COPD has five diseases in it. The acronym for those disease is CBABE (cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, asthma, bronchitis(Chronic), emphysema) The most common cause of COPD is smoking either 1st hand or 2nd hand. Structural damage is done to the lungs causing them to not expand and empty properly. This can cause air trapping as seen in emphysema. The best way to explain this is the balloon blowing technique….Have you ever blown a balloon? Let the air out? Blow it again? Let air out? After a while the ballon loses its’ elasticity and is not as strong as it was on the first blow. This is pretty much the same thing that happens with the lungs after years of abuse from smoking. COPD can be genetic too but for the most part it is caused by smoking.

Is this what you were looking for??? If not email me, I will be on here for another hour or so.

***Hart!! OUCH!!! Just because I don’t belong to that other site does not mean I don’t know what I am talking about!! Part of my job is being a respiratory educator…I have done tons of research….I work side by side with a good variety of drs on treatments, medicines, therapies,etc…I have changed numerous things in the hospital for the better. Drs sometimes leave decisions up to me. Honestly since my job is an educator…I have only heard of Yahoo answers and never the other site….hmmmm…I kind of feel offended by your comment. OUCH!! You can feel free to google any of the info I posted in here…just because I am not an "EXPERT" does not mean I don’t know what I am talking about….Geez all I can say is OUCH!!

Got to thinking about it…COPD causes cor pulmoale which in turn causes ankle swelling. So COPD does cause ankle swelling….here is a site for cor pulmonale…..http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/cor-pulmonale

And with that aside, here’s my take on COPD.

I got diagnosed with COPD the day after my birthday–and I refuse to let it sink me into a worrisome depressive state. Why is simple: COPD is a convenient "umbrella diagnosis" doctors every dam where are embracing to tag patients with breathing difficulties–and I think it’s wrong.

You can find tons of COPD support group sites on the Net, where one can find some pretty good suggestions from a whole "bunch of amateurs" that can help.

It was from one such COPD support site I found suggestions I passed on to my doctor, who agreed to put me on the inhaler I use. On that same site, I followed suggestions on using a couple of clean air filter machines in my house. Yes: I smoke–but have sharply reduced my cigarette use……and eventually, I will quit all together. But that will come when I want to and not from pressures by anti-smoking lobbyists.

Nonetheless, I’ve turned what could’ve been a dark chapter of my life into something more positive, thanks to those "bunch of amateurs" on COPD support sites. Check those out and work with your doctor on treatment options.

But let say that if I suffer from Emphysema,would this finally cause my death if I shall not undergo any form of treatment.Also how long would I take before I die?.

If something else did not happen first, yes it eventually causes death. No one can say how long a person will live.

Men:affects teeth to 30% in color

heart attacks
blood diseases
impotence

Female: hurts pregnancy FOR GOD SAKE AND YOUR CHILDREN SAKE TOO!

WHAT THE hell

Most people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but it can also cause many other cancers and illnesses.

Smoking kills around 114,000 people in the UK each year.

Of these deaths, about 42,800 are from smoking-related cancers, 30,600 from cardiovascular disease and 29,100 die slowly from emphysema and other chronic lung diseases

Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances.

When you inhale, a cigarette burns at 700°C at the tip and around 60°C in the core. This heat breaks down the tobacco to produce various toxins.

As a cigarette burns, the residues are concentrated towards the butt.

The products that are most damaging are:

tar, a carcinogen (substance that causes cancer)
nicotine is addictive and increases cholesterol levels in your body
carbon monoxide reduces oxygen in the body
components of the gas and particulate phases cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).
The damage caused by smoking is influenced by:

the number of cigarettes smoked
whether the cigarette has a filter
how the tobacco has been prepared.

Of the 300 people who die every day in the UK as a result of smoking, many are comparatively young smokers.

The number of people under the age of 70 who die from smoking-related diseases exceeds the total figure for deaths caused by breast cancer, AIDS, traffic accidents and drug addiction.

Non-smokers and ex-smokers can also look forward to a healthier old age than smokers.

Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking.

Hardening of the arteries is a process that develops over years, when cholesterol and other fats deposit in the arteries, leaving them narrow, blocked or rigid. When the arteries narrow (atherosclerosis), blood clots are likely to form.

Smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing process in your arteries: it starts earlier and blood clots are two to four times more likely.

Cardiovasular disease can take many forms depending on which blood vessels are involved, and all of them are more common in people who smoke

Coronary thrombosis: a blood clot in the arteries supplying the heart, which can lead to a heart attack. Around 30 per cent are caused by smoking.
Cerebral thrombosis: the vessels to the brain can become blocked, which can lead to collapse, stroke and paralysis.
If the kidney arteries are affected, then high blood pressure or kidney failure results.
Blockage to the vascular supply to the legs may lead to gangrene and amputation.
Smokers tend to develop coronary thrombosis 10 years earlier than non-smokers, and make up 9 out of 10 heart bypass patients.

Cancer
Smokers are more likely to get cancer than non-smokers. This is particularly true of lung cancer, throat cancer and mouth cancer, which hardly ever affect non-smokers.

The link between smoking and lung cancer is clear.

Ninety percent of lung cancer cases are due to smoking.
If no-one smoked, lung cancer would be a rare diagnosis – only 0.5 per cent of people who’ve never touched a cigarette develop lung cancer.
One in ten moderate smokers and almost one in five heavy smokers (more than 15 cigarettes a day) will die of lung cancer.
The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, and the longer you’ve smoked, the higher your risk of lung cancer. Similarly, the risk rises the deeper you inhale and the earlier in life you started smoking.

For ex-smokers, it takes approximately 15 years before the risk of lung cancer drops to the same as that of a non-smoker.

If you smoke, the risk of contracting mouth cancer is four times higher than for a non-smoker. Cancer can start in many areas of the mouth, with the most common being on or underneath the tongue, or on the lips.

Other types of cancer that are more common in smokers are:

bladder cancer
cancer of the oesophagus
cancer of the kidneys
cancer of the pancreas
cervical cancer

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a collective term for a group of conditions that block airflow and make breathing more difficult, such as:

emphysema – breathlessness caused by damage to the air sacs (alveoli)
chronic bronchitis – coughing with a lot of mucus that continues for at least three months.
Smoking is the most common cause of COPD and is responsible for 80 per cent of cases.

It’s estimated that 94 per cent of 20-a-day smokers have some emphysema when the lungs are examined after death, while more than 90 per cent of non-smokers have little or none.

COPD typically starts between the ages of 35 and 45 when lung function starts to decline anyway.

In smokers, the rate of decline in lung function can be three times the usual rate. As lung function declines, breathlessn
tell me if the question is useful and tell mE IF U STOPED SMOKING AT THE MOMENT U READ THIS THANKS!:D

Most smokers are not capable of quitting or even interested in quitting.

They are mainly interested in today and although they are well aware of the health dangers they choose to ignore them.

All your useful information is likely to fall on mostly deaf ears but hopefully you have provided some people with the motivation to quit. Hopefully all your good work will help some smokers to quit.

You can put "nicotine withdrawal symptoms" on "search on questions" just above. You will find many folks had very surprised withdrawal symptoms. Keep it up, don’t puff again.

I have never had asthma nor have I ever smoked, but I have heard of a condition known as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.
I am not overweight, im 5’10 155lbs, but I do work around pollution and other things at my job. I guess I just wanted to be sure this was something serious. I will schedule an appointment with a doctor tommorow.

It sounds like a lung restriction. Possibly asthma, do your self a favor and see a Doctor. It isn’t pretty having a full blown attack and not have an inhaler. Trust me on this one.