Emphysema Management in Point Cook
Emphysema is a long-term lung condition that makes it harder to breathe. The damage cannot be reversed, but treatment and daily habits can help many people stay active and handle flare-ups early.
How emphysema changes the lungs
Emphysema is one form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Deep in the lungs, the tiny air sacs lose their stretch and break down. Stale air gets trapped, breathing out takes longer, and less oxygen passes into the blood.
Cigarette smoking causes most cases. Years of exposure to dust, fumes or chemicals at work can contribute, and a rare inherited condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency can cause emphysema in younger adults. Because breathlessness creeps up slowly, it is often put down to age or low fitness.
Breathing changes worth raising
- Getting puffed on stairs, slopes or while carrying shopping
- Coughing, with or without phlegm, for weeks on end
- Chest infections that recur or take a long time to settle
- Any change in your breathing if you smoke now or smoked in the past
Confirming the diagnosis
The clinic offers spirometry testing, the breathing test needed to confirm COPD. It shows airflow that stays reduced even after a reliever puffer. Imaging such as a chest X-ray or scan may be requested through an imaging provider to look for other causes, and blood samples can be taken at the clinic’s Dorevitch Pathology collection centre.
Treatments commonly used
Most people use inhaled medicines. Short-acting relievers open the airways quickly, while long-acting inhalers are taken every day to ease breathlessness. Some people with frequent flare-ups are also prescribed an inhaled steroid. Inhaler technique matters a great deal, so ask the doctor to watch you use your device.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a supervised exercise and education program run by physiotherapists and other health professionals, and a GP can refer you. Oxygen therapy is only helpful for people whose blood oxygen is low, which is checked with specific tests.
Australian guidance recommends a yearly flu vaccine for people with COPD, and pneumococcal and COVID-19 vaccination are also advised for many. Ask the doctor which apply to you.
Signs of a flare-up
- More breathless than your usual bad day
- More phlegm, or phlegm that turns yellow, green or brown
- Coughing more than normal
- Needing your reliever more often
Acting early on a flare-up
Your written COPD action plan, agreed with your doctor, lists what to do as these signs appear and when to get help. Keep it somewhere easy to find. If you are struggling to breathe, have blue lips, or become confused or very drowsy, call 000.
Protecting your breathing day to day
Stopping smoking slows the loss of lung function at any age. Regular walking, even in short bouts, keeps your muscles using oxygen well. Pursed-lip breathing, where you breathe out slowly through gently closed lips, can ease breathlessness during activity. Stay indoors with windows shut on smoky bushfire days.
Anxiety and low mood are common with long-term lung conditions and make breathlessness feel worse. The clinic provides GP mental health care, so raise it at any visit.
Care over the long term
Bringing your care together in a GP care plan may also open up Medicare-subsidised sessions with a physiotherapist or dietitian. Phone consultations can be booked, home visits can be arranged if you are a clinic patient and too unwell to get here, and an interpreter can be organised. Call reception to set any of these up.
Fees and bulk billing
GP care plans are bulk billed with all our doctors. Other consultations may have an out-of-pocket fee, and each practitioner sets their own fees. See our fees page for details.