COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, actually includes several conditions in which your airflow is blocked. The two most common COPD conditions are chronic bronchitis and emphysema, the Mayo Clinic reports. Or, it can be chronic asthmatic bronchitis damage. The primary cause of these life-threatening diseases is smoking tobacco. Quitting can help reverse the effects of COPD.
Chronic Bronchitis
This condition typically happens in people who smoke. The Mayo Clinic defines it as having a cough for as little as 3 months per year in each of 2 years consecutively. It may develop into emphysema, but quitting smoking can help the cough to disappear. Symptoms of the condition include infections of your respiratory system that are frequent, the need to clear the throat as soon as you awaken--particularly if you are a smoker--shortness of breath and a frequent cough--particularly one in which yellow sputum is produced.
Emphysema
Emphysema is caused by the destruction of bronchioles, the tiniest airways in your lungs, usually by smoking. It causes a decrease in air sacs that prevents a portion of the air in your lungs from getting to the bloodstream. Severe symptoms of this form of COPD include shortness of breath, appetite loss, weight loss, wheezing, tightness in the chest, frequent coughing, fatigue and a decrease in your ability to perform physically. As it progresses, you get fatigued more easily and may find normal tasks or activities strenuous. Your breathing difficulties may prevent you from exercising at all. The reduced amount of oxygen reaching your blood also may cause your fingernails and lips to appear gray or blue.
Chronic Asthmatic Bronchitis
This condition is a combination of asthma and bronchitis. Asthma typically makes it hard to breathe by itself because your airways become inflamed and constrict. Combined with bronchitis, you can expect, especially in severe cases, to have frequent problems breathing such as shortness of breath and, the Mayo Clinic reports, you may wheeze more often, perhaps every day. Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound made when you exhale if your airways are blocked.
