COPD:Living With COPD

• Changes You Can Make to Stay Healthy With COPD

• Why COPD Can Cause Weight Loss

• 10 COPD Healthy Eating Tips

  Read more about COPD and exercise

COPD is not a glamorous disease. Its most recognizable symptom is a chronic, hacking cough. And yet, over the years, celebrities who have suffered from COPD—most of whom developed emphysema from smoking—have, through their fame, brought greater awareness to this serious and life-threatening disease.   View slideshow

Despite frequent bouts of pneumonia, the COPD didn’t come up again until I went to see an allergist at age 55. The allergist found it strange that my X-ray showed signs of emphysema even though I’d never smoked. He wanted to screen me for a rare genetic condition. The blood test showed I have alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. That was undoubtedly the explanation for my severe COPD.  Read More

• I Coughed So Hard I Passed Out and Turned Blue

• My Smoker's Cough Turned Out to Be Emphysema

• How, When, and Why to Use Oxygen

  Read more about traveling with oxygen