Which symptoms are common for COPD?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) makes breathing increasingly more difficult. But it develops slowly over many years and you may not be aware you have it at first. Most people with COPD do not have any noticeable symptoms until they reach their late 40s or 50s. Common symptoms of COPD include:

1. Increasing breathlessness – this may only happen when exercising at first, and you may sometimes wake up at night feeling breathless.
2. A persistent chesty cough with phlegm that does not go away.
3. Frequent chest infections.
4. Persistent wheezing.
5. The symptoms will usually get gradually worse over time and make daily activities increasingly difficult.
6. Sometimes there may be periods when your symptoms get suddenly worse – known as a flare-up or exacerbation. It’s common to have a few flare-ups a year, particularly during the winter.
7. If you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to do your normal activities, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people until you feel better.
8. Weight loss.
9. Tiredness.
10. Swollen ankles from a build-up of fluid (oedema).
11. Chest pain and coughing up blood – although these are usually signs of another condition, such as a chest infection or possibly lung cancer.