Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can be hard to live with—but investing in a quality air purifier will go a long way toward better breathing.
Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be a challenge. People with COPD have a condition wherein less air is able to enter the lungs when they breathe, resulting in a shortage of oxygen in their bodies.
COPD is a serious condition that should be examined and diagnosed by a medical professional. For those living with COPD, there are easy ways to improve their quality of life while undergoing treatment.
One way is to invest in a high-quality portable air purifier like the Austin Healthmate Plus, which can remove irritating particles and pollutants from the air. These particles irritate the lungs and worsen symptoms, even causing coughing spells that require medical intervention. Investing in a high-quality air purifier is a great, easy step toward easier breathing for those living with COPD.
What is COPD?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is actually a catch-all name for a group of diseases that
affect the airways and lungs. Some of the common diseases labeled as COPD include
emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
All types of COPD involve a blockage of airflow into the lungs, resulting in breathing problems. There can be several reasons for this, including a narrowing of the airways due to inflammation and swelling, the destruction of walls between air sacs in the lungs, and airways producing too much mucus to allow for proper airflow.
Risk factors for COPD include smoking cigarettes, exposure to secondhand smoke, exposure to smoke from wood or coal burning, a history of asthma, and a history of childhood respiratory illnesses. It tends to affect older people, although anyone can develop COPD.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, COPD affects 16 million Americans. While there is no cure for COPD, it can be treated. It is a serious condition, and early treatment can lead to better outcomes, so if you suspect you may have COPD, consult a healthcare professional for a thorough examination and diagnosis right away.
What are the symptoms of COPD?
COPD affects each person differently, but some common symptoms of COPD include:
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing with mucus or sputum
- Chest tightness
- Fatigue
COPD can also cause chronic and less common ailments, such as:
- Unintended weight loss
- Swelling in lower extremities (legs, feet, ankles)
- Frequent respiratory infections
If you have any of these symptoms or suspect you may have COPD, contact a medical professional for an exam and diagnosis right away.
Is COPD treatable?
Although there is no cure for COPD, there are many different treatment options available to improve quality of life and reduce symptoms. Some of these are lifestyle changes, while others are medical or involve surgery. Quitting smoking, medication, and pulmonary rehabilitation are first-line options, with ventilation and surgery also potential effective treatments for more severe or advanced forms of the disease. Treatment of COPD should always be supervised by a medical professional, so if you believe you may have COPD, contact your doctor right away.
One easy way to improve quality of life for people suffering from COPD is to improve air quality in the home. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that the use of a portable, high-quality air purifier by people with COPD significantly decreased symptoms for most subjects.
Patients in the study were former smokers suffering from COPD. The study found that the more time the subjects spent indoors, the greater the positive effect the air purifier had on their symptoms, indicating that the lessened exposure to harmful pollutants and particles in the home was an effective way to reduce symptoms of COPD and increase quality of life.
Results of the study showed that using a high-quality air purifier greatly reduced coughing, shortness of breath, and the need for medical intervention for people living with COPD. Using a high-quality air purifier like the Austin Healthmate Plus is one of the best investments people living with COPD can make to help alleviate their symptoms and make sure their living spaces are conducive to easy breathing and a better quality of life.
How can a quality air purifier help treat COPD?
High-quality air purifiers like the Austin Healthmate Plus improve air quality, removing germs, dust, carbon monoxide, smoke, mold, and other irritating particles from the air. These pollutants have been shown to irritate the lungs and cause an increase in symptoms for those suffering from COPD.
Maintaining good air quality in the home is an essential and easy step toward improving quality of life for those with COPD. Removing these particles from the air keeps them out of people’s lungs, which can have a marked and immediate effect on symptoms, and therefore, on quality of life.
While there are many air purifiers on the market, the quality of air purifier makes a significant difference in the actual quality of air in the home, which is essential when treating a disease like COPD. Making an investment in a high-quality air purifier like the Austin Healthmate Plus is one of the easiest and best ways to improve health and quality of life for people suffering from COPD.
What to look for in a quality air purifier for COPD
There are a huge number of air purifiers available on the market, but many of them are substandard and do a poor job of filtering out harmful particles in the air. While low-quality air purifiers are only able to filter out larger particles and pollutants—the type that can be seen with the naked eyes, which tend to fall to the ground and are less of a risk for people with COPD in the first place—it is especially important to filter out very fine, small particles from the air, as they tend to circulate easily and cause the most trouble in the lungs.
The Austin Healthmate Plus uses a three-step filtration process to filter out large, medium-sized, and fine or small particles from the air. First, a pre-filter removes the largest particles—particles like dust that can be seen with the naked eye. Next, a pre-filter removes medium-sized particles, which tend to include particles like mold, spores, pollen, and other particles that may be invisible to the naked eye but can cause allergic reactions and other health problems.
Many air purifiers stop there, but the Austin Healthmate Plus goes a step further: it uses over 780 cubic inches of activated carbon, potassium iodide impregnated carbon, and zeolite to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, gases, odors, and benzenes from the air.
The Austin Healthmate Plus then uses 60 square feet of true medical-grade HEPA filtration. HEPA-certified filters are the highest standard of air purifying filter, and are required to remove 99.97% of all particles larger than 0.3 microns, and 95% of all particles larger than 0.1 microns, from the air. This is the highest standard of air purification filter, and is used in hospitals and medical facilities throughout the United States to ensure that patients with lung sensitivities—like patients with COPD—breathe high quality air. It also prevents the spread of disease and bacteria, and protects people with sensitivities to allergies.
Health benefits of using a high-quality air purifier
Using a high-quality air purifier like the Austin Healthmate Plus can help:
- Ease headaches and reduce nausea related to chemical exposures
- Strengthen the immune system
- Ease coughing and wheezing
- Reduce dry mouth and runny noses
- Provide a sounder sleep
- Reduce snoring
- Lessen nighttime allergies
Most importantly for people with COPD, a high-quality air purifier like the Austin Healthmate Plus significantly improves air quality and filters out the irritating particles that make symptoms worse.
Investing in a high-quality air filter is one of the best steps someone with COPD can take to control their environment and ensure that their living space is one where they can breathe more easily.
Conclusion: Air Purifiers & COPD
While living with COPD can cause discomfort, there are numerous treatments available to help improve quality of life for those afflicted. If you have been diagnosed with COPD or suspect that you may be at risk for a COPD-related disease, consult a medical professional to discuss treatment options.
One of the best ways to maintain a living space conducive to living comfortably with COPD is to invest in a high-quality air purifying system like the Austin Healthmate Plus. Relying on a substandard air purifier will not filter out the irritating particles most likely to exacerbate the symptoms of COPD; rather, they may simply spread them back into the air, where they will be breathed back into the lungs.
Studies have shown the importance of a high-quality portable air purifier for patients suffering from COPD. Make a smart investment in your health by ensuring the air that you breathe in your living space is free of harmful pollutants and particles. The Austin Healthmate Plus will ensure you are on the path to breathing easier in your own home, even while living with COPD.
Sources:
What Is COPD? | CDC.gov
Better Air Means Better Breathing with COPD | University of Maryland School of Medicine
Treating COPD | American Lung Association
COPD | Mayo Clinic
