COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is long-term damage to the airways and lungs, usually from smoking, beedi, or years of smoke from firewood cooking. It causes breathlessness on walking, daily cough and phlegm, and chest infections that keep coming back. Lung damage does not reverse, but treatment can ease breathing, prevent flare-ups and keep people active. Dr A. Ashok Kumar diagnoses and manages COPD in Chittoor with spirometry, inhalers, rehabilitation and, when needed, oxygen and ICU care.
Common symptoms of COPD
- Breathlessness while walking, climbing stairs or working
- Cough with phlegm most mornings
- Wheezing and chest tightness
- Frequent chest infections, especially in winter
- Tiredness and weight loss in later stages
Get urgent care if you have
- Sudden worse breathlessness
- Change in phlegm colour with fever
- Drowsiness, confusion or blue lips
- Swelling of legs with breathlessness
Emergency? Call 093448 53689 or 108, or go to the nearest hospital.
Causes and risk factors
Smoking cigarettes or beedi is the biggest cause. In villages, smoke from firewood and cow-dung cooking stoves causes COPD in many women who never smoked. Dust at work, past TB and air pollution add to the risk.
Tests that help
Pulmonary function test (PFT) / spirometry
You blow hard into a tube while a machine measures how much air your lungs hold and how fast you can push it out. It confirms asthma or COPD, shows how severe it is and tracks whether treatment is working. Where needed, lung volumes and DLCO (how well oxygen passes into the blood) are also measured.
6-minute walk test
You walk at your own pace for six minutes while your oxygen level and pulse are checked. It shows how your lungs cope with everyday activity and helps decide if you need oxygen support.
Oxygen level (SpO₂) and blood gas checks
A small clip on the finger reads oxygen level at rest and while walking. In the ICU an arterial blood gas test measures oxygen and carbon dioxide directly to guide oxygen and ventilator support.
Chest X-ray and HRCT chest
Pictures of the lungs. A high-resolution CT (HRCT) shows fine detail and is important for ILD, bronchiectasis, unexplained cough and lung spots. Dr Ashok arranges the right scan and explains the report with you.
How Dr Ashok manages it
- Spirometry to confirm COPD and measure its stage
- Long-acting inhalers matched to your symptoms and flare-ups
- Quitting smoking: the single most important step
- Pulmonary rehabilitation: breathing exercises and graded walking
- Vaccines against flu and pneumonia if advised
- Home oxygen assessment when oxygen levels stay low
- Hospital and ICU care for severe flare-ups, including non-invasive ventilation (NIV)
Living well
- Stop smoking and avoid smoke from stoves
- Walk a little every day
- Learn pursed-lip breathing
- Eat small, frequent nutritious meals
- Know your flare-up plan and act early
Questions patients ask
Is COPD the same as asthma?
No. Asthma often starts young and the airways open up well with treatment. COPD usually starts after 40 in smokers or smoke-exposed people, and the narrowing is more fixed. A lung function test helps tell them apart.
Can COPD be cured?
The lung damage does not reverse, but treatment can clearly improve breathlessness, reduce flare-ups and hospital stays, and help people stay active.
I never smoked. Can I still have COPD?
Yes. Years of smoke from firewood or dung cooking, dust at work and past TB can all cause COPD.
Will I need oxygen at home?
Only if your oxygen level stays low at rest or on walking. This is checked with simple tests before any decision.