COPD Treatments

• Self-management and education.  Partner with your Primary Care Manager and your health care team at Humana Military Healthcare Services (Humana Military) for information, strategies and support.
   
• Smoking cessation. Not only are there quit smoking classes you can attend in person, but there are now online classes/ support as well as telephone counseling. Check with your American Cancer Society (1-800-227-2345), American Lung Association, and the Wellness and Prevention section of the Beneficiary portal.
   
• Bronchodilators. These medications — which usually come in an inhaler — relax the muscles around your airways. This can help relieve coughing and shortness of breath and make breathing easier. Depending on the severity of your disease, you may need a short-acting bronchodilator before activities, a long-acting bronchodilator that you use every day, or both.
   
• Inhaled steroids. Inhaled corticosteroid medications can reduce airway inflammation and help you breathe better. But prolonged use of these medications can weaken your bones and increase your risk of high blood pressure, cataracts and diabetes. They're usually reserved for people with moderate or severe COPD.  
   
• Pulmonary rehabilitation. Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation may be able to decrease the length of any hospitalizations you require, increase your ability to participate in everyday activities and improve your quality of life. These programs typically combine education, exercise training, nutrition advice and counseling. If you are referred to a program, you'll probably work with a range of health care professionals, including physical therapists, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists and dietitians. These specialists can tailor your rehabilitation program to meet your needs.
     
• Oxygen Therapy. If there isn't enough oxygen in your blood, you may need supplemental oxygen. There are several devices to deliver oxygen to your lungs, including lightweight, portable units that you can take with you to run errands and get around town. Some people with COPD use oxygen only during activities or while sleeping. Others use oxygen all the time. Oxygen therapy can improve heart function, exercise capacity, depression, mental clarity and quality of life. In some people, it may also extend life. Talk to your doctor about your needs and options.  
      
• Surgery. Surgery is an option for some people with some forms of severe emphysema who aren't helped sufficiently by medications alone:
    
  
  • Lung volume reduction surgery. In this surgery, your surgeon removes small wedges of damaged lung tissue. This creates extra space in your chest cavity so that the remaining lung tissue and the diaphragm work more efficiently. The surgery has a number of risks, and long-term results may be no better than for nonsurgical approaches.
     
  • Lung transplant. Single-lung transplantation may be an option for certain people with severe emphysema who meet specific criteria. Transplantation can improve your ability to breathe and be active, but it doesn't appear to prolong life and you may have to wait for a long time to receive a donated organ. So the decision to undergo lung transplantation is complicated.

Source:  Mayo Clinic