COPD News & Features
Symptoms as Clues: Is It RSV, COVID, the Flu or a Common Cold?
- Scarred Lungs and Landscapes: What’s Left When Lakes Vanish
As lakes dry up around the world, they create a host of problems for the people near their former shorelines – including respiratory illnesses.
- Diagnosing Genetic COPD
It's not always easy to get a diagnosis of AAT deficiency. Find out why.
- Genetic COPD: My Story
One woman's journey from learning she has alpha-1, or genetic COPD, to managing it on a day-to-day basis.
- Could You Inherit COPD?
You don't have to smoke to get COPD. Learn what inherited COPD is, and what it means for your lungs and liver.
- Treating AAT Deficiency and COPD
Learn about treatment options for apha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
- Managing Genetic COPD
An expert in AAT deficiency, also known as alpha-1 or genetic COPD, shares strategies for managing it.
- How Lifestyle Changes Helped Minimize My COPD Episodes
Edi Mesa shares how she keeps COPD episodes at bay with these steps.
- Considering a Clinical Trial When You Have COPD
Jean Rommes shares some of what to expect when joining a COPD clinical trial.
- Treating and Managing Mild COPD
Here are some simple ways to go about taking care of yourself when dealing with COPD.
- Treatments for Moderate to Severe COPD
Even if your condition is more advanced, there are several ways to live your life to the fullest despite COPD. Here, WebMD shows you how.
- How to Manage Your COPD Flares
Here are five key tips to living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Marijuana and COPD
Studies show marijuana can open up your airways. But can inhaling cannabis help or hurt a smoking-related lung condition like COPD?
- Life Expectancy With COPD
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to predicting someone’s life span with COPD. A lot depends on your age, health, lifestyle, and how severe the disease was when you were diagnosed, plus the steps you've taken to lessen the damage afterward.
- Can I Drink Alcohol If I Have COPD?
If you’re living with COPD, you may have already made some lifestyle changes to stay healthy and make it less likely that your condition will get worse, which is great. And you might wonder if alcohol could prevent, improve, or make COPD worse. Here’s what the science says about drinking alcohol when you have COPD.
- Finding Your COPD Community
COPD not only makes you feel breathless, it can also make you feel isolated, depressed, and stressed. When you connect with a community of other people who have COPD, you’ll get support, management tips, and advice on how to improve your symptoms and feel better. Learn how to find a COPD community online to get help.
- COPD and Harmonicas: Music Therapy for Your Lungs
COPD is a lifelong condition that can make breathing difficult and interrupt daily activities. Playing the harmonica might hold the key to ease and improve breathing.
- Household Hazards for People With COPD
Many homes harbor dust, fumes, germs, and other irritants that aggravate COPD symptoms like wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.
- Quit-Smoking Tips for COPD
WebMD article on smoking cessation for people who have COPD.
- COPD: Can CBD Help?
COPD makes it hard to breathe. Can CBD help people with this condition?
- How Does Alcohol Affect COPD?
If you have COPD, is it OK to drink alcohol, or should you go cold turkey? And is there a link between drinking and developing COPD?
- Lung Detox: Can You Cleanse Your Lungs?
If you have or are at risk for a lung condition such as COPD, you may have heard about ways people try to “detox” their lungs. Here’s what you should know first.
- New Ways to Treat COPD
Researchers are looking for new ways to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Here’s a look at what’s on the horizon.
- Choose the Right Treatment for Advanced COPD
Find out how your doctor will decide the best course of action to ease your COPD symptoms.
- Regular Use of Bleach Linked to COPD
September 12, 2017 — Study finds risk of lung disease from prolonged exposure to some disinfectants.
- Statins May Help People With COPD Live Longer
September 8, 2017 — Deaths from lung-related causes were reduced by as much as 45 percent, study suggests
- Healthy Diet May Lower Lung Disease Risk
February 3, 2015 — Consuming less red meat, soda and alcohol tied to lower COPD threat in study
- Treatments for Alpha-1 (Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency)
A rare type of emphysema can seriously damage your lungs. Learn about treatments for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
- Tips for Staying Healthy With AAT Deficiency
Smart moves at home and work can help people with AAT deficiency feel their best.
- Supplements and Herbal Medicine for COPD
WebMD talks to lung health experts about three of the most common supplements explored by people with COPD: NAC, vitamin D, and ginseng.
- COPD Prognosis
WebMD discusses the prognosis for people with COPD, whether they're in the early or later stages of the lung disease.
- FDA Approves New Inhaler for COPD
July 23, 2012 — The FDA has approved a new inhaled drug for the treatment of the lung disease COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
- Cured Meats May Worsen COPD
March 9, 2012 — People with the lung disease COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) who overdo it on bacon, salami, and other cured meats may be at greater risk for experiencing a flare-up that lands them back in the hospital.
- Wii Fit Exercises May Help COPD Patients
May 16, 2011 — People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be able to reap significant health benefits by engaging in an interactive video exercising program at home using Nintendo’s Wii Fit video game, a new study says.
- COPD Patients May Be Overtreated With Steroids
June 16, 2010 — More than 90% of acutely ill individuals who are hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receive high doses of IV steroids even though lower-dose oral steroids may be just as effective, a study shows.
- Beta-Blockers May Help COPD Patients
May 24, 2010 — Beta-blocker medications, which are not commonly prescribed for patients with chronic lung disease, may actually be of benefit to them, according to a new study.
- Many Unaware They Have COPD
April 5, 2010 — As many as two in three people with known risk factors for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) don't know that they have the disease.
- COPD and Sex
COPD symptoms can interfere with sex. But you don’t have to say goodbye to intimacy. Here are nine helpful strategies for sex and intimacy when you have COPD.
- COPD: Nutrition and Your Health
If you have COPD, your calorie requirements may be higher than you think. A person with COPD can burn 10 times as many calories breathing as a healthy person. Here are 11 feel-better foods and beverages that are rich in calories and nutrients.
- Understanding and Treating COPD
The more you know about COPD, the better you can manage it. Find out about treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Inhalers Slow COPD Lung Function Loss
August 15, 2008 — People with chronic obstructive lung disease find it harder and harder to breathe. Now a major study shows that inhaled medications can slow this deadly process.
- Living With COPD
Living with COPD presents 13 million Americans with new challenges, and opportunities for better health. Are you one? Then read on.