COPD Health Education

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COPD Health Education
COPD Treatments
COPD77720CONS SAR00338
Funding for this program provided by Boehringer
Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pfizer Inc.
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Treating COPD

• Although there is no cure for COPD,1a there are
  ways to prevent and treat it1b
• Talk to your healthcare provider about all of
  your options for treating COPD
• Be sure to follow your healthcare providers
  directions, including
• Making lifestyle changes
• Taking your medicine as instructed2
• Taking your medicine when you are supposed to
  (for example, every day)
• Using the same dosage (amount of medicine) at the
  same time each day
• Going to the pharmacy and filling your
  prescription refilling your medicine before you
  run out2

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Goals of Treatments

• Help you breathe easier1
• Relieve symptoms1
• Improve your ability to exercise1
• Improve your quality of life2
• Reduce the chance of a flare-up (also known as an
  exacerbation)1
• Help reduce the risk of death from COPD1

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Quit Smoking

• Stop smoking!
• Smoking speeds up the progression of COPD and
  quickly decreases your lungs ability to function
  right1, 3
• Quitting smoking is the only thing known to slow
  or delay COPD progression2,3
• Ask your healthcare provider about ways to quit,
  including
• Smoking cessation therapies (gums, patches,
  medicine)
• Support groups
• Join NBCIs smoking cessation program your
  church will be running one soon

5
Rescue Medicines

• Taken only when you suddenly need help
  breathing1,2a,3
• These include short-acting bronchodilators, which
  work quickly but dont last as long as daily
  (maintenance) COPD medicine2b,3

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Daily (Maintenance) Medicines

• Maintenance therapies are those you take every
  day.1a,2 These include
• Long-acting bronchodilators A type of medicine
  that is inhaled to relax and widen the lung
  airways so more air can get in and out. The
  effects last up to 24 hours1b, 1c, 2
• Corticosteroids An inhaled medicine to reduce
  the swelling in the airways1d
• Combination Therapy Some COPD therapies include
  both a bronchodilator and a corticosteroid some
  include more than one type of bronchodilator3

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Oxygen Treatment

• Used for people whose lungs no longer provide
  their body with enough oxygen1a,2
• Inhaled into your lungs through tubes placed in
  the nose1b,2
• If you need oxygen treatment, then your
  healthcare provider will measure how much oxygen
  is in your blood and how much is needed1c,2

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Surgery

• Some people with severe or very severe COPD may
  require surgery1 such as
• Lung volume reduction surgery, in which only the
  sickest part of the lung is removed so that the
  remaining, relatively good part of the lung can
  expand and work better1,2
• Lung transplants, in which the lung is partially
  or fully removed and replaced by a lung (or
  lungs) from a donor1

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Recap Taking COPD Treatments

• Talk to your healthcare provider before starting
  any treatment
• Quit smoking1a
• Take your medicine as directed1b
• Make sure you understand how to use your medicine
  
• Do not stop taking your daily medicines without
  talking to your healthcare provider, even if you
  start feeling better1b
• Refill your prescription early, before you run out