COPD Health Education COPD Treatments COPD 77720 CONS

COPD Health Education COPD Treatments COPD 77720 CONS SAR 00338 Funding for this program provided by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pfizer Inc.

Treating COPD • Although there is no cure for COPD, 1 a there are ways to prevent and treat it 1 b • Talk to your healthcare provider about all of your options for treating COPD • Be sure to follow your healthcare provider’s directions, including: – Making lifestyle changes – Taking your medicine as instructed 2 – Taking your medicine when you are supposed to (for example, every day) – Using the same dosage (amount of medicine) at the same time each day – Going to the pharmacy and filling your prescription; refilling your medicine before you run out 2

Goals of Treatments Help you breathe easier 1 Relieve symptoms 1 Improve your ability to exercise 1 Improve your quality of life 2 Reduce the chance of a flare-up (also known as an “exacerbation”)1 • Help reduce the risk of death from COPD 1 • • •

Quit Smoking • Stop smoking! – Smoking speeds up the progression of COPD and quickly decreases your lung’s ability to function right 1, 3 – Quitting smoking is the only thing known to slow or delay COPD progression 2, 3 • Ask your healthcare provider about ways to quit, including: – Smoking cessation therapies (gums, patches, medicine) – Support groups • Join NBCI’s smoking cessation program – your church will be running one soon

Rescue Medicines • Taken only when you suddenly need help breathing 1, 2 a, 3 • These include short-acting bronchodilators, which work quickly but don’t last as long as daily (maintenance) COPD medicine 2 b, 3

Daily (Maintenance) Medicines • Maintenance therapies are those you take every day. 1 a, 2 These include: – Long-acting bronchodilators: A type of medicine that is inhaled to relax and widen the lung airways so more air can get in and out. The effects last up to 24 hours 1 b, 1 c, 2 – Corticosteroids: An inhaled medicine to reduce the swelling in the airways 1 d – Combination Therapy: Some COPD therapies include both a bronchodilator and a corticosteroid; some include more than one type of bronchodilator 3

Oxygen Treatment • Used for people whose lungs no longer provide their body with enough oxygen 1 a, 2 • Inhaled into your lungs through tubes placed in the nose 1 b, 2 • If you need oxygen treatment, then your healthcare provider will measure how much oxygen is in your blood and how much is needed 1 c, 2

Surgery • Some people with severe or very severe COPD may require surgery 1 such as: – Lung volume reduction surgery, in which only the sickest part of the lung is removed so that the remaining, relatively good part of the lung can expand work better 1, 2 – Lung transplants, in which the lung is partially or fully removed and replaced by a lung (or lungs) from a donor 1

Recap: Taking COPD Treatments • Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any treatment • Quit smoking 1 a • Take your medicine as directed 1 b • Make sure you understand how to use your medicine • Do not stop taking your daily medicines without talking to your healthcare provider, even if you start feeling better 1 b • Refill your prescription early, before you run out