Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease facts for kids

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that make it harder to breathe over time. It's also sometimes called chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) or chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD).

People with COPD often have symptoms like feeling short of breath and coughing a lot, especially coughing up phlegm (mucus). The main cause of COPD is usually smoking cigarettes. About half of people who smoke for their whole lives will get COPD. Air pollution can also cause it, especially in places where people use indoor fires without good ventilation.

At first, you might only notice difficulty breathing when you're exercising. But over many years, it slowly gets worse. Eventually, it can be hard to breathe even when you are sitting or lying down. COPD can also lead to serious lung infections, which can be very dangerous.

The most important thing to do if you have COPD is to stop smoking. Staying active and taking certain medicines can also help. The most common medicines are called bronchodilators. These medicines help to open up your airways, letting more air into your lungs.

COPD is a major cause of disability around the world. It can also lead to death. The World Health Organization thinks that by 2030, COPD will be the third biggest cause of death globally. This is partly because people are living longer, and more people around the world are smoking.

Types of COPD

COPD is a general term for several conditions that damage your lungs. The main types include:

• Emphysema: This happens when the tiny air sacs in your lungs (called alveoli) get damaged. This makes it hard for your lungs to take in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide.
• Chronic bronchitis: This is when the tubes that carry air to your lungs (called bronchial tubes) get inflamed and produce a lot of mucus. This causes a long-lasting cough.
• Bronchiectasis: This is a condition where the airways in your lungs become permanently widened and damaged. This makes it harder to clear mucus and can lead to infections.

Images for kids

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  Normal lungs shown in upper diagram. Lungs damaged by COPD in lower diagram with an inset showing a cross-section of bronchioles blocked by mucus and damaged alveoli.

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  Micrograph showing emphysema (left – large empty spaces) and lung tissue with relative preserved alveoli (right).

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  A person blowing into a spirometer. Smaller handheld devices are available for office use.

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  Giovanni Battista Morgagni, who made one of the earliest recorded descriptions of emphysema in 1769

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  Chest X-ray demonstrating severe COPD: Note the small heart size in comparison to the lungs.

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  A lateral chest X-ray of a person with emphysema: Note the barrel chest and flat diaphragm.

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  Lung bulla as seen on chest X-ray in a person with severe COPD

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  A severe case of bullous emphysema

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  Axial CT image of the lung of a person with end-stage bullous emphysema

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  Very severe emphysema with lung cancer on the left (CT scan)

See also

In Spanish: Enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica para niños