You must go to a doctor to know for sure whether you have COPD. That’s because there are things to consider for a diagnosis.

Emphysema is a form of chronic (long-term) lung disease that causes shortness of breath.

Some people have asthma and COPD at the same time. If you have symptoms of both, your doctor may call it asthma-COPD overlap.

If you’ve been diagnosed with COPD, you might be wondering what comes next. Talk with your doctor to understand what to expect.

Living with COPD can incur steep expenses. Even with solid insurance coverage, your deductibles and copays, or premiums can add up.

The past few years, experts have shed new light on COPD. Here’s what you need to know about recent COPD research.

Many people don’t notice any symptoms of COPD in the early stages. Sometimes there aren’t any.

With emphysema, you feel short of breath after the slightest activity. Over time, you may feel breathless even when sitting still.

An ongoing cough is a symptom of COPD, especially when it comes with mucus. It isn’t pleasant, but there are ways to manage it.

Bloating of the belly and feeling full very quickly were the most common symptoms of COPD.

No matter how careful you are, your COPD may act up from time to time. A flare-up like this is called an “exacerbation.”

“Acute exacerbation” is a common reason for hospitalization with COPD.

Some medical conditions can cause shortness of breath. These include asthma, allergies, heart disease and COPD.

Weather that’s too humid or not humid enough can make it harder to breathe with COPD. Changes in humidity can trigger a flare-up.

Symptoms of COPD and pulmonary fibrosis can be so alike that it can be tricky for doctors to tell them apart.

COPD and heart failure are different conditions. But both can make you short of breath when you do something physical.

The main cause of COPD is smoking, but you don’t have to be a smoker to get it. Other things can lead to this condition.

It's not certain if e-cigarettes are less toxic than the real thing. Either way, they’re not a good choice for anyone with COPD.

Who helps you manage your COPD? It’s more than just one doctor. It’s a medical care team.

Doctors use stages to describe how severe your COPD is. This system is called the GOLD staging or grading system.

COPD sneaks up on you, taking years to show itself. If you're not paying close attention, the first stage can be easy to miss.

By stage II of COPD, your symptoms are usually no longer something you can just shrug off. They start to affect your daily life.

As COPD reaches stage III, it may sap your strength and make it hard to work or do chores.

Stage IV is the final stage of COPD. In this stage you’ll have exacerbations, or flares, often – one of which could be fatal. 

Stage 1 is also called mild emphysema. You could have major lung damage before you even notice the breathing problems of stage 1.

Stage 2 is also called moderate emphysema. But you could have severe lung damage and still be at stage 2.

GOLD stage 4 emphysema is when the amount of air you can breathe out in 1 second is less than 30% of the average of a healthy person.

COPD treatment goal is to help you breathe easier and help regular activities. Medications along with lifestyle approaches can help. 

When you have COPD, medications can go a long way to help you breathe more easily and boost your quality of life.

When you have moderate to severe disease, you and your doctor will work together to find the right therapy for you.

Although there's no cure for COPD, devices like Inhaler, portable oxygen and mobility aids can help you cope with your COPD.

If you have COPD, your doctor may prescribe inhaled corticosteroids to help control inflammation and swelling in your airways.

Some people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) need to use multiple inhaled medicines each day to control their symptoms. One of these new inhalers is called Breztri Aerosphere. You may hear this called “triple therapy".

Trelegy Ellipta is a combination of long-acting medicine that reduce swelling and relax the muscles in the airways. 

If you use the MDI in the right way, you get the right amount of COPD medicine, and it can reach deep inside your lungs. 

When you have COPD, it becomes harder to breathe. Oxygen therapy gives extra oxygen so that breathing is easier. 

If COPD is severe and has caused damage in certain parts of your lungs, surgery can be a treatment.

If you have COPD, your symptoms may worsen over time and your treatments may change along with them.

Complementary and alternative therapies cannot cure COPD, but studies show some may offer relief.

Living with COPD, makes everyday activities like walking or climbing stairs harder. That’s where pulmonary rehabilitation can help.

Exercise and good nutrition can help you live better with COPD. Learn why – and what you can do to stay healthier.

Daily activities can be a challenge with COPD. It will make it difficult to handle household chores and other day-to-day tasks.

COPD is a challenge, but you have many ways to manage these challenges. Here are some tips for everyday living with COPD.

When you open up to those who are closest to you about how COPD affects your life, they better understand what you deal with daily.

COPD symptoms can make it hard for you to get a good night's sleep. Here are tips to improve your sleep quality and manage your COPD.

COPD symptoms like shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest tightness can present challenges at your work. 

Sometimes, the physical symptoms of COPD can affect your emotional health. You can feel anxiety, sad, or fear due to your health.

There is no cure for COPD, but you can relieve your symptoms and improve your quality of life using various COPD treatments.

When you have COPD, you may have too much mucus in your airways. Different movements and practices can help you with that.

Polluted air can make your health worse if you have COPD. An air purifier may ease your COPD symptoms by clearing out most of the gunk.

If your breathlessness is not an emergency, you can take steps at home to deal with it.

You can't change the severity of your COPD, but you can take steps to lower your odds of having a flare and ending up in hospital.

If you don't get enough vitamin D, it can make you more likely to get lung and airway infections that can cause flares.

COPD makes it difficult to breathe in enough air, and without sufficient oxygen, you may experience other issues or complications.

Hypercapnia is a buildup of CO2 in your blood. Damaged lung tissue in COPD makes it harder to breathe causing hypercapnia.