Health Library

The Health Library is a collection of health and wellness resources created for learning and accessibility. Select a topic below for related health information or search for a topic in the search bar for more information on other medical conditions.

COPD

  • Most lung cancer is caused by smoking. After you quit, your risk for lung cancer drops gradually. By 10 years, your risk will be about half of what it would have been if you had continued to smoke. This risk continues to decline as the number of years of not smoking increases. Two other lung diseases related to smoking...

  • Diseases affecting the lungs—such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—share many of the same medicines. These medicines are often delivered through a metered-dose inhaler (MDI). Using an MDI: Delivers most of a measured dose of medicine directly to your lungs...

  • Learn three ways to get mucus out of your lungs so you can breathe easier.

  • Learn how you can stay as active and healthy as possible with COPD.

  • It's important that you know how to treat your COPD. This is true for everyday care and for when your symptoms get worse. It's also very important that your family, friends, and caregivers know what to do. If you can't care for yourself in an emergency, others need to know how they can help you. Fill out this action...

  • Learn how you'll feel after lung surgery and how to take care of yourself at home.

  • If you have COPD, you know how scary it can be to feel short of breath. Whether you just found out that you have COPD or you've been living with it for a while, you will find helpful information here. Our topics will teach you about the disease and give you some tips on breathing easier. Get the information you need...

  • Learn how lung surgery is done and what you can do to prepare.

  • Learn why you need to keep using your corticosteroid inhaler and how to make it easier to use.

  • Helping or caring for a loved one with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) can feel like a lot to take on. There's the challenge of caregiving, because what seems best for someone isn't always what the person wants to do. There's also the...

  • Cooking dinner, putting away laundry, or even just walking across your living room can be exhausting when you have COPD, heart failure, or another long-term (chronic) condition. You may feel at times as though you've lost your ability to live your...

  • A nebulizer is a tool that delivers liquid medicine as a fine mist. You breathe in the medicine through a mouthpiece or face mask. This sends the medicine directly to your airways and lungs. Depending on your needs, you can get a small, portable...

  • Learn how to use a nebulizer correctly.

  • Find motivation to quit by comparing what you tell yourself about smoking and what the facts are.

  • Commit to taking small steps to stay active with COPD.

  • Learn how continuing to smoke will affect your COPD symptoms.

  • Hear how one man with COPD finally quit after many years of smoking.

  • Learn how taking COPD medicines correctly helps prevent flare-ups and trips to the hospital.

  • Learn some exercises for your lungs to make it easier to breathe.

  • Try a few gentle and safe exercises to build your strength.

  • Learn how good nutrition can give you energy and help you stay healthy.

  • Learn how to safely use oxygen in your home.

  • Learn how to avoid the things that make your COPD symptoms worse.

  • Learn how COPD affects your lungs and makes it hard to breathe.

  • When you have COPD, especially if you have chronic bronchitis, you may sometimes have sudden attacks where your breathing and coughing symptoms suddenly get worse and stay that way. These attacks are called COPD exacerbations, or flare-ups. With treatment, many people recover and return to the same level of...

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) weakens the structure of the lung and may also damage the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lung. When these air sacs break down, larger airspaces known as bullae are formed. Bullae sometimes can become so...

  • Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is a protein normally found in the lungs and the bloodstream. It helps protect the lungs from the damage caused by inflammation that can lead to emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). People whose...

  • For many people, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) gets in the way of sex. Being out of breath makes things difficult. Just thinking about it can make you want to avoid sex. But it doesn't have to be like that. To start, think through...

  • Pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD combines different treatments to: Help you lead a more active life. Help reduce your symptoms. Improve your quality of life. Encourage your active participation in your treatment. Help keep you out of the doctor's office and out of the hospital...

  • In lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS), a large area of damaged lung is removed to allow the remaining lung tissue to expand when you breathe in. This surgery is done only for people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or with...

  • Discusses causes and symptoms of COPD. Looks at chronic bronchitis and emphysema, two diseases that are usually a part of COPD. Covers quitting smoking. Includes treatment with bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids. Offers home treatment tips.

  • If you need oxygen at home, it is important to learn how to use and take care of your equipment. This information will help you get the most from your oxygen treatment. If you have low blood oxygen levels, breathing extra oxygen can help you feel better and lead to a longer, more active life. You can travel even...

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) slowly damages the lungs and affects how you breathe. COPD's effect on breathing In COPD, the airways of the lungs (bronchial tubes) become inflamed and narrowed. They tend to collapse when you breathe out and can become clogged with mucus. This reduces airflow through the...

  • Covers eating healthy foods when you have COPD. Looks at how shortness of breath may make eating harder and why it is important to eat regularly. Offers tips to make eating easier and help you get necessary nutrition.

  • Covers oxygen treatment to increase oxygen flow to lungs and blood when you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Explains that oxygen therapy may slow or prevent heart failure. Covers oxygen use during exercise, sleep, and travel.

  • Covers causes of weight and muscle loss when you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Includes why weight loss is a concern with COPD and how to avoid it. Guides you through ways to add nutritious calories and protein to your diet.

  • Covers ways to exercise and stay active with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Explains that exercise makes muscles and heart stronger and may improve shortness of breath. Includes warning to talk to your doctor before starting exercise.

  • Covers using an inhaler to get needed medicine into lungs quickly. Describes dry powder inhalers, how they work, and why to use them. Includes pictures on how to use a dry powder inhaler.

  • You can do things at home to manage COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). By learning the triggers for COPD and avoiding them, you can help reduce flare-ups. While some triggers may be out of your control, there are others you can easily avoid. Learn and avoid the common triggers for COPD. By avoiding...

  • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a long-term illness that makes it hard to breathe. When you have COPD, air does not flow easily into and out of your lungs. You may be short of breath, cough a lot, and have a lot of mucus in your lungs. Learning to clear your lungs may help you save energy and oxygen and...

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. COPD gets worse over time. You can't undo the damage to your lungs. But you can take steps to breathe easier and feel better. If you have severe COPD, you may find that you take quick, small, shallow breaths. It's...

  • Lung function means how well your lungs work. When you have COPD, your lungs can't move as much air in and out as they should. And the more serious your COPD is, the less air your lungs are able to move. Spirometry tests are used to measure lung function. They measure how much air you breathe out when you take long...

  • If you have COPD, your usual shortness of breath could suddenly get worse. You may start coughing more and have more mucus. This flare-up is called a COPD exacerbation or a COPD attack. A respiratory tract infection or air pollution could set off an attack. Or it may happen after a quick change in temperature or...

  • More good days. It's possible to have them, even with COPD, says Sarah, who found out 3 years ago that she had the disease. COPD sneaked up on Sarah. She began coughing more often, and the coughing lasted longer. Every day it got a little bit harder to breathe. One day she found she couldn't walk up the basement stairs...

  • "I've been smoking ever since I was a teenager. That's 40-something years ago. I never really thought about what could happen to this old body if I kept lighting up. I just knew that I loved to smoke. "Then I started to notice that it was getting harder and harder to do simple things like walk to my mailbox. One time my...

  • "I was so scared when the doctor told me I had emphysema. I was afraid to go anywhere or do anything. I plunged into a big black hole of depression. "Someone told me to go online and hook up with a support group. I did, and it literally changed my life. I was pretty shy at first, and all I did was read what everyone...

  • "Why me?" That's what Cal asked himself over and over after he was diagnosed with severe COPD 5 years ago. "I spent the first 2 years moping around the house, feeling sorry for myself," he says. "I didn't go anywhere, I didn't do anything. I just sat in front of the TV and tried not to think about anything." Then one...

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