Living With COPD
Newly Diagnosed
After you have been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), chances are, there will be changes in your everyday life. These changes may be small, or they may have a big impact.
Talk with your doctor about how you can breathe better, help slow the progression of your COPD, lower the chances of getting sick with breathing problems, and improve your ability to take part in your usual—or new—activities.
Thousands of individuals with COPD are active members of this community. By calling the C.O.P.D. Information Line at 1-866-316-COPD (2673), you and/or a caregiver can connect with the community, and talk to others who are living well with many of the same challenges you face.
Talk with your doctor about how you can breathe better, help slow the progression of your COPD, lower the chances of getting sick with breathing problems, and improve your ability to take part in your usual—or new—activities.
Thousands of individuals with COPD are active members of this community. By calling the C.O.P.D. Information Line at 1-866-316-COPD (2673), you and/or a caregiver can connect with the community, and talk to others who are living well with many of the same challenges you face.
Understand Your Lungs
Understanding what's going on in your lungs can help you feel more control over your breathing. Here’s a start…
When you breathe in, air enters your body through your nose and mouth. This upper airway warms, humidifies, and filters the air you breathe. The air continues down through the trachea (windpipe), into your bronchi (airways), and into your lungs. The air we breathe on earth contains about 21% oxygen.
At the end of each bronchi is a cluster of alveoli (air sacs). The walls of the alveoli are about as thin as a soap bubble. Oxygen goes through these thin walls and into the blood where it is carried throughout your body. Oxygen helps fuel all the work your body must do to stay alive, move, and get you through your day. A healthy adult lung contains an estimated 300 million alveoli!
After your body uses the oxygen, it becomes carbon dioxide, which travels back to your lungs and is breathed out.
Your lungs have a system, hair-like sweepers called cilia, to clean out the mucus. These cilia move mucus upwards, kind of like a conveyor belt.
When smoke and other pollutants enter the lungs, the cilia are often paralyzed or destroyed. This causes airways to become swollen and narrowed. The lungs should be elastic, able to stretch and then return back to normal size. Over time, lungs with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease lose their elasticity, get big and floppy, and make it hard for you to get air out.
When you breathe in, air enters your body through your nose and mouth. This upper airway warms, humidifies, and filters the air you breathe. The air continues down through the trachea (windpipe), into your bronchi (airways), and into your lungs. The air we breathe on earth contains about 21% oxygen.
At the end of each bronchi is a cluster of alveoli (air sacs). The walls of the alveoli are about as thin as a soap bubble. Oxygen goes through these thin walls and into the blood where it is carried throughout your body. Oxygen helps fuel all the work your body must do to stay alive, move, and get you through your day. A healthy adult lung contains an estimated 300 million alveoli!
After your body uses the oxygen, it becomes carbon dioxide, which travels back to your lungs and is breathed out.
Your lungs have a system, hair-like sweepers called cilia, to clean out the mucus. These cilia move mucus upwards, kind of like a conveyor belt.
When smoke and other pollutants enter the lungs, the cilia are often paralyzed or destroyed. This causes airways to become swollen and narrowed. The lungs should be elastic, able to stretch and then return back to normal size. Over time, lungs with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease lose their elasticity, get big and floppy, and make it hard for you to get air out.
Medications
There are many medicines available for the treatment of COPD. Some of these medicines can be taken as pills or capsules. Some are inhaled as a mist or a powder. Different types of medications work in different ways. It’s important to understand how your breathing medications work so you can get the most out of them.
Controller and Rescue Medications
Most people with COPD need to take some medicines every day, even if they are breathing well. These are controller medications. When you take inhaled controller medications, your breathing doesn’t feel better right away. These medicines are meant to work in the long term, keeping your lungs open so you can breathe as well as possible, and stay active every day. They can help prevent you from becoming sick with a serious breathing problem (acute exacerbation of COPD) that may require you to stay in the hospital.
Rescue inhalers go to work right away. You should feel relief in less than a minute. Rescue inhalers are good to have, but letting your lungs get tight, then rushing in with a rescue inhaler is not the best way to treat COPD. Follow your medication schedule and take your controller medicines every day, even when you’re feeling fine. If your COPD is under good control, you should not have to rely on rescue inhalers more than a couple times a week.
Keep track of how long your inhalers last, and refill your prescriptions with time to spare so you don’t run out. Show a respiratory health professional how you take your inhaler, and learn the best technique so you get the most benefit from your inhaled medications.
All medicines can have side effects. Tell your health care provider about all the medicines you take so you can talk together about them.
Controller and Rescue Medications
Most people with COPD need to take some medicines every day, even if they are breathing well. These are controller medications. When you take inhaled controller medications, your breathing doesn’t feel better right away. These medicines are meant to work in the long term, keeping your lungs open so you can breathe as well as possible, and stay active every day. They can help prevent you from becoming sick with a serious breathing problem (acute exacerbation of COPD) that may require you to stay in the hospital.
Rescue inhalers go to work right away. You should feel relief in less than a minute. Rescue inhalers are good to have, but letting your lungs get tight, then rushing in with a rescue inhaler is not the best way to treat COPD. Follow your medication schedule and take your controller medicines every day, even when you’re feeling fine. If your COPD is under good control, you should not have to rely on rescue inhalers more than a couple times a week.
Keep track of how long your inhalers last, and refill your prescriptions with time to spare so you don’t run out. Show a respiratory health professional how you take your inhaler, and learn the best technique so you get the most benefit from your inhaled medications.
All medicines can have side effects. Tell your health care provider about all the medicines you take so you can talk together about them.
Breathing Techniques
Before starting these techniques, ask your Health Care Provider if they are right for you.
Having COPD makes it harder to breathe. And when it’s hard to breathe, it’s normal to get anxious, making you feel even more short of breath. It’s also normal to hold your shoulders tense and high. Before starting, take a minute to drop your shoulders down, close your eyes, and relax.
Here are two breathing techniques that will help you get the air you need without working so hard to breathe.
Pursed-Lips Breathing
Pursed lipped breathing helps you in a number of ways. It:
It just takes 4 steps to do purse-lip breathing:
Diaphragmatic (Abdominal/Belly) Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is not as easy as pursed-lips breathing. It is recommended that you get instruction from a respiratory health care professional or physical therapist experienced in teaching it. This technique is best used when you’re resting, feeling anxious, and while sitting or laying down.
Better Breathing Tip: Stop, Reset, Continue
When you are feeling short of breath during exercise or regular activities, try these 3 tips:
Having COPD makes it harder to breathe. And when it’s hard to breathe, it’s normal to get anxious, making you feel even more short of breath. It’s also normal to hold your shoulders tense and high. Before starting, take a minute to drop your shoulders down, close your eyes, and relax.
Here are two breathing techniques that will help you get the air you need without working so hard to breathe.
Pursed-Lips Breathing
Pursed lipped breathing helps you in a number of ways. It:
- Slows your breathing down
- Keeps airways open longer so you can get rid of more stale, trapped air
- Moves the air in and out without working so hard to breathe
- You are less short of breath with activity
It just takes 4 steps to do purse-lip breathing:
- Inhale through your nose like you’re sniffing in for 2 whole seconds
- Pucker your lips like you’re getting ready to blow out candles on a birthday cake
- Breathe out very slowly. Blowing out should be twice as long as breathing in
- Repeat
Diaphragmatic (Abdominal/Belly) Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is not as easy as pursed-lips breathing. It is recommended that you get instruction from a respiratory health care professional or physical therapist experienced in teaching it. This technique is best used when you’re resting, feeling anxious, and while sitting or laying down.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly
- Inhale through your nose. Concentrate on your belly moving outward, and keep the hand on your chest still
- Slowly exhale
- Repeat
Better Breathing Tip: Stop, Reset, Continue
When you are feeling short of breath during exercise or regular activities, try these 3 tips:
- Stop your activity
- Reset by sitting down, relax your shoulders, and do pursed-lips breathing until you catch your breath
- Continue activity
If you found this information useful, please visit the COPD Foundation website to see all of their fantastic information and resources:
Click Here for the COPD Foundation website!
Click Here for the COPD Foundation website!
Information originally from the COPD Foundation:
http://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Living-with-COPD/Newly-Diagnosed.aspx
http://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Living-with-COPD/Newly-Diagnosed.aspx