COPD treatment

Stop smoking

If you smoke, stopping is the most important thing you can do. It slows the damage to your lungs at any stage. Your GP, pharmacist or local stop smoking service can help, with free medicines and support.

Pulmonary rehabilitation

Pulmonary rehab is a programme of exercise and education run by health professionals. It helps you:

• breathe more easily and do more
• manage breathlessness and anxiety
• understand your condition and medicines

NICE says it should be offered to people with COPD who are limited by breathlessness. Ask your GP to refer you.

Inhalers

• Short-acting relievers ease breathlessness quickly when you need them.
• Long-acting inhalers are taken every day to keep the airways open. Many people use a combination of two long-acting medicines in one inhaler.
• Inhaled steroids may be added for some people, for example if you have frequent flare-ups or features of asthma.

Ask your nurse or pharmacist to check your inhaler technique, as this makes a big difference.

Vaccines

People with COPD should have a flu vaccine every year and a pneumococcal vaccine. You may also be offered COVID-19 and RSV vaccines if you are eligible. They lower your risk of chest infections and flare-ups.

Rescue packs

You may be given steroid tablets and antibiotics to keep at home and start at the first sign of a flare-up, as part of your action plan. Always tell your GP or nurse when you use them.

Other treatments

• Mucolytics, such as carbocisteine, make phlegm easier to cough up.
• Oxygen therapy at home may help people whose blood oxygen is low. It is not safe to smoke, or be near anyone who smokes, while using oxygen.
• Surgery or lung valves may help a small number of people with severe emphysema.
• A lung transplant is an option for a very small number of people.

Reviews

You should have a COPD review at least once a year, and after any flare-up that needed treatment.

Next, read about living well with COPD.