Asthma, COPD and Lung Care in Miami Lakes

Breathing problems are common, and treatable

In 2023, 27.8 million people in the United States had asthma, about 1 in 12, including 4.8 million children. In Florida, 8.5% of adults have it (CDC). COPD is a group of lung diseases that get worse over time, mainly emphysema and chronic bronchitis (CDC), and chronic lower respiratory diseases, mostly COPD, were the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2024 (CDC).

Neither should simply be lived with. There’s no routine screening for COPD (NHLBI), so the way it gets found is someone mentioning the cough, the wheeze or the stairs that got harder. Mention it at your next primary care visit, or book one for it.

Asthma or COPD?

	Asthma	COPD
What it is	A long-term condition of the airways in the lungs	Lung diseases that get worse over time, mainly emphysema and chronic bronchitis
Common causes and triggers	Often allergic: dust mites, mold, pet dander, pollen; also exercise and cold air	Smoking is the main cause; also secondhand smoke, breathing hazards at work or in the air, family history, and asthma
Typical symptoms	Wheezing, coughing at night or early morning, shortness of breath, chest tightness	Frequent cough or wheeze, shortness of breath with everyday activities, extra mucus
How it’s diagnosed	Your history, an exam and lung function tests such as spirometry	Spirometry, the main test, which can find COPD before symptoms are noticed
Treatment basics	Quick-relief and daily controller medicines, and a written action plan	Quitting smoking, inhaled medicines and pulmonary rehabilitation

Sources: NHLBI on asthma and COPD; CDC on COPD. Three out of four people with COPD smoke or used to smoke (NHLBI).

Asthma: what good control looks like

Asthma medicines come in two main kinds. Quick-relief medicines ease symptoms during an attack; controller medicines, taken daily, help prevent attacks (NHLBI). Everyone with asthma needs their own asthma action plan (CDC): a written plan listing your triggers, which medicines to take and when, how to recognize an attack, and when to call for help or go to the emergency room (NHLBI). Ask for yours at your visit; it can be written in English or Spanish.

Control is measured, not guessed. Under the national asthma guidelines, well-controlled asthma in people 12 and older means symptoms and quick-relief inhaler use on no more than 2 days a week, and waking at night from asthma no more than twice a month (NAEPP). Night-time symptoms aren’t a separate kind of asthma, but a sign that it isn’t well controlled (NHLBI).

Inhaler technique matters

An inhaler only works if the medicine reaches your lungs, and that’s harder than it looks. Many people have problems loading their inhaler, breathing in correctly or cleaning it, and not all inhalers are used the same way (NHLBI). In a large review of studies in which trained staff watched patients, only about 1 in 3 used fully correct technique (Chest, 2016). Bring your inhaler to your visit, so your provider can watch you use it and fix what’s slipping.

COPD: slowing it down

For people who smoke, quitting is the most important step to slow COPD down (NHLBI); it reduces the loss of lung function over time (CDC). Pulmonary rehabilitation, a supervised program that helps people with lung disease live and breathe better, usually runs 2 or 3 sessions a week for several weeks or months (NHLBI), and Medicare covers it for moderate to very severe COPD (Medicare.gov). Infections can trigger flare-ups (NHLBI), and vaccines help prevent them: the CDC lists COVID-19, flu and pneumococcal vaccines for people with COPD (CDC), and recommends a flu vaccine every season for nearly everyone 6 months and older (CDC). Ask which ones you’re due for.

A cough that won’t go away

A cough that lasts 8 weeks or longer is chronic. It can come from allergies, sinus infections, asthma, acid reflux (GERD), or years of smoking or breathing secondhand smoke (NCI). Asthma doesn’t always wheeze; a cough can be its main sign, especially in young children (NAEPP). And one cause hides in the medicine cabinet: ACE inhibitors, a common kind of blood pressure medicine, can cause a persistent dry cough that goes away when the medicine is stopped (FDA label). Bring your medicine list, and don’t stop anything on your own.

Allergies, mold and Miami’s humidity

Asthma is usually a type of allergic reaction, set off by dust mites, mold, pet dander and pollen (NHLBI). Mold can trigger an asthma attack whether or not you’re allergic to it; the CDC advises keeping indoor humidity under 50%, drying damp things within 24 to 48 hours, and watching air quality forecasts (CDC). When the Air Quality Index is above 100, the air is unhealthy, first for sensitive groups and then for everyone as the number climbs (AirNow).

Allergy testing is done in the same office, so an allergic trigger can be confirmed without a separate referral. For people 5 and older whose asthma worsens around allergens they’ve tested positive for, allergy shots are recommended as an added treatment, though not for severe asthma (NHLBI). For more, read what to expect at an allergy skin test.

Free help to quit smoking

Quitting is hard, and you don’t have to do it alone or pay for help. The national quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-855-DÉJELO-YA in Spanish), offers free coaching (CDC). Tobacco Free Florida adds free coaching by phone, text, chat or in groups, and free nicotine patches, gum or lozenges for adults when they’re medically appropriate (Tobacco Free Florida). The FDA has approved seven quit-smoking medicines: five nicotine replacement products and two pills, bupropion and varenicline (CDC). Your provider can help you choose, and Medicare covers up to 8 counseling sessions a year (Medicare.gov).

Breathing care is done at both the Miami Lakes and Kendall offices. If you’re having trouble breathing today, come in for a same-day visit. Severe trouble breathing is an emergency: call 911. New patients can start with the new patient guide, and the Medicare guide covers what Medicare pays for.