What does your cough say about your COPD?
To help answer this question, let’s start by eavesdropping on a typical pre-COVID pulmonary rehab class. Five classmates with COPD came into the pulmonary rehab gym and as they waited for class to start, they chatted.
Betty: Hi everybody! Paul, we missed you last week. How are you?
Paul: I’m okay, but I’ve really been struggling with my cough lately. I’m bringing a lot of stuff up.
Betty: Oh my. I cough some mucus up every morning, and then I don’t cough much at all for the rest of the day.
Shirley: Really? I wish I could bring it up. I feel like my mucus gets stuck right here (she places her hand just below her neck). Sometimes I feel like I might choke on it.
Tony: That’s not me. I don’t cough much at all.
Al: Boy, I sure do. I cough up a whole lot. All the time. I’m just getting over another infection.
So, here are five people with COPD, each with a different cough experience. How can that be? In addition to the most common symptom, shortness of breath, COPD can show itself in different ways. In COPD, there are commonly two main things going on, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These conditions are different from each other.
Damage to the alveoli (air sacs) causes emphysema. These air sacs are where oxygen exchange takes place. They should be stretchy – like elastic. But when they are damaged, they stretch out, become too large, and don’t work like they should.
Damage to the bronchial tubes causes chronic bronchitis. There are hair-like fibers, called cilia, lining the bronchial tubes of the lungs. The cilia help move mucus upwards so it can be coughed out. In chronic bronchitis, the cilia are destroyed or have stopped working. This causes coughing, sometimes with a lot of mucus.
Cough is also a major part of living with bronchiectasis and NTM lung disease.
If you have COPD there may be more to your cough than it just being a pesky cough. Make sure you know what is normal for you – concerning your everyday cough and mucus production – and ask your health care provider if you’re doing everything possible to take care of your lungs and stay well.
So, what does your cough say about your COPD?
I look forward to hearing from you!
Follow this link for information on mucus clearance devices and effective cough techniques.