signs of emphysema :: Article CreatorUnderstanding COPD: Symptoms, Types, Causes And Prevention Tips
If you find yourself coughing more often than usual, producing thick mucus, and feeling breathless after simple tasks like climbing stairs or walking across the room, it might be more than just a seasonal cold. These symptoms could be early signs of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), a progressive lung disease that is one of the leading causes of illness and death worldwide. COPD is caused by prolonged exposure to toxic air, primarily from smoking or pollution.
Pollution can come from burning organic and inorganic waste, industrial gases, and dust. Dr (prof) Bobby Bhalotra, Vice Chairman Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital , Delhi, shares the various symptoms, types, causes and prevention tips of COPD:
COPD patients often experience chronic cough, mucus production, and breathlessness. It usually starts gradually, with symptoms worsening over months, especially after seasonal changes or viral infections. As the disease progresses, patients feel increasingly weak, have trouble breathing, and may even cough up blood.
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Also readBoost lung health: Lower risk of asthma, COPD with these expert recommended lifestyle changes
Emphysema: Patients become very thin and struggle to breathe, even with minimal activity.
Chronic bronchitis: Patients produce more mucus and may appear puffy or flushed.
Both types are equally debilitating. COPD patients may also face flare-ups, where mucus becomes thick and yellow-green, often with chest pain and more severe breathing difficulties.
Repeated exposure to toxic air due to smoking: Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. When a person smokes cigarettes regularly, they inhale harmful chemicals such as tar and nicotine. Over time, these toxins irritate the lungs, causing inflammation and damage to the airways. For example, a long-term smoker may experience persistent coughing and breathlessness, as their lung capacity is gradually reduced by repeated exposure to smoke.
Air pollution, caused by burning of organic and inorganic waste: In areas with poor waste management, the burning of trash, such as plastics, household waste, or agricultural residue, releases toxic fumes into the air. Say, in rural communities where crop residue is often burned, residents are exposed to harmful particulate matter, increasing their risk of developing COPD.
Industrial emissions and toxic gases: Workers in industries like mining, construction, and manufacturing are often exposed to harmful gases and chemicals. For example, someone working in a factory producing chemicals may inhale toxic gases over time, which can damage their lungs, leading to COPD. Even people living near industrial areas may face an increased risk due to polluted air.
Also readCOPD: Causes, symptoms and treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
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Exposure to dust: Environments with excessive dust, such as construction sites, mines, or farms, pose a risk of COPD. A construction worker exposed to cement dust or a miner inhaling coal dust over a prolonged period can develop respiratory issues. Chronic exposure to dust in such settings can cause the airways to become blocked or inflamed, contributing to the onset of COPD.
COPD is not a curable disease, but it is preventable. Awareness about the harmful effects of smoking and exposure to pollution, dust, and industrial gases is crucial. While COPD cannot be cured, avoiding these toxic air particles is the key to preventing it in the general population.
Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don't treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for more information.
Namita S Kalla is a senior journalist who writes about different aspects of modern life that include lifestyle, health, fashion, beauty, and entertainment.
'Smart Mask' Could Detect Asthma, COPD And Other Medical Conditions, Researchers Say
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Your breath could hold clues to your health, researchers say — and they have developed a "smart mask" to tap into them.
Wei Gao, professor of medical engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, led the team that created the EBCare, a mask that analyzes the chemicals in someone's breath to detect any existing health issues.
The mask is designed to screen for medical conditions like respiratory infections, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma and post-COVID infections, according to a press release from Caltech.
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EBCare works by cooling the breath to convert it into a liquid, then transports it to sensors to be analyzed for specific biomarkers.
Researchers have developed a "smart mask" (pictured at left) to detect signs of medical conditions. (Caltech/Wei Gao and Wenzheng Heng; iStock)
In an email to Fox News Digital, lead researcher Gao noted the mask's ability to enable "continuous, real-time monitoring of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in a non-invasive and wearable format."
"This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we monitor respiratory health by providing valuable insights into conditions like asthma, COPD and other metabolic disorders," Gao said, noting that it could be a path to more personalized health care.
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"It can also be applied to pandemic management by monitoring respiratory infections on a wide scale," he added.
The ultimate goal is for the EBCare technology to go beyond respiratory diseases, Gao noted.
"As research progresses, we envision that the smart mask can be adapted to detect a wider range of biomarkers, including those related to metabolic, cardiovascular and infectious diseases," he said.
This schematic shows the process by which the smart mask can detect chemicals in the breath, such as nitrite, which is an indicator of airway inflammation. (Caltech/Wei Gao and Wenzheng Heng)
A study of the mask's capabilities included 31 healthy adults who wore the EBCare in real-life settings over a 14-hour span, according to Caltech. They only removed the mask for three-minute intervals to eat.
Ten of the participants were smokers, 10 had asthma, nine had COPD and 12 had recently recovered from COVID-19.
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The masks accurately detected the biomarker for asthma and COPD in participating patients. They also successfully detected signs of kidney disease.
EBCare also produced accurate readings of blood alcohol levels.
"Monitoring alcohol levels in real time offers a non-invasive and continuous alternative to breathalyzers or blood tests," Gao said.
"We would need to see at least a few clinical studies demonstrating that the masks can diagnose better — or more rapidly or with more sensitivity — than the standard of care."
The research — which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity — was published in the journal Science on Aug. 29.
The idea is not for the smart mask to replace traditional medical diagnosis, but to provide "early warning" through continuous health monitoring during daily activities and to "bridge the gap" between doctor's visits, Gao said.
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"The goal is to identify subtle physiological changes before they develop into more severe conditions, giving individuals the opportunity to take proactive steps in managing their health," he said.
This is especially important for those who need regular monitoring, such as patients with chronic conditions or those recovering from respiratory infections like COVID-19, according to Gao.
The mask (not pictured) is designed to screen for medical conditions like respiratory infections, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma and post-COVID infections. (iStock)
"I recommend that health care providers consider integrating real-time EBC analysis technology into their diagnostic and monitoring practices, especially for chronic conditions like asthma and COPD," he said.
"For individuals, the ability to monitor one's health non-invasively through a wearable device offers the opportunity to be more proactive in managing personal health, which can lead to early intervention and better health outcomes."
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MarkAlain Déry, DO, MPH, infectious disease doctor and chief innovation officer at Access Health Louisiana, who was not involved with the development of the smart mask, agreed that it is an "exciting concept."
"Could it work? Sure," he told Fox News Digital.
Wei Gao, professor of medical engineering at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, led the team that created the EBCare mask. (Caltech)
"However, we would need to see at least a few clinical studies demonstrating that the masks can diagnose better — or more rapidly or with more sensitivity — than the standard of care," he went on.
"Then, we would need studies that demonstrate clinical improvement."
Some external doctors not involved in the mask's development questioned whether this mode of data collection is beneficial.
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"While the mask introduces an innovative method to monitor exhaled breath condensate (EBC), we need to ask an important question: Do these continuous, real-time measurements genuinely make a difference in everyday life?" said Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon, in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
"For the average person, the biomarkers it detects — ammonium, pH, nitrite and alcohol — do not need constant monitoring, especially when routine blood tests can provide this information more accurately and with greater relevance."
"For the average person, the biomarkers it detects … do not need constant monitoring, especially when routine blood tests can provide this information more accurately and with greater relevance," a doctor said. (iStock)
Osborn believes that the concept of the EBCare mask is better suited for "specific, high-stakes environments," such as real-time monitoring of toxic gases in military or industrial settings.
"However, for the average person, especially in a post-pandemic world, the idea of wearing a mask like this is counterproductive," he said.
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Richard Reithinger, PhD, an infectious disease epidemiologist at RTI International in North Carolina, noted that smart masks are still "very experimental."
"Ultimately, whether 'smart masks' work comes down to how good they will be at differentially diagnosing different diseases, in both patients with varying degrees of symptomatology or patients that have multiple co-morbidities," Reithinger, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
"Until they test these smart masks on several groups of patients with these characteristics in multiple sites, they will just remain a device with a promise."
"For the average person, especially in a post-pandemic world, the idea of wearing a mask like this is counterproductive."
The lead researcher, Gao, responded to some of these comments.
"While routine blood tests are indeed reliable, they are typically periodic and require a clinical setting, which limits their ability to capture dynamic, day-to-day physiological changes," he told Fox News Digital.
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"The real innovation of the EBCare mask lies in its ability to continuously monitor health in real time, offering insights that might not be detectable with intermittent tests."
For individuals managing chronic conditions like asthma, COPD or metabolic disorders, fluctuations in certain biomarkers can provide early warning signs, according to the researchers. (iStock)
For individuals managing chronic conditions like asthma, COPD or metabolic disorders, fluctuations in certain biomarkers can provide early warning signs before symptoms worsen, allowing for timely intervention, according to the researcher.
Gao, however, did acknowledge some limitations with the EBCare device.
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"One limitation was the relatively small sample size in some of the clinical trials, particularly for conditions like COPD and asthma," he told Fox News Digital.
"Future studies with larger and more diverse populations will help to further validate the device's performance across a broader range of conditions and environments."
Voice Changes Recorded On A Smartphone Can Indicate Flare Up Of COPD Symptoms, Reports Research
Changes in people's voices recoded on a smartphone can signal a serious flare up in symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a pilot study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria.
COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is a serious and long-term lung condition. According to the World Health Organisation, COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide.
A flare-up in symptoms, such as difficulty breathing and coughing, is known as an exacerbation. During an exacerbation patients may need extra treatment or hospitalisation, and their risk of dying increases. However, if treatment can be given at a very early stage, these risks are far lower.
The study was presented by Ms Loes van Bemmel, a researcher in the department of respiratory medicine at Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. She said: "After an exacerbation, patients report a lower quality of life, their lung function can decline, and patients are at an increased and prolonged risk for cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. It's vital to detect exacerbations as early as possible so appropriate treatment can be given. Unfortunately, it has proved difficult to detect exacerbations at their onset, since symptoms usually start when patients are at home.
"Patients and their families have told us that there are voice changes before and during exacerbations. We wanted to see if we could record patients' speech at home and analyse these recordings for early signs of an exacerbation."
Twenty-eight people with COPD took part in the research. Researchers asked them to record their voices via a smartphone app every day for 12 weeks. They recorded themselves saying "aah" for as long as they could manage with one breath, then either reading a short paragraph of a story or answering a question.
Participants also completed a daily questionnaire to gauge their COPD symptoms. During the study, there were 16 occasions when a patient experienced a flare-up of symptoms.
Researchers analysed the voice recordings and looked for changes that coincided with symptom flare-ups. They found that patients' voices became higher pitched when an exacerbation was imminent. They also found more 'jitter' in patients voices when an exacerbation was beginning. Jitter is when a voice sounds breathy or hoarse.
Ms van Bemmel said: "There were clear differences between patients' recordings on a normal day and on the first day of an exacerbation. This confirmed our hypothesis that speech changes significantly, even at the very beginning of an exacerbation.
"These are preliminary results, so our findings need to be validated in larger numbers of patients with COPD. If we are able to do this, it would pave the way for early detection and diagnosis of exacerbations in the home environment. This would enable patients to manage these events themselves at home.
"While every disease is different, speech analysis could potentially help in other respiratory diseases as well. We suspect there are speech biomarkers for many respiratory diseases."
Ms van Bemmel and her colleagues are now planning research to build on their findings. In partnership with researchers at Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, the team will co-create a mobile app with people living with COPD. The SPEAK app will be used by patients to detect exacerbations via speech signals and give support for treating symptoms in the home. At the same time, the researchers are looking into ways to responsibly collect, store and analyse speech data so that the privacy of the speaker is maintained.
Professor Frits Franssen is Secretary of the ERS assembly on respiratory clinical care and physiology, Head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Maastricht University Medical Centre, Netherlands, and was not involved in the research. He says: "COPD is a common and serious condition. When symptoms flare up, it can lead to a long-term deterioration in health and can even be fatal. If we spot these exacerbations early and give treatment, we know that serious complications can often be averted. At the moment, that means the patient or their family deciding something is wrong then seeing a doctor for assessment and tests.
"This research is interesting because it suggests that the early signs of a COPD exacerbation can be picked up via changes in a patient's voice recorded on a smartphone. This finding needs to be tested in a larger study. If it can be validated, this could lead to a quick and efficient system to alert a patient and their doctor that treatment is needed. Because it works via a smartphone, voice analysis could be used by anyone, at anytime and anywhere. This could ultimately save money, time and patients' lives."`
Reference:
Voice changes recorded on a smartphone can indicate a flare up of COPD symptoms, European Respiratory Society, Meeting:European Respiratory Society Congress 2024.
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