Eighty-five per cent of the rural women who developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) were smokers (reverse chutta smoking) in Andhra Pradesh. The women who had COPD and were non-smokers were victims of biomass fuel, according to a study published in the International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences.
The risk of developing COPD was very high in rural women, who were habituated to reverse chutta (smoking of country cigar with the burning tip in the mouth). While women who were exposed to over 45 years of biomass fuel pollution, a mere 20 years of reverse chutta smoking was enough, according to the study.
City-based pulmonologist Anil Kancherla said awareness of COPD was very low, and November 19 was observed as the World COPD Day to promote awareness on the disease which was early confused with asthma.
He said persons exposed to burning of crop stubble, construction dust, dust associated with mines (coal, granite, limestone, etc.) ran a high risk of developing COPD.
While asthma was reversible COPD was irreversible because the internal architecture of the lung, Dr. Anil said.
People with COPD must get themselves vaccinated every year against pneumonia and should always keep their inhaler at hand. They should take expectorant regularly and be very careful in winter, the season in which they are prone to infection.
Another precaution that COPD patients should take was to guard against the abuse of oxygen. Since COPD patients were breathless, there were was a possibility of them abusing oxygen. The excess use of oxygen reduced the “respiratory drive” of the patient, he said.
Steroids should be used only the suffering was severe, because one of the side-effects was polymyopathy causing the muscles to deteriorate. COPD patients should do breathing exercises like pranayama and consciously increase their total lung capacity with the help of a spirometer.
