Does long-term smoking cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

I have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years. How should I screen for the disease? Do heavy smokers get chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? (Tuyen, 46 years old)

Reply:

Smoking is the cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Long-term exposure to cigarette smoke can damage the lungs and airways. When smokers have symptoms of difficulty breathing, coughing up phlegm, the disease may be in the late stages, with severe airway obstruction.

Smoking is also the leading cause of lung cancer, even cancer in most organs in the body, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, even if there are no health abnormalities, patients should still quit smoking as soon as possible.

He has smoked for 20 years, averaging one pack a day. The diseases that need to be screened for are lung cancer and COPD. He should see a respiratory specialist for examination and paraclinical tests such as low-dose lung CT scan, respiratory function test, blood test, electrocardiogram...

Depending on your health condition and any medical conditions, your doctor will schedule a suitable follow-up visit. If it is for a health check-up, you should have a check-up every 6-12 months.

In addition, you should pay attention to eating, living and exercising scientifically to improve your health and reduce the impact of tobacco on your body. You can try some of the following ways to clean your lungs:

Coughing helps remove phlegm and mucus from the airways, reducing blockage in the smaller airways and opening them up to let in oxygen.

Exercise helps keep the airways in the lungs open, increases oxygen exchange and delivers oxygen to organs in the body.

Drinking enough water , about two liters a day, can thin the mucus so that it can be coughed out and cleared from the airways.

Avoid exposure to pollutants : Exposure to substances such as dust and cigarette smoke causes inflammation of the airways, increases mucus secretion, making oxygen absorption more difficult.

Use anti-inflammatory foods: Cigarette smoke can cause chronic inflammation of the airways. A diet that includes certain anti-inflammatory foods such as blueberries, kale, olives, etc. has good anti-inflammatory effects.

Master, Doctor Mai Manh Tam
Deputy Head of Respiratory Department, Tam Anh General Hospital Hanoi

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