Winter warning for people with chronic lung conditions

SCOTS who suffer lung and breathing difficulties are being warned to take steps to keep well during the winter months.

- RICHARD ELIAS

The call comes on a day which aims to highlight the issue of respiratory disease globally. Today is World COPD Day - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - and is the umbrella term for a number of lung conditions which cause breathing difficulties.

These include chronic bronchitis and emphysema, while symptoms of the disease include breathlessness, wheezing, a cough and repeated chest infections.

Now, Asthma + Lung UK Scotland is urging people with COPD to follow the charity's health to avoid becoming sick during the colder months.

North of the border, COPD admissions’ increase by 50% in winter compared to summer.

People with such lung conditions can end up seriously unwell over winter - as seasonal triggers like cold and flu, cold air, damp and mould make it harder to breathe.

As a result, this puts huge pressure on the NHS as well as worsening the lives of people living with the disease.

In Scotland 241,000 people are estimated to have been diagnosed with COPD but it is reported that many thousands are left undiagnosed.