Severities of COPD

• Mild COPD: You may cough a lot. Sometimes you cough up mucus. You feel a little out of breath if you work hard or walk rapidly.
• Moderate COPD: You may cough more and you cough up mucus. You often feel out of breath if you work hard or walk rapidly. You may have trouble doing hard work and chores. You may take several weeks to recover from a cold or a chest infection.
• Severe COPD: You may cough even more and you cough up a lot of mucus. You may have breathing difficulties both day and night. You can no longer go to work or do chores around home. You cannot walk up stairs or across the room very well. You tire easily.
• Very severe COPD: You need intense medical care and rehabilitation. Without an oxygen mask you couldn’t survive.

GOLD – Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Diseases, www.goldcopd.org