According to study, 90 percent of people smoke and about 20-30 percent of smokers in the country develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a lung disease caused mainly due to excessive smoking or exposure to chemicals. COPD makes it harder to inhale and exhale. There is no cure for COPD, but treatment can help to diagnose the symptoms. Its diagnosis usually involve imaging tests, blood and lung test. If left untreated, it can cause heart problems, lung infections and even death in severe cases it could lead to death.

Symptoms
At early stages, COPD patients feel shortening of breath especially after physical activity, clearing of throat regularly and recurring cough. You may avoid walking and start skipping physical activities. As the time passes, symptoms become worse and you may feel dizziness, chest pain frequent cold, loss of energy, lung infections and many more.

Causes
The main cause of COPD is subsequent years of smoking. Most people above 40 years old suffer from COPD and mostly will be smoking person.

Diagnosis
There is no special test for COPD, but when you visit a doctor make sure to tell him about the symptoms that you are facing. Tell them about family members (if any) who are suffering from COPD. Tell him about all the medications and allergies you are having.

Treatment
As said earlier, there is no pure cure for COPD, but treatment can give you strength to fight this disease. It prevents complications and generally slows down the progression of the disease.

Different type of treatments available for COPD:

• Medication
• Oxygen Therapy
• Surgery
• Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle change is the best option to avoid this problem and medication such as using various COPD inhalers can help. Surgery is reserved for severe cases of COPD, i.e., lung transplant.

List of COPD Inhalers that you should know

• Proventil
  Proventil is a rescue COPD inhaler that helps to give a fast relief from sudden breathing problems. It consists of medications like albuterol, a bronchodilator. It gives immediate relaxation to lungs and eases the breathing process.

Side Effects

• It causes infection in the throat, ears, and nose
• It causes nervousness, vomiting and rapid heartbeat
• Atrovent
  Atrovent is one of the most popular COPD inhalers in the market today. It consists of ipratropium which is an anticholinergic bronchodilator. It is used in the treatment of COPD but not a rescue inhaler. It can’t cure sudden certain breathing problems.

Side Effects

• Feeling of chest pain during new dose
• Blurred vision and eye pain can be one of the side effects
• It may feel pain during urination
• Brovana
  Brovana is considered as one of the top inhalers especially for COPD patients. It is not at all recommendable for asthma patients. Also, it can’t be used as rescue inhaler as its aim for long-term treatment. It should be taken twice a day once in morning another in evening.

Side Effects

• It can cause sudden shortness of breath after its intake
• It also causes the rises in blood pressure and heart rate
• It causes an allergic reaction such as skin rash and tongue swelling
• Breo Ellipta
  This inhaler is made by combining two types of medications that is fluticasone furoate and vilanterol. Vilanterol helps in relaxing of muscles around your airways and also helps in clearing mucus. This medication is just once every day for COPD patients.

Side Effects:

• It also causes a rise in blood pressure and fast heart rate
• It causes some certain types of allergic reactions in the body such as a headache, swallowing, tongue and lips swelling

An inhaler is very important in the treatment of COPD, so take it only after proper doctor’s prescription as it can have side-effects on your health. You are not allowed to forget your dose on daily basis as per your doctor’s advice. It is advisable to take a long treatment inhaler along with one rescue inhaler for sudden breathing issues.