Common manifestations of obstructive pulmonary disease

Patients with obstructive pulmonary disease usually have symptoms of coughing in the early stages of the disease. The symptoms are not serious at the beginning, but with long-term repeated infections, the patient's condition will continue to worsen. The spitted-out liquid is mostly white, sticky foam and sputum, accompanied by bacterial infection. The patient will also have symptoms of excessive sputum, nausea, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.

1. Symptoms

⑴ The cough is long-term, recurrent, and gradually worsens. Patients with mild symptoms generally only develop the disease in cold seasons. The cough is more severe in the morning and lighter during the day. There are paroxysms of coughing or sputum before going to bed at night. When the weather gets warmer, the cough will lessen or disappear. Severe patients cough in all seasons, but it is worse in winter.

⑵ The sputum produced by coughing up is mostly white sticky sputum or white foamy sputum. When combined with bacterial infection, the amount of sputum increases and turns into yellow purulent sputum. If green purulent sputum appears, it indicates Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) infection. Sometimes severe coughing may produce bloody sputum or sputum with blood. There is more sputum in the early morning.

(3) Shortness of breath is a gradually worsening breathing difficulty. In the early stage, shortness of breath is only felt when working or going uphill or stairs. Later, shortness of breath is also felt during light work, walking on flat ground, or even resting. When combined with infection, cough, sputum and shortness of breath will worsen. Some patients often experience wheezing due to bronchial smooth muscle spasm or secondary infection. In severe cases, there are often asthma-like attacks, shortness of breath, inability to lie flat, and ultimately respiratory failure or heart failure.

(4) There are often no abnormal signs in the early stages . During the acute attack period, there may be scattered dry and wet rales, mostly on the back or at the bottom of the lungs. Typical emphysema presents with a barrel chest and weakened respiratory movements; vocal fremitus weakens on palpation; percussion is hyperclear, the boundary of cardiac dullness shrinks or disappears, and the boundary of hepatic dullness moves downward; auscultation of breath sounds weakens, heart sounds are distant, and the second heart sound of the pulmonary valve is hyperactive.