COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and it relates to a group of lung diseases that include emphysema and bronchitis. The main cause of these diseases is smoking, which is due to scar tissues that build up in the lungs. So it stands to reason that the more cigarettes a person smoked and the longer the period of time they engaged in smoking, the more severe the scarring and the more likely it would be that a person will be diagnosed with COPD. There are other causes of these diseases, such as dust or genetic disposition, but these are much rarer.

Once a person is diagnosed to have the disease, he or she should be given leaflets and booklets that will have info on 4 stages of COPD and ways to help delay it's progression. Here is information on the 4 stages of COPD broken down by stage:

Stage 1 Of COPD:

This stage is the earliest and has the least effect on a person. Symptoms are very mild and a person may only notice a slight cough or some shortness of breath when active or exercising. Patients at this stage will probably be unaware that they have a lung disease and so will not visit a doctor or seek medical advice.

Stage 2 Of COPD:

During the second stage in the 4 stages of COPD, patients may notice some moderate and maybe even severe shortness of breath upon activity and exercise. A cough with some mucus or sputum is more likely at this point and this is usually when a person may seek some sort of medical advice. A doctor is not likely to suspect a lung disease straight away but rather something simple, such as a chest infection and so will treat it as such.

Stage 3 Of COPD:

It is at this stage where the lung disease will start to have a largely negative effect on the quality of life of the patient. Shortness of breath becomes severe to the point where regular activities become extremely difficult to pursue and a productive cough is usually present too. The patient may have to give up work and will likely require some help with normal daily activities.

Stage 4 Of COPD:

The last stage of COPD is extremely unpleasant. Shortness of breath will make normal life impossible and the patient will likely have to spend large amounts of the day on supplemental oxygen. At this point, breathing problems can actually become life threatening too.

Researching for info on 4 stages of COPD can frighten people, especially if they themselves or a family member have recently been diagnosed. They may feel that all is lost but this is not the case. They may not be able to reverse the damage which has been done to their lungs but they can take steps to ensure it doesn't become worse. The most obvious of this is to quit smoking but other things like staying away from polluted areas and where there are substantial amounts of dust, may also help. The use of medication, such as various inhalers, usually prescribed to help with shortness of breath and to reduce the inflammation in the lungs, can be quite effective.