Understanding Respiratory Medications and Their Applications
We offer you to buy respiratory tract drugs that will help you alleviate the symptoms yet you need to get a proper diagnosis first.
Usually, COPD occurs as two illnesses together:
1) Chronic bronchitis: the bronchi which are the airways that allow the air to penetrate the lungs are irritated and a lot of mucus is constantly produced. The walls of the bronchi, as a result, get thick, which can be the reason for narrowing of the lumen of the airway.
2) Emphysema. In the presence of emphysema, the walls of the alveoli (structure in the form of a vesicle that opens into the lumen of respiratory bronchioles) are damaged and get less elastic. The useful area of the lungs responsible for the transfer of gases from the inhaled air to the blood vessels decreases. The wheeze results from the insufficient intake of oxygen in the blood which people feel as a shortage of air.
As time passes, the condition, as a rule, becomes more severe. It is impossible to stop the once started deterioration of the lungs but you can undertake measures to slow down the process of destruction of the alveoli, as well as improve the general health and quality of life even in COPD if you buy COPD drugs and follow certain lifestyle rules.
What provokes the COPD onset?
In overwhelming majority cases, the onset of the condition is provoked by cigarettes smoking. The inhalation of tobacco smoke constantly irritates the respiratory tract and destroys the elastic tissues in the alveoli. Passive smoking, i.e. when you inhale the smoke exhaled by others, is also very unhealthy. The rest elements that can provoke the condition are the exposure to chemical vapors without protection, dust and contaminated air for an extended period of time. Commonly, the destruction of the lung tissue develops throughout many years prior the first symptoms start to manifest. This makes the disease mostly widespread in the category of people who are over 60.
On top of that, the probability of COPD is elevated if a person has had multiple infectious lung illnesses throughout life, but the likelihood is much higher if these diseases have occurred in childhood. Individuals who are diagnosed with lung emphysema at the age of thirty or forty years may have a hereditary anomaly which is quite rare.
The main symptoms of COPD
- Prolonged (chronic) cough;
- Big amount of sputum;
- Breathing difficulty and wheezing, which get worse with physical exertion.
If you notice any of these signs and they persist over a month, especially if you are a smoker, work with chemical vapors, have a family history of the condition, make sure to get tested and visit physician or pulmonologist regularly.
How does the condition develop?
As time passes, COPD progresses and dyspnea appears even in minor physical exertion. It becomes harder for an affected individual to eat or engage in mundane activity on his own. At the same time, breathing requires considerable energy expenditure. Patients with COPD often lose weight and become much weaker.
Sometimes, the symptoms of COPD can unexpectedly aggravate which leads to a significant worsening of physical health and life quality. This occurrence is called the exacerbation of COPD. These outbreaks can range from a minor degree to life-threatening ones. The more time you suffer from the condition, the more severe such exacerbations are.
How is the condition diagnosed?
To discover whether you have the condition, you need to come to a consultation with a pulmonologist (a doctor who deals with the lungs), who needs to make a physical examination and listen to the lungs.
Then he or she will ask about the diseases you have ever had especially related to the respiratory tract, if you are a smoker or contact other chemicals that can irritate the lungs.
Further, the doctor will conduct tests for a functional evaluation of external respiration (e.g., spirometry). The results of spirometry will show how well the lungs work.
The healthcare provider can prescribe a chest X-ray and other tests to exclude other problems that may be the cause of the same symptoms.
It is crucial to identify COPD as early as possible to take timely action, buy COPD drugs and start implementing healthy lifestyle rules to minimize the damage and slow down the deterioration of the lungs condition.
Treatment of COPD
The optimal and the most effective way to slow the progression of COPD is to quit tobacco smoking. Regardless of the time you’ve been smoking and the stage of COPD, quitting this harmful habit can greatly contribute to the slowing down of the lungs destruction. Besides, a physician can appoint the therapy that will help relieve the manifestation of the condition and improve the quality of life. Medications can help ease breathing, relieve or reduce wheezing.
For the therapy of COPD you can utilize:
- Bronchodilators: drugs that cause bronchial dilatation, mainly due to relaxation of the smooth muscle of their walls.
- Mucolytic drugs: medicines that lead to liquefaction of mucus and facilitate its evacuation from the bronchi.
- Antibiotics are an essential component of drug therapy for exacerbation of the disease.
- Inhibitors of inflammation mediators or receptors to them, which inhibit the activation of the substances responsible for the inflammatory process.
- Glucocorticosteroids: hormonal drugs are used for exacerbations of the disease, for arresting an attack of severe respiratory failure.
Most bronchodilators are prescribed in the form of inhalations, which allows the drug to enter directly into the lungs. It is very important to use the inhaler strictly according to the doctor's instructions.
There are also rehabilitation programs for lung conditions that teach how to manage the exacerbations. Specialists in this program share the technique of proper breathing in COPD, show what you can and should do as a part of your physical exercises routine, what of must your diet consist, and so on.
As the condition worsens, it some patients need oxygen courses.
Prophylaxis of infectious diseases of the respiratory tract if you are diagnosed with COPD
Particular attention is paid to the prevention of infectious diseases of the respiratory tract. People with the condition are more likely to have pulmonary infections. Such patients are recommended an annual vaccination against flu. Besides, the use of pneumococcal vaccine can reduce the incidence of exacerbations of COPD and the development of community-acquired pneumonia, which is why, vaccination is recommended for patients older than sixty-five years and patients with severe COPD, regardless of age. If, after all measures, a patient with COPD still becomes ill with pneumonia, it is much easier treated in vaccinated patients.
You should follow certain rules that will help to prevent acute attacks and fast progression of COPD:
- Avoid contact with various chemicals that can irritate the lungs (smoke, exhaust, contaminated air), avoid dry and cold air.
- Install air conditioner or the air filter in your house;
- Take breaks during the working day;
- Exercise regularly to stay in good physical condition for as long as possible;
- Eat well, so as not to experience a deficiency in nutrients. If weight loss does occur, then you need to see a doctor or nutritionist who will help in choosing a diet to make up for the daily energy costs of the body.
What else should I know?
With the increase in the severity of COPD, attacks of suffocation become more frequent and severe, with the symptoms rapidly increasing and remaining longer. It is important to know what to do in the event of attacks of suffocation. The attending physician will help you choose respiratory medicines that will help with such attacks. But in cases of a very severe attack, it may be necessary to call an ambulance. Optimal is hospitalization in a specialized pulmonology department, however, in its absence, the patient can be hospitalized in a therapeutic hospital in order to stop the exacerbation and prevent complications of the disease.
In such patients, with time, depression and anxiety often result from the knowledge about the disease. Wheezing and difficulty breathing also contributes to feelings of anxiety. In such cases, it is necessary to talk with the doctor in charge about what types of treatment can be selected to alleviate breathing problems during attacks of dyspnea.
Forecast for COPD progression
The condition has a steadily progressing course that leads to disability. The prognosis for the complete recovery is unfavorable. The forecast can be made contingent on such parameters as the possibility of eliminating provoking factors, patient observance of the appointed therapy, and socio-economic conditions.
Unfavorable prognostic signs: severe concomitant diseases, cardiac and respiratory insufficiency, and elderly age.
COPD medications that RXShopMD offers you to buy
- Generic Atrovent or Aerovent made by Cipla is a bronchodilator in a form of an inhaler. It is used for the avoidance of acute suffocation exacerbations caused by triggering factors such as cold air, smoke, and others. This inhaler is not suitable for acute attacks if they are already happening but rather a maintenance therapy.
- Generic Theo-24 tablets based on Theophylline made by Sun Pharma are prescribed for the prevention of bronchospasms and suffocation that occurs in chronic obstructive bronchitis, emphysema, sleep apnea, bronchial asthma, and other conditions. The effect of the pills is based on the relaxation of the smooth muscles of bronchi through the action on certain receptors and diminished level of allergy mediators, and widening of the blood vessels. These pills are also used as a maintenance therapy and not as an emergency help in an acute attack.
- Generic Tiotropium Bromide with Rotahaler made by Cipla is another inhaler used for the prophylaxis of COPD and prevention of exacerbations of the condition. The drug has an anticholinergic effect that lasts for a long time. It relaxes the smooth muscles of the bronchi in thirty minutes after the use and the effect maintains for twenty-four hours. This inhaler must not be used in the case when an acute attack had already started.
Before you buy COPD drugs from our online pharmacy, although we sell them without a prescription, we strongly encourage you to discuss your therapy plan with a specialist to make sure that you are using the optimal medicines for your case.