COPD affects one of the main organs in the human body – and this is bound to cause more problems in the various bodily functions. The lungs get weak and this can lead to other infections that can occur which could cause more complications. Let’s take a look at the complications that could arise with this disease.
One of the complications that could come about is lung cancer. The air sacs already have thickened walls thanks to the disease, their elasticity decreases and this environment can open the door to cancerous cells attacking. Lung cancer can attack people who smoke and suffer from chronic bronchitis and the chances are much higher than a smoker who does not suffer from chronic bronchitis succumbing to it.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD can also cause heart problems for many COPD patients and while the exact reasons for this is not clear, patients have been known to suffer from heart attacks. If the legs, feet and ankles swell up, it is a warning sign that all is not well with the heart and you need medical attention at once. This condition is called Cor Pulmonale and it can cause the right ventricle in the heart to fail. An added complication can be a clot that develops in the veins in the leg. COPD can also make your blood pressure go up and many COPD patients also suffer from pulmonary hypertension.
The medication that is given to COPD patients can also cause complications as many of them are strong acting drugs with side effects that could do from mild to dangerous. This is especially so in the case of steroids and people can suffer from weight problems and even osteoporosis. The effort it takes to breathe and the strong medication combine to make the person weak and sometimes even malnourished. So care should be taken to see that the person has a nutritious diet with all the needed vitamins and supplements.
While the person could be tired the whole day, very often, he cannot sleep well at night. This could be because he is always short of breath or because of the medicines that he has to take. This could all work together to make him extremely depressed and many COPD patient are suicidal. Care should be taken that there is a support system that he can take refuge in if this happens.
Other infections could also cause complications – when a person is weak, he can easily be infected and with the lung walls being weak, a hole could form in the wall which makes the lung collapse. This is called pneumothorax and it could cause extreme breathlessness as well as chest pain and great uneasiness.
There could also be sudden flare-ups in the lungs which mean there is an excess of mucus and a bad cough. These could happen because of acute exacerbations which increases the sputum and makes the coughing worse. The wheezing could also come on and get bad. The exacerbations are usually a result of infection in the bronchial tubes and very often, there is fever as well. Any fever that lasts longer than a day must be reported to the doctor immediately. In the early stages, this will occur maybe once or twice during the course of the year but as the disease progresses, they occur more often. When a flare-up is really bad, the patient can have an acute bronchospasm, with the airways narrowing a lot and an excessive amount of phlegm being formed. In extreme cases, this can be fatal unless there is surgical intervention so that the person can breathe. The unfortunate thing is, even after this intervention, there are patients who never fully recover to be able to breathe without support.
The other complication for COPD is the danger of too many red blood cells. This could have minor complications like gums bleeding and a burning feeling in the hands and feet. It could also have more serious complications like visual impairment. There could be blind spots, visual disturbances, etc. Headaches, fatigue and feeling light headed are other symptoms of this condition which is called polycythemia.
With COPD, you must be careful that the person is not exposed to infections – even the common cold and the flu can be dangerous for him to catch. COPD is bad enough without added complications, especially when even the least bit of infection becomes serious. Any infection can cause flare-ups which make the already serious disease even more difficult to bear. On top of the medication that the person has to take to keep the disease under control, there will be additional strong medication prescribed to control the infection. All this medication takes its toll as well on the body and very often there are side effects that also need to be managed.