Every winter, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) face a serious challenge – the flu.
Influenza viruses trigger an inflammatory response in the lungs that worsens respiratory symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, cough, and sputum production in people with COPD.
However, many COPD patients do not realize that it is the flu at the beginning of the cold, but treat it as a common cold, resulting in missing the best time.
This article will discuss how patients with COPD can cope with influenza and the importance of standardized medication in controlling the disease.
First, we need to understand the difference between the flu and the common cold.
From the perspective of body temperature, when infected with influenza, the body temperature often rises suddenly (38), followed by a persistent high fever (39-40), and may be accompanied by fatigue, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting and other symptoms. The common cold, on the other hand, has less fluctuations in body temperature and usually does not cause a high fever.
In addition, the symptoms of influenza are more obvious and easy to detect.
Therefore, patients with COPD should be treated with influenza antivirals within 48 hours if influenza is suspected.
However, people with COPD are susceptible to infection due to impaired lung function.
Influenza viruses cause an inflammatory response in the lungs, leading to worsening respiratory symptoms in people with COPD.
Therefore, during flu season, patients should monitor their oxygen saturation closely and seek medical attention if their oxygen saturation drops compared to usual.
It is worth noting that some elderly people may not have the above symptoms obvious because of their sluggish body reactions.
Therefore, during flu season, patients should monitor their oxygen saturation closely and seek medical attention if their oxygen saturation drops compared to usual.
Clinically, many patients with severe COPD with severe influenza are not treated with standardized medication.
Some patients with COPD stop taking medicine when the weather is warm and feel that the symptoms are under control, and it is easy for the disease to "go back" in autumn and winter.
If the patient does not use an adequate dose of the drug as recommended by the doctor or discontinues the drug at will, airway inflammation and bronchospasm cannot be effectively controlled.
Respiratory infections such as colds and flu can cause airway inflammation to worsen, leading to acute exacerbations.
Therefore, standardized drug use is essential to control the symptoms of COPD and reduce the inflammatory response.
In conclusion, patients with COPD should pay close attention to their physical condition when facing influenza, and seek medical attention and use antiviral drugs immediately if they have symptoms that are suspected of influenza.
At the same time, patients should also follow the doctor's advice and standardize the use of drugs to effectively control the condition and reduce inflammation.
In this flu season, let's work together to protect the health of COPD patients.