Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and if you are less active because of the symptoms. He or she will want to know about your smoking habits and if you are exposed to secondhand smoke. They will also need to know your medical history and if you have had asthma.

Your doctor will examine you and may order the following tests:

• a pulmonary function test called spirometry (you breathe into a tube to measure airflow into and out of your lungs to see how well your lungs are working)
• chest X-ray
• blood tests
• lab tests of sputum.

The damage to your lungs cannot be reversed, so treatment aims to relieve symptoms to help you breathe better and feel better. Treatment also consists of helping you become more active, treating infections, preventing complications, and preventing worsening of your condition.

For smokers the most important part of treatment is to quit smoking. Talk to your doctor about ways to stop smoking. You might find it helpful to join a quit-smoking program or to use nicotine patches or gum.

Your doctor may prescribe:

• Medicine that relaxes and opens the airways. This makes it easier to breathe. Some forms of this medicine are taken as pills or liquid. Some are inhaled. Some need to be used with a machine used to inhale moisturized medicine through a face mask or breathing tube.
• Steroid medicines to reduce inflammation.
• Antibiotics to treat bacterial infection.
• Medicine (called an expectorant) that loosens the mucus and helps you cough it up.

Ask your doctor if you can help your symptoms with regular exercise, breathing exercises, oxygen therapy, a humidifier, or changes in your work environment. Also ask your doctor how much fluid you should drink every day.