Category: Factors Affecting Breathlessness

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Reduced Activity

A big question  people with breathlessness face is how much activity is too much?

We need to take a look at what they are doing, how breathless they get and what measures are in place to manage that and return to a pre-activity level when the task is finished. The bottom line is the need to keep moving. If you say I’m breathless and stop then you will decondition and the breathlessness will increase. You need to be active to a level you can use techniques to control the breathlessness and not let it get out of hand in order to keep daily activities  maintaining muscle conditioning. Muscles that preserve your balance, help you breath and maintain mobility and independence.

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Thoughts (3)

I mentioned in my last post that thoughts affect behaviour. A great way to manage breathlessness is to keep moving. So here is where your thoughts come into play. The activities you choose to keep moving in have to be meaningful, they have to be something you get positive feelings and thoughts from, they need to matter to you. So if nature moves you then find something that engages that meaningfulness. It could be gardening, going for a walk by a stream, having breakfast with a view of the trees and flowers blowing in the wind, the clouds scudding across the sky. Positive and meaningful activity will keep you moving through your breathlessness.

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Thoughts (2)

Thoughts are funny things, they can affect our feelings and behaviour in many ways. For instance, if we get anxious about our breathlessness then we may feel a little overwhelmed. A good way to deal with this is in keeping yourself well informed about your condition. Information on things such as breathing techniques and postures can empower and give you back that sense of control thereby helping defeat those negative thought patterns and focus on the things you value most.

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Thoughts

Breathlessness can cause thoughts of anxiety and distress leading to greater levels of breathlessness. Relaxation is an important part of managing these thoughts. Try relaxed breathing, tai chi, light gentle exercise in your chair or go for a walk or even try some hydrotherapy with your exercise specialist.

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Temperature

Temperature can be a factor in your breathlessness – with the onset of the cooler weather at present your early morning paper pick up is probably going to be more comfortable an hour later as it warms up. On the flip side be aware of the drop on the end of the day and rug up sufficiently. Shower temperatures in the extreme can also have an impact so don’t be tempted to overuse the hot water water now its cooler. The resulting steam will necessitate good ventilation to ensure comfort and not exacerbate your symptoms.

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Exertion

The type of exertion made in activity can be a factor in your breathlessness. Consider the energy needs of what you are doing; can I make this simpler, can I break it down into parts, can I use a piece of equipment to make it easier, can I take out the bending and reaching, can I sit whilst I do the job at hand?

 

The goal is not to stop being active but to change the way you do things in order to maintain your independence for as long as possible.

 

Factors Affecting Breathlessness: Body position

Today we will start a small series of tips to manage shortness of breath for lung awareness month.
Factors affecting breathlessness can be used to limit exacerbations and promote healthy choices.
i. Body position- shortness of breath can catch you unawares at times in the middle of activity. It is important to use the environment around you to sit or lean forward, reducing energy and oxygen needs and opening the chest for expansion, relaxing the shoulders and focusing on relaxing the breath out.