Reach out to your doctor if you have any of the early warning signs of an exacerbation. These can signal that you're about to have an exacerbation or are already having one.
An acute exacerbation — when you have serious symptoms like fever, shaking chills, confusion, chest pain, and coughing up blood — can land you in the hospital. You’re more likely to end up in a hospital when you’ve had at least three flare-ups in the past year or if you have severe COPD (even without a flare-up).
You might try to tough it out when you get sick or rarely call the doctor because you "hate to be a bother." However, in order to lead a healthy life with COPD, you’ll need to break out of those mindsets. A flare-up of COPD is not something that will just “run its course.” A doctor may be able to prescribe you medicine, such as antibiotics or steroids, that will help you get better instead of ending up in a hospital. Your care team may also decide to supervise you from your home if you have mild exacerbations.
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