there are so many different types of doctors. They specialize in a variety of areas. Physician Doctor. A...

You got me started on defining COPD-related terms in my other Lexicon articles (Basic Terms to Know & Oxygen Terms to Know). So, here are a few more. These ones...

Some call it pulmonary function testing, or a PFT. Some call it spirometry. No matter what you refer to it as it entails a series of breathing tests. The Global...

Dealing with exacerbations of COPD is a fact of life when you have this disease. But, as emphasized in the most recent 2017 GOLD Guidelines for COPD, experts now recognize...

Pain management is an important part of treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet so often, the medical support system may overlook pain as an element of COPD. As...

Recently, my boss came to me and said, “Happy Anniversary!” She bought me lunch. It was a worthy celebration of my 20 years as a respiratory therapist. So, in honor...

We hear about ABG, FEV and PFT. What is going on? What does it mean? I know my basic ABC’s but this is really off! I used to think that...

I thought it would be neat to take a step back and review the term COPD. We know it means Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. But, what does this mean? Here’s...

Why is there no cure for COPD? Why is so much known about other diseases, yet so little known about ours? These are viable questions I hear often. Trust me...

Learning how to cough effectively is an important skill when you have COPD. The congestion that often goes along with your COPD can result in clogged airways. And if your...

“So, what does that mean? Can you put that in English? Can you put that in terms I can understand?” These are questions I sometimes get after some doctors talk...

Staying healthy with COPD is all about maintaining control over your symptoms as well as you can. Winter, though, presents a number of challenges to your control efforts. Here are...

Did you know that people who have COPD are at risk for another chronic condition called GERD? GERD stands for GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease, and is sometimes called acid reflux or...

If you have COPD, chances are good that you've had your index finger stuck into a small device called a pulse oximeter during a doctor's office visit. Your doctor or...

A neat thing about having COPD is it communicates with you. It lets you know when something is wrong, or when a flare-up is impending. It communicates by presenting you...