5 tips to better breath with COPD

Treatments and medication for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) range from simple breathing exercises to medications and even surgery. Take a look at some of the most effective tips to help improve your respiration. 

1. Mind your weight: People who are very sick with COPD use so much energy to breathe that they can have problems gaining weight. They often need to eat enough to gain weight.

But if people are overweight, shedding excess pounds can improve their breathing. For people who are overweight, it is like carrying something around that contributes to their shortness of breath.

2. Avoid pollutants: Like people with asthma and other lung conditions, COPD patients can be affected by things in the environment like fumes, strong perfumes, pollen, dust, second hand smoke, and construction sites. Doctors say these can exacerbate the disease, causing flare-ups and breathing problems. Avoid bad air as much as possible. Using air filters in the house or air conditioning when allergens are prevalent can be helpful.

3. Sleep well: a lot of people with COPD also have sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea or hypoventilation (breathing that is too slow or shallow). People who have this may be helped by using masks for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Signs of sleep problems to watch out for include feeling unusually tired all day, falling asleep during the day, morning headaches, and excessive snoring.

4. Do breathing exercises: There are two main exercises that are practiced in rehab to help people with COPD improve their breathing. The first is pursed-lip breathing. Some people with COPD have particular difficulty breathing out. When this occurs, air gets built up in the lungs and the lungs can’t expand as well. Pursed-lip breathing helps regulate this problem. To perform this, sit comfortably and inhale deeply through the nose. Purse lips (as though whistling) and breathe out three times longer than the in breath, but don’t force the air out. This technique can be used when shortness of breath occurs to regulate breathing patterns. A second exercise is diaphragm breathing. This technique helps strengthen the diaphragm muscle so people use less energy when breathing. To perform the exercise, lie on the back with knees bent, one hand on the upper chest and another resting on the abdomen. When inhaling and exhaling, keep the chest as still as possible and use the stomach to breathe. This should be practiced for five to 10 minutes three times daily.

5. Get active: Though someone who can’t breathe well may not feel like exercising, it is one of the most important things people with COPD can do to improve their breathing and overall health. Exercise doesn’t directly change a person’s lung function, but it improves muscle tone and cardiac function. For people with “symptom-limited exercise” doctors recommend walking a couple of blocks until they get winded, stopping to rest, and walking more when they can. Eventually, a person may be able to walk farther with less shortness of breath.

*Always remember to talk first to your GP before altering your treatment.

We hope these tips can help you have a better quality of life in spite of your COPD.

If you have other advice you would like to share don’t hesitate, remember that sharing can help everyone to cope and prevent.

Best,

Gilda