CABANATUAN CITY (PIA) — The Department of Health (DOH) Central Luzon Center for Health Development (CLCHD) urges the public to follow proper medication, quit smoking, exercise regularly, and seek early management to prevent the worsening of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Joni Villanueva General Hospital Medical Specialist Linuel Trinidad explained that COPD is a long-term lung disease that causes narrowed airways, mucus buildup, and difficulty in exhaling air from the lungs.
He noted that symptoms such as shortness of breath, persistent coughing, phlegm production, and fatigue require immediate medical attention because they often worsen over time without proper care.
Trinidad added that smoking, exposure to smoke from firewood or charcoal, polluted air, workplace dust, childhood lung infections, and family history significantly increase the risk of developing COPD.
He emphasized that maintenance inhalers and nebulization are essential medicines for COPD management, saying that “compliance is the key” to preventing severe symptoms and flare-ups.
Trinidad warned the public against self-medication and stressed that “COPD is not a one-size-fits-all disease, and the treatment used by a neighbor or relative may not be appropriate for you.”
He reminded patients to practice proper inhaler technique, take prescribed medication daily, and perform recommended breathing exercises to strengthen lung function.
“Like diabetes and hypertension, COPD also requires maintenance medication through dry powder inhalers, metered-dose inhalers, soft-mist inhalers, or sometimes nebulization, and instructions for using each device are available at www.breathefreely.ph,” Trinidad emphasized.
He highlighted that quitting smoking, improving household ventilation, avoiding passive smoke, and using protective masks in dusty workplaces help reduce the risk and complications of COPD.
Trinidad also recommended vaccination against influenza, pneumonia, COVID-19, pertussis, shingles, and RSV to prevent infections that commonly worsen COPD.
“These vaccines target lung infections, and since many COPD patients experience recurrent pneumonia, our goal is to prevent new infections to stop their condition from worsening or triggering another exacerbation,” he stressed.
Furthermore, DOH CLCHD calls on everyone to take medication properly, attend regular checkups, exercise regularly, avoid or stop smoking, and follow daily prescriptions to prevent COPD from worsening and strengthen overall lung and respiratory health.
(CLJD/MCAL,PIA Region 3-Nueva Ecija)
