What is COPD : Symptoms, complications and Risk factors

Posted By Suborna Fermi Posted on Jun 11, 2026

Introduction

The term COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. It’s widely known as a chronic health condition that affects the lungs. It causes airway inflammation as well as damage to the air sacs. The disease keeps getting worse with time and can be life-threatening if not treated on time. Your air sacs as well as your airways lose elasticity when you have this condition including thick mucus in your airways. Once the condition takes a serious turn, it may lead to severe breathing difficulties.

What are the symptoms of COPD?

• Difficulty to breathe deeply
• Cough with mucus
• Lung sounds like wheezing
• Bluish skin
• Shortness of breath
• Green, yellow or colourless mucus
• Swelling in legs, feet or ankles
• tightness in the chest
• Persistent weakness and fatigue
• Rapid recurrence of respiratory infection or cold

Complications that come with COPD

• Decreased levels of oxygen in your blood
• Elevated levels of carbon dioxide in your blood
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Respiratory failure
• Pneumonia
• Failure of the Right-sided heart
• Polycythemia
• Collapsed lung

What are the risk factors for COPD?

You are at a high risk for getting this disease if

• You work with dust, chemicals or fumes.
• You are a regular smoker.
• Your age is over 65.
• You have got exposed to toxins present in the air.
• You have been facing respiratory infections since childhood.
• You are having the deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin.

The bottom line

Unfortunately, COPD can not be cured. All we can do is manage the symptoms through proper medical care. Treatment procedures for COPD include smoking cessation programs, oxygen therapy as well as a variety of medications including inhalers. Ignoring the disease isn’t wise because as mentioned before, it worsens with time. However, the first thing that you should do if you are suffering from this lung condition is to quit smoking permanently as smoking is considered the main risk factor for COPD. You may consult a reliable medical expert to gain more information in this regard.