COPD patients at higher risk of getting severe Covid infections: Expert
They need to continue taking inhalational and oral medications as advised by a physician
cityairnews
Nov 17, 2020 05:38
0
Chandigarh: “People with uncontrolled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 infections. To keep the virus at bay they need to continue taking inhalational and oral medications as advised by a physician.”
Speaking on the eve of World COPD Day on Tuesday, Dr. Suresh Goyal senior consultant of pulmonary medicine at Ivy Hospital, Mohali said that there are 300 million current cases of COPD in the world. COPD is now the 3rd leading cause of death globally and is highly prevalent in low resource countries.
It is however a preventable and treatable respiratory disease that occurs due to airflow limitation. However day by day it becomes difficult for the patient to breathe because of the narrowed airways, maintained Dr Goyal.
He further elaborated that the main risk factors for COPD are tobacco smoking, atmospheric air pollution as well as indoor pollution due to smoke from biomass, used for cooking.
Tobacco kills more than 1 million people every year with every 8 second 1 person dies due to tobacco consumption. Tobacco is responsible for mouth, lung, esophagus, and urinary bladder cancer, he rued.
It is strongly advised to quit smoking to reduce the risk of poor outcomes from Covid-19 and their risk of acute exacerbations opined Dr Goyal.
Family or caregiver should constantly monitor COPD patients and stock medicines and other necessary supplies that can last for several weeks, he asserted.
