Tag: Lung Foundation

Inhaler Myths vs Techniques

One thing I’ve found is that there are a lot of ideas floating around about how to use inhalers but they are not necessarily the right ideas. Things get foggy as time passes since you’ve been shown how to use your inhaler or it may be that you were shown a technique years ago that has since been updated and changed after more recent research findings. When techniques are used effectively more medication reaches your lungs.

The other reason for incorrect technique is simply that your illness has outgrown your methods. The constant tightness or inflexibility of your lungs means you can’t take a deep breath anymore and gentle tidal breathing with a spacer or nebuliser may be the way to go from now on.

There are lots of devices and medications out there so it’s important to check annually, when you do a GP review of your COPD plan, that the way you are using your inhaler is the most effective way for you to get the medication into your lungs, after all that’s the main point isn’t it?

If you’re not sure, get in touch with your Doctor, Community Nurse, or Pulmonary Allied Health professional and ask them for a demonstration. The Lung Foundation has a patient resource page with videos and fact sheets on techniques specific to your device at: https://lungfoundation.com.au/resources/?search=inhaler%20device

Don’t leave it to work itself out but be pro active and self manage your way to effective use of your medications with good inhaler technique.

From the Horses Mouth

A recent Lung Foundation Seminar at Chermside had two lovely ladies give their knowledgable tips on coping with chronic breathlessness. Thank you to Lyn McDade and Joanne Smith! Have a try of these top 10:

  1. Understand your limits by listening to your body
  2. Go gently on difficult days but keep going.
  3. Connect with peers, friends and support groups
  4. Stress management and meditation
  5. Avoid foods that increase inflammatory responses in the body
  6. Complimentary medicine pathways
  7. Quiet Time and Prayer
  8. Exercise – walk groups, yoga, massage, hydrotherapy
  9. Self care as a prevention tool – layering for cold sensitivity
  10. Avoid ill acquaintances and high risk situations – busy crowds in flu season!

A Simple Fan to Reduce your Sense of Breathlessness

Breathlessness can be anxiety provoking when trying to get a job done and exert yourself. There is a lot of research that suggests that movement of air across the face and nose can reduce a persons sense of breathlessness and hence their level of anxiety .  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20471544

The main benefit is that it reduces your recovery time and is a self management  tool you can take anywhere you need it. If you don’t have a hand held fan in the moment then sit by an open window or on the verandah so the breeze crosses your face, especially the nose and mouth, and it may also help.

A hand held fan held 15- 20cm from the face works through cooling the nose and mouth with receptor messages sent to the brain altering the person’s sense of breathlessness, if your nose is blocked or mouth dry then it will be less effective.

The Lung Foundation has fans for sale in its online shop, alternatively they can be found with other retailers such as those specialising in electricals.

https://shop.lungfoundation.com.au/shop/hand-held-fan/

 

Health Education: Pneumonia Awareness Week 13-20 May

Keeping warm as the temperature drops morning and afternoon is key to staying well this week in Brisbane but we also need to keep an eye on our friends and family for symptoms that could be ignored as a simple cold.

Awareness of the symptoms Pneumonia, a serious condition, is one way you can help those you know and love who are considered to be at risk –  those with a chronic medical condition, a smoker, if they are 65 years or under 12 months of age.

Encourage them to get a medical check up with their practitioner if – difficulty breathing; fever; chest pain; cough; and fatigue. And if in doubt get it checked out, anyway.

For more information you can find a brochure on the Lung Foundation website at: www.lungfoundation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Lung-Foundation_Infographic_Pneumonia_Final.pdf

 

Community Connections – Newsletter Article

This May is Lung Health Awareness month and the May issue of the LungNet News includes an article I wrote to help you get back on your feet after a flareup or exacerbation of your pulmonary condition. Its called, ‘How to Grade your Return following an Exacerbation’. You can find it in the newsletter on the link below.

https://lungfoundation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/XANZOO180328_LungNet-May_Web.pdf

 

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.