Managing COPD: How to Live a Full Life with the Chronic Lung Condition

With some smart planning, you can manage this common disease — and live a longer and more fulfilling life

Julie Sartain,

AARP

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Published October 06, 2025

Lily Qian

It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

Just walking from my house to my next-door neighbor’s was exhausting, and even walking to the grocery store from the parking lot left me out of breath.

When I visited my sister in Alabama, the heat and humidity just devastated me. At my next doctor’s visit, I learned the cause: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

COPD is a collective term that can encompass chronic bronchitis, emphysema and some forms of asthma, says Dr. David Mannino, a pulmonologist and cofounder of the COPD Foundation in Miami. Chronic lower respiratory diseases are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, and COPD accounts for up to 95 percent of those deaths. Some 16 million Americans are affected by COPD. The average age of diagnosis for women is 62; for men, it’s 60.

COPD is classified in four stages of increasing severity; mine was somewhere between stages 2 and 3. When I was first diagnosed, in my mid-50s, I spent weeks reading every article, brochure, pamphlet and white paper I could find on the topic. Many of them suggested that my life expectancy would be cut dramatically by this diagnosis.

All of them confirmed one major point: It can be treated, but there is no cure.

Understandably, I panicked. I began putting my affairs in order, scared that I might end up in a hospital on a ventilator sooner than later, and desperate to get my will finished and find homes for my three Siberian huskies.

That was August of 2015. But over the past 10 years, working with my health care providers, I have learned how to manage, live with — and, yes, live longer with — this disease. And I’m here to tell you that with the right approach, you too can manage COPD to live a longer and more enjoyable life.

Highway to the danger zone

Not long after my diagnosis, it looked like my worst fears were coming true. I contracted the flu and double pneumonia, both serious illnesses, especially in older adults.

But for those of us 50 and older whose lives are complicated by COPD, the risks posed by common respiratory diseases are significantly higher. A recent analysis found that 32.6 percent of patients with COPD who seek emergency-room care for influenza need to be admitted to the hospital, versus just 8 percent of the general public.

In part because I didn’t know how to manage my symptoms, I ended up in the hospital for 31 days — 16 of those were spent in a coma.

Even after six weeks of rehab, it took a year and a half to fully recuperate. During that time, I had two COPD flare-ups, sometimes called “exacerbations,” which researchers define as “an acute worsening of respiratory symptoms associated with ... physical deterioration.”

One was caused by a common chest cold, the other was the result of extreme stress.

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Those pitfalls are common: The COPD Foundation reports that nearly half of patients with COPD have two or more flare-ups per year, and some are more severe than others. Every exacerbation, even just a moderate one, can speed the progression of the disease, research suggests.

I made it my goal to avoid future exacerbations. I’ve now gone six full years — since the summer of 2019 — without experiencing an episode.

Because it’s a progressive, irreversible condition, COPD cannot be cured, and the damage to the lungs cannot be repaired — but the progression of this disease can be reduced to a snail’s pace, Mannino says.

After my time in the hospital, I began experimenting with whatever lifestyle changes were needed to extend my life. The good news: My plan worked. In fact, at my last pulmonary appointment, my doctor said my condition had even improved. That’s rare, but not impossible.

Here are some tips from doctors on how you can better manage your COPD:

1. Know the symptoms — and how to manage them

COPD is a collective term for a condition that can include asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, so one treatment does not fit all.

Patients with hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels) plus other symptoms such as peripheral edema (swelling in the legs), cyanosis (bluish-tinted skin) and serious obstruction to one’s airflow may require oxygen, while others may only need inhalers, plus steroids and antibiotics for flare-ups.

There are so many variables, so COPD treatments are highly individualized, says Dr. Courtney Crim, COPD360 medical director for the COPD Foundation.

Other symptoms of the disease can include wheezing, a chronic cough, phlegm, depression, anxiety and fatigue that’s often extreme.

COPD is a frightening disease to live with. Many people with COPD become breathless just walking around the grocery store, or across the parking lot, or even in their bedroom. Some wake up in the middle of the night wheezing and coughing so much that they can’t catch their breath, so they panic, which makes it worse.

Panic is your worst enemy with COPD: Panic attacks lead to shallower breathing, dizziness, confusion, increased heart rate and excessive strain on your chest that can feel like an elephant sitting on your body. If you experience any of those symptoms, seek medical attention as soon as possible:

Some COPD symptoms, especially those specifically related to breathing, could also be symptoms of other diseases, including congestive heart failure (CHF). One of CHF’s most life-threatening symptoms is the buildup of blood and fluids in the lungs, which, like COPD, impedes breathing, so the two conditions can be easily misidentified.

2. Avoid risks

“Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor in COPD, and stopping smoking is the most important intervention for current smokers,” Mannino says.

I quit smoking eight years before I was diagnosed with COPD, so when I found out I had it, I wondered: Why now?

The fact is, a history of smoking significantly increases your risk, although lung capacity diminishes at a slower rate among former smokers than those who are still puffing, according to a 2019 study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

And a number of other factors, such as a lifetime of exposure to secondhand smoke, air pollution and allergens, can also play a role: 30 percent of people who are diagnosed with COPD never smoked, according to Mannino.

Remember, anything that can further damage your lungs should and must be avoided as much as possible, or used safely when necessary:

Avoid cleaning products, aerosols and chemical fumes. “Respiratory irritants, dust, gases, vapors and fumes should be avoided by people with respiratory diseases,” Mannino advises. Always use these in a heavily ventilated area, and wear a high-quality mask, like an N95.
Take steps to lower your risk of respiratory infections. Consider wearing a mask during cold and flu season, and avoid sick people.

A simple cold for someone else can quickly turn into bronchitis or pneumonia for a person with COPD, says Crim. Make sure you are up-to-date on vaccines for COVID, flu, pneumonia, shingles, RSV, MMR, varicella (if you have not had chicken pox) and any other vaccine your doctor recommends.

One more tip: I keep several masks in my car and in my backpack or purse in case I find myself in a polluted or crowded environment. For example, while I’m grocery shopping, if I notice a lot of people coughing and sneezing, I immediately put on a mask. You could do the same if you’re in an area with wildfire smoke or other pollutants.

Be wary of dust, pollen and pet dander. Remember that carpeting and window treatments are allergen traps for every airborne contaminant in your house, so consider whether they should be reduced or removed.
Avoid extreme temperatures. Extreme heat and cold are both associated with increased mortality in people with COPD, according to a 2025 study. This one affects me the most. I’m currently living in the South, where the heat and humidity are horrendous. I have dehumidifiers scattered throughout my house, which keep the humidity levels below 50 percent, and the house is set at 64 degrees year-round.
Reduce your alcohol intake. Heavy alcohol consumption can interfere with normal breathing function, Crim says.
Keep your weight in check. Excessive weight, especially around the waist and chest area, makes it harder to breathe because your lungs are pushing extra hard just to function at your already reduced COPD levels. Mannino recommends a thoughtful program of diet and exercise to his COPD patients. The key is to stay active without overexerting yourself to the point where symptoms are triggered. Specifically, he recommends against lifting or moving heavy objects like furniture, which can quickly cause a breathless reaction.
Stay on top of your medications. If you have been prescribed a COPD inhaler, you should be using it daily, Mannino says. There is a cumulative effect, so skipping days can result in future problems, although new technology is making it easier for people to track their usage and ensure they’re getting their full dosage.

If your doctor prescribes oxygen, follow the instructions and don’t skip or double up on doses, says Mannino. And last, ensure that you have an emergency pack (an antibiotic, an emergency inhaler and a full course of steroids like prednisone) on hand at all times. If you have a flare-up, the meds in your emergency pack can prevent a trip to the hospital, he adds.

3. Take charge of your life

Here are some things to add to your life if you have COPD:

Keep exercising. “Although walking and other exercise can certainly make patients with COPD feel short of breath, it is critically important to maintain muscle function,” says Dr. Mark T. Dransfield, director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. “If people stop exercising, it becomes harder and harder to be active because muscle function deteriorates.” For me, yoga has been a salvation. One of the first things you learn in a yoga class is how to breathe properly, which has its own specific benefits.
Discover how to master your breathing. Pulmonary doctors also have some advice about breathing techniques. One is called “pursed lips” breathing, which involves breathing in through your nose for a few seconds; then you pucker your lips and blow that air out through your mouth for about five seconds. “Pursed-lip breathing allows the airways to stay open longer when people exhale, which allows the lungs to empty better, and prevents them from becoming more and more overinflated, which causes shortness of breath,” Dransfield explains.
Have a panic plan in place. Anxiety attacks are common among those with COPD, according to Dransfield. Makes sense: There’s nothing scarier than not being able to breathe.

Anything that triggers a breathless reaction — overexertion; getting too excited, depressed, stressed or anxious; experiencing trauma, extreme pain or fear — can lead to a panic attack, which makes the breathlessness worse. This is where pursed-lips breathing can also come in handy, Dransfield says, slowing your breathing rate and putting the brakes on panic.

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