Chronic Bronchitis & COPD
Hi all,
A friend of mine has been diagnosed with Chronic Bronchitis for a year now, they are 27. The symptoms they have are wheezing, mucus build up and a tight chest at times. They often get flare ups.
The healthcare specialist only suggested staying away from irritants and stopping smoking which they have done for over 5 years now.
My friend seems to think they have COPD now and need to be conscious of how long they have left. Please can someone help me with providing some advice here.
They often read a lot online about the topic but there is hardly any information around those who have the issue at 27. Of all physicals scans scaring was mentioned in one place on the lung, no mentions of any other damage.
Thank you.
,
You should advise your friend to have his healthcare professional recommend a pulmonologist. Get a breathing test and CT scan done. Discuss your symptoms with the pulmonologist and with test results, he/she will be able to determine if you have COPD and what stage you are. Then a treatment plan can be formulated for your friend's specific case. Take Care.Thank you for replying
Dminor9. He has already seen one and they diagnosed him with Chronic Bronchitis only. The scan showed minor fibrotic scaring and an infective band. COPD was not mentioned to him at all but he is convinced he has it. 
Hi Unknown95 - I am just getting to this conversation now. It's good of you to reach out for assistance on behalf of your friend. I see our fellow community member, , and my colleague, , have already chimed in with supportive comments - I do hope you have an opportunity to look them over at your convenience.
I also have something to contribute.
You did share that one physician provided a diagnosis of chronic bronchitis. You may be aware that chronic bronchitis is considered to be a disease that falls under the umbrella term, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Not everyone realizes the subtleties of diagnoses. I thought you might gain some additional insight from this article which speaks to this topic: https://copd.net/basics/damaged-lungs. I do hope you find this information is helpful in a practical way.
Wishing you well,
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)
Hi. You have come to the right place for advice and information about COPD. And I see you have already received a great reply from and have already responded. I am glad to see that your friend has already seen a pulmonologist and has gone through basic testing and that his doctor has made a diagnosis and recommendations based on the test results. It would seem the doctor has made really good first recommendations about your friend avoiding irritants and stopping smoking, as doing these basic things may prevent further health issues and may even help reduce the symptoms he/she is feeling. It is normal to develop questions after leaving our doctor's appointments. And it is normal to use information obtained (such as off the Internet) to wonder if we have this condition or that (such as COPD?). Although, I think the next best step for your friend is to pose these questions to his/her doctor -- who knows your friend best. I am certain that his/her doctor should be able to answer all your friend's questions about his health and to also allay any concerns. What do you think? John. copd.net community moderator. 
I have had severe COPD / stage lll, November 16, 2017 and still going strong, my last oft, December 07, 2020, and My lungs are clear of mucus mostly except from December 23, 2022 bout of covid - 19, now cough up sputum, which make happy at 68
