Hull has one of the highest rates of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the country, but help is enabling sufferers to breathe more easily

After smoking 40 cigarettes a day for nearly 30 years, Peter Hardman knew he was at greater risk of developing cancer than a non-smoker, but never thought it would happen to him.
Instead, he developed another disease; one which he had never heard of and which crept up on him: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The illness means he has to use long-term oxygen therapy for 16 hours every day, together with a positive pressure ventilator overnight, wearing a face mask in bed to help him breathe efficiently while sleeping.
It also means he has to take a range of medications to maintain his health, including bone density calcium tablets and a low dose of steroids.
Without continuing care he could become so ill and breathless that he could die at any time.
"I had an 'it'll never happen to me' attitude with regard to smoking and my health," says Peter.
"Years of heavy smoking caused irreversible damage to my lungs and they reached the stage where they couldn't do the job they were supposed to do any more."
Peter, from west Hull, says the symptoms of the disease developed gradually, without him being aware of what was happening, until they could no longer be ignored.
He found quality sleep a rarity, something he put down to a condition called sleep apnoea, but which was in fact due to his lungs being unable to get enough oxygen into his bloodstream, causing him to wake up every few minutes throughout the night.
During the day he felt so drowsy and exhausted that he could hardly walk the short distance from the car park to his desk at work.
"Moving around became a massive effort; I felt crocked and washed out all day every day.
"I was falling asleep at my desk and I felt I had no choice but to take early retirement from my job as an accountant," he added.
The turning point came after a trip to London in April 2007.
Arriving home one Sunday evening, Peter says he began hallucinating and felt so 'out of it' that his wife saw something was seriously wrong and called an ambulance.
He was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary and placed in intensive care because of raised carbon dioxide levels in his blood.
For many sufferers, COPD is a progressive condition which gets worse even after stopping smoking and starting treatment, and last year Peter found himself in hospital again after falling seriously ill as a result of his lung damage.
During his second time in hospital his treatment and medication were adjusted and since then his ability to cope with his illness has improved.
"The care I am receiving enables me to better understand my disability and its symptoms.
The disease was taking hold of me at first but now I am taking more control of it.
I can't speak highly enough of the respiratory nurses and medical staff who are supporting me – they've been brilliant," he added.

Know the facts

• COPD covers a number of breathing and respiratory conditions such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema
• it kills around 30,000 people in the UK each year
• Hull has one of the highest rates of COPD in the country because of historically high levels of smoking among local people.

"The first signs can be breathlessness and a persistent cough with phlegm," says Karen Dexter, a respiratory nurse with NHS Hull.
"People often put these symptoms down to the ageing process or a side effect of smoking rather than an underlying health problem or damage to the lungs, and they will reduce their activity levels to sweep any symptoms under the carpet and convince themselves they are OK.
"Ninety per cent of cases are linked to smoking but causes also include long-term exposure to workplace airborne pollution (such as coal dust) and, in young people, a rare genetic condition.
"Our aim is to diagnose COPD in the early stages, slow down the progress of the illness and achieve pulmonary rehabilitation so that patients can extend their lives."

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A free lung function testing event, held by the British Lung Foundation and NHS Hull, will be held at Mecca Bingo in Clough Road on 11 February. It is for anyone who would like to check the health of their lungs. The test is painless, takes around 10 minutes, and all people have to do is blow into a tube. Health professionals and stop smoking specialists will be on hand to advise people having the test. For more information on respiratory care call Karen Dexter or Julie Danby at NHS Hull on 335 465. For more on COPD visit www.lunguk.org

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NHS Hull tel. (01482) 344700