Difference Between COPD & Bronchial Asthma
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and bronchial asthma have similar outward facing symptoms. However, they are not the same disease. COPD is a lung-distruction disease and asthma is a lung-inflammation disease.
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Symptoms
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The symptoms of COPD and asthma both include shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing. However, COPD typically manifests worse in the morning and persists with all day coughing, and asthma typically manifests with nighttime symptoms.
Onset
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COPD first appears as an adult, and frequently appears related to cigarette smoking, family history, or inhaling large amounts of dust. Conversely, asthma frequently presents in childhood.
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Triggers
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Once diagnosed, smoking and respiratory illness can trigger increased symptoms of COPD. Inflammation that causes asthma is more commonly triggered by things like allergens, exercise, and viruses.
Reversibility
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The lung damage from COPD cannot be reversed even though there may be periods when a sufferer has fewer symptoms. Similarly, asthma cannot be reversed. However, when well-controlled, an asthmatic can go long periods without symptoms between attacks.
Treatment
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The goal of treating COPD is to slow loss of lung function. COPD is treated first with bronchodilators and, if not responsive, then treated with corticosteroids. The goal of treating asthma is to reduce inflammation, and it is treated first with corticosteroids and then with bronchodilators.
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