Imagine feeling winded after taking just a few steps. For many Veterans with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), this is an everyday reality. COPD affects millions of Americans.
Veterans can face unique risks for the disease due to military exposures to dust, fumes and chemicals during service. Currently, COPD is one of more than two dozen presumed conditions related to the PACT Act.
It’s important to remember that COPD isn’t just about difficulty breathing. It’s about managing your health before symptoms worsen.
Early detection and why it matters
It might be easy to dismiss symptoms like shortness of breath after going up the stairs, a lingering cough that just doesn’t go away, or wheezing after simple activities as part of aging or related to general fatigue. But what may seem like minor inconveniences could be your body’s way of signaling an underlying condition and could be early warning signs of COPD.
Chronic bronchitis and emphysema (two common types of COPD) can make you work harder to breathe especially when you are active and need to breathe faster. With chronic bronchitis, cells in airways produce more mucus than normal and this buildup can cause inflammation, impacting air travel in and out of your lungs.
For those with emphysema, damaged or weakened airways affect oxygen travel throughout your body making it harder to breathe.
Catching and addressing symptoms early can make all the difference. Detecting and treating a disease early can help slow progression and greatly improve your quality of life. When you seek medical attention for issues that can be easy to dismiss, you pave the way for better health, more energy and greater well-being.
VA resources and support for Veterans with COPD
Cutting-edge screenings, treatments and pulmonary care specifically tailored for Veterans are available through VA health care. Telehealth services make it even easier to access care from home, and new innovations in TelePulmonology and TeleSpirometry care have started making lung function testing easier to access as well.
With lifestyle adjustments, exercise programs and breathing techniques, in-person and virtual resources are here to help you stay active and reclaim control over your breathing if you have COPD.
Join VA in raising awareness, educating yourself and others and taking advantage of resources to keep your lungs healthy. Don’t let COPD hold you back. Reach out today for screenings and support and take control of your lung health.
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I have been complaining about my breathing and shortness of breath for several years now. I have been to the heart doctor and then the pulmonary department since before 2018. I have never been treated for COPD and was never told I suffer from it until a few months ago when my primary doctor retired and I was assigned to a nurse practitioner. I seen a report saying I have COPD, bringing it to his attention he told me I’ve had it since 2018, he then put me on an inhaler I take each day. I’d really like to know more about this COPD . I would really like to get more information and possibly more treatment to slow down the progression.
Yeah!!! I was a brand new CPL, so we can guess who was in charge of every burn pit & sh** burn there was during Desert Shield, Storm, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, etc. Not including the oil well fires I drove through. By the 2nd time I filed for COPD, I had been smoke free for almost 7 years. I showed up for the test at an independent medical examiner chosen by the VBA. She started to administer the test, and upon initial listing to my lungs, determined the test would be cruel. She stated I had one of the worst She had heard. I was DENIED, during the PACT ACT review. Denied, because I had smoked earlier. It did not matter that I had quit smoking 10 years prior. Now they find faults with people denied for COPD? Typical
We knew for years that my husband had COPD before Va accepted it. He worked on board repair ship in air born asbestos for 4 years. It took 15 years. And the government has probably done nothing to prevent these horrible problems. We are on community are that requires many hours of driving far distances to get medical help.
disabled vet i have copdfor many years,and brochiactisis i see your pulmonary dctors , sometimes he dont even litsen to my lungs and you talkabout pulmonary care spscilist tailoor for vet where?i was exposed to a lot of asbestos working on engine room quite a while, Its a shame this wll go lost to no whereC
What about INTERSTITIAL Lung Disease? How many of us suffer from this devastating ailment? I know I do and it’s rapidly getting worse.
What do we know about ILD? What type of medication is best? What can the VA medical community teach us on this topic?
I have been diagnosed with ILD 7 years ago. The VA will not address it. My VA doctor told me to try to reopen my case. I pray you are able to find help with it. Blessings, jim
Definitely get a claim in for that or possible COPD. I am a Vietnam veteran, 155 mm artillery, and we did burn stuff. , plus exposure to agent orange. My claim was approved and I thank the VA for being fair, except they declined to compensate me for significant hearing loss, which interferes in my life .. Artillery is the loudest noise known to man, many artillery vets suffered hearing loss and tinnitus.