COPD blocks airflow in the lungs. Patients have to think about their breathing. They also have to exercise. And they have to learn to calm themselves, especially when they are short of breath.
SOUND: "Big deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth."
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as well as asthmatic bronchitis. One sign of it is a wheezing sound when the person breathes. Another symptom is a cough that produces yellow mucus and does not go away.
Miners and chemical workers are at risk of COPD from breathing dust and harmful chemicals. But the most common cause is long-term smoking or years of breathing other people's smoke.
Francis Welch is a retired dentist, former smoker and now a COPD patient.
FRANCIS WELCH: "I have to think about breathing sixty minutes of every hour. It's a heck of a nuisance."
He stopped smoking more than ten years ago. He also persuaded his son to stop.
FRANCIS WELCH: "Until he saw me walking around with a can of liquid oxygen. That got his attention. He finally did smoke, quit smoking, thank God."
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, with reporting by Melinda Smith. Transcripts, MP3s and archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
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