ACOS - what does that mean?
Asthma and COPD are both common lung diseases with very similar symptoms. Doctors have long had difficulty in diagnosing a patient when they presented with respiratory symptoms as to which category the patient falls into. Usually asthma is more likely in younger patients and COPD in older patients. However the mechanisms behind the symptoms for asthma and COPD are different and it is likely that 15%-25% of patients with obstructive lung disease actually suffer from both conditions simultaneously. When both of these occur in the same patient it is now known as Asthma COPD Overlap Syndrome or ACOS. Awareness is increasing but it is agreed that patients with ACOS suffer more frequent exacerbations, have a poorer quality of life, experience a more rapid decline in lung function, have a higher mortality rate and consume a disproprtionate amount of healthcare resources compared with patients who suffer from Asthma or COPD alone. However distinguishing ACOS from asthma or COPD is still problematic.
Asthma is defined as a disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways. With patients having a history of respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and a cough. These symptoms can vary over time and in intensity.
COPD is defined as a common and preventable disease, caused by chronic exposure to damaging gases or particles such as smoking. This causes chronic inflammation in the airways and lungs which is also progressive.
ACOS is defined as the patient suffering limited lung airflow with several symptoms that are usually associated with either asthma or COPD. Therefore if you have symptoms from both categories then you can be diagnosed with ACOS.
Unfortunately research on ACOS is limited as most research trials investigating COPD have excluded patients with asthma and vice-versa and also excluded those that presented with both. Also many patients have been misdiagnosed with asthma when in fact they may have COPD or ACOS.
So what is the difference?
All three conditions are chronic diseases and all patients will complain of a cough, dyspnea and wheezing.
Asthma and ACOS share the feeling of a tight chest.
Asthma patients tend to never have had smoked.
COPD and ACOS patients tend to have been exposed to burning fossil fuels, gases or have smoked.
ACOS may be diagnosed in patients that have had long-standing asthma or have had airway remodelling.
COPD and ACOS is usually diagnosed in patients older than forty although ACOS patients usually have had symptoms earlier in life in one form or another, whereas asthma is usually found in patients younger than 40 years of age. Asthma can manifest in childhood, fade away and then may reappear in adulthood at a later date.
Asthma symptoms tend to vary day to day and occur more often at night and linked to triggers such as pollen and dust and exercise. The symptoms also respond well to the right medication and treatment.
ACOS and COPD symptoms tend to be more persistent, improve less dramatically with treatment and progressively get worse.
All three diseases suffer exacerbations but patients with ACOS suffer them three times as frequently and much more severely compared to asthma or COPD alone.
Patients with long-standing asthma may begin to suffer with airway-remodelling which results in incomplete reversibility of airflow and the patient can begin to look more like someone with COPD.
With all these conflicting symptoms which may fall into multiple categories it is still a long and complicated process for a doctor to be able to diagnose their patient properly but once your GP has pieced together all your symptoms, history since a child and performed respiratory tests they should be able to place you in the correct category and treat your accurately.
ACOS is still a fairly newly recognised disease but it has allowed a new understanding of the interplay of asthma and COPD and new research topics are being investigated to aid in understanding all three diseases more accurately.
References: http://www.rtmagazine.com and http://www.goldcopd.org
What is pulmonary fibrosis?
Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) is a debilitating disease where there is progressive scarring of the lung tissue and interferes with the person's ability to breathe. It was only recognised as a disorder in its own terms in 2001 and before that was grouped under other similar lung disorders and was referred to as other disease titles.
It can in some cases be linked to a specific cause such as environmental exposures, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, residual infection or due to an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. However in cases where the cause is unknown it is referred to as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
While the cause of PF remains a mystery it is suspected that PF involves changes in the lung’s normal healing process. Patients may have an exaggerated or uncontrolled healing response that, over time, produces excessive fibrous scar tissue – or fibrosis – in the lungs. This scarring, in turn, causes the lung’s alveoli to thicken and stiffen-rendering them less able to function and provide the body with the oxygen it needs.
Exactly what sets this abnormal tissue-repair process in motion is unclear. The body’s own immune response may play a major role. Researchers are investigating a number of potential risk factors that may make a person more likely to develop Pulmonary Fibrosis.
These risks may include:
- Cigarette smoking
- Occupational exposure to dusty environments (e.g. wood or metal dust)
- Genetic predisposition (10-15 percent of cases)
- Viral or bacterial lung infections
- Acid reflux disease
Pulmonary Fibrosis hinders a person’s ability to take in oxygen. It causes shortness of breath and is usually associated with a persistent dry cough. The disease progresses over time, leading to an increase in lung scarring and a worsening of symptoms. Unfortunately, Pulmonary Fibrosis is ultimately disabling and fatal.
Symptoms of Pulmonary Fibrosis usually have a gradual onset and may include:
- Shortness of breath, especially after exertion
- Dry cough
- Gradual, unintended weight loss or weight gain
- Fatigue and weakness
- Chest discomfort
- Clubbing (enlargement of the ends of the fingers or toes) due to a build-up of tissue
PF affects each person differently and progresses at varying rates. Generally, the patient’s respiratory symptoms become worse over time and activities (such as walking or climbing stairs) become more difficult.
In addition:
- The patient may require supplemental oxygen
- Advanced PF makes it difficult for a person to fight infection
- Pulmonary Fibrosis puts a strain on the heart and on the blood vessels in the lungs, and may lead to high blood pressure in the lungs
- PF has also been associated with heart attacks, respiratory failure, strokes, blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism), lung infections, and lung cancer.
An important part of the treatment is the use of supplemental oxygen to provide your body with the required level of oxygen it needs but cannot get due to the scarring in the lungs.
Supplemental oxygen can:
- Decrease your shortness of breath
- Improve your ability to carry out daily tasks
- Improve your overall level of fitness
- Improve your quality of life
- Increase life span by decreasing the extra work your heart is doing because of low oxygen saturation levels
PF patients should also discuss the possibility of a lung transplant with their GP as soon as possible as unfortunately 30% PF patients succumb to their disease while waiting on the transplant list. This is due to the unpredictable progressive nature of the disease in combination with long transplant waiting lists.
There are new treatments being currently tested, which look promising at reducing symptom severity and aiding in decreasing the progression of the disease and ultimately aiding in improving life expectancy.
References: http://www.coalitionforpf.org and http://www.breathingmatters.co.uk
Cystic Fibrosis Discovery May Lead To New Treatment To Help Patients Breathe Easier
A team led by UC San Francisco professor of medicine John Fahy, MD, has discovered why mucus in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) is thick, sticky and difficult to cough up, leaving these patients more vulnerable to lung infection.
They found that inflammation causes new molecular bonds to form within mucus which transforms it from a liquid to a sludge.
This research has implications for other lung conditions characterized by thickened mucus, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and asthma.
The scientists also made headway in the lab in exploring a potential new therapeutic approach to dissolve those bonds and return the mucus to a liquid that is easier for the lungs to clear.
Polymers – naturally-occurring molecules in mucus that form long chains – are the key to the discovery. Originally it was thought that there was just an increased concentration of these polymers with CF sufferers but now they know that more bonds form they just need to develop a drug that will break down and dissolve these extra bonds safely.
Fahy likened the polymers to logs floating down a river. “The logs can float down the river as long as they are floating independently,” he said. “But if you bolt them together side to side, they will clog the river.”
The researchers found that inflammation causes the extra disulphide bonds to form, when mucin polymers are exposed to highly reactive oxygen molecules released by inflammatory cells in a process called oxidative stress. Patients who are treated with pure oxygen have long been known to develop sticky mucus and this could be an unfavourable side-effect of the oxygen that’s used to treat them.
A new drug called TDG has been developed to target these mucin polymer bonds to re-liquefy a patient's mucus but it is still going through the testing stages at present and will be at least 5 years away.
This new finding that explains the reason behind mucus thickening will not only help CF sufferers but other patients with lung diseases such as COPD and asthma. This potential new treatment in the pipeline could help millions of patients enjoy an easier more comfortable life if this drug can eliminate the problems of thickened mucus. It not only clogs up the lungs and makes breathing difficult and coughing it up distressing but also increases the risk of harmful infections taking hold, which could also be reduced with this new treatment.
References: www.ucsf.edu
Your phone can now measure oxygen levels
Professor Schatz and colleagues at the college of medicine at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois have developed a smartphone app called 'MoveSense' which can monitor a patient's oxygen saturation level by analysing the way they walk.
Patients suffering from cardiopulmonary disease could use this app to help them accurately monitor their condition and warn doctors early at first signs of trouble simply by carrying their phone around with them.
Unlike other methods of measuring oxygen saturation levels, which detect sharp drops causing desaturation, this app continuously monitors saturation, making the resulting patterns and trends possible to model accurately and visually.
“The ability to accurately measure oxygen saturation without the use of a pulse oximeter is something that has never been achieved, until now. The oximeter, a non-invasive medical device usually placed on the patient’s finger, measures the proportion of oxygen in the blood, combining status of the two major circulatory systems, the heart and the lung. The saturation level is an overall measure of the patient’s cardiopulmonary fitness,” said Schatz.
In a previous discovery Schatz realised that phone sensors can accurately measure people's walking patterns or gait. Doctor's often use a 6 Min walk test for patients with heart failure or COPD to provide information regarding a patient's functional capacity and response to therapy.
It was tested out on patients who used both a pulse oximeter and the phone app at the same time so that results could be compared and that a gait model could be computed to predict transitions in oxygen saturation.
The researcher's discovered that oxygen saturation readings clustered patients into three pulmonary function categories: one with high saturation, with low saturation and one with variable unstable saturation. In addition they discovered that analysis of the saturation combined with gait data could predict saturation category with 100% accuracy.
The ability to predict the saturation category of the patient internally from the motion of the patient externally is remarkable. This new capability will allow medical professionals to monitor patients’ vital signs, predict their clinical stability, and act quickly should their condition decline. Patients just need to carry their personal phones during daily living, as testing has shown that periodic samples are sufficient and that even inexpensive smartphones are powerful enough to record these.
“A discovery like this will impact general medicine, many medical specialities, and the lives of millions of people suffering from chronic cardiopulmonary diseases.”
References: www.med.illinois.edu
The dilema of a smoker with COPD
Smoking is a main contributing factor to developing COPD and there has been an ongoing debate as to whether Oxygen therapy should be prescribed to patients who are still smoking.
The reasons that oxygen might not be allowed are because in the presence of oxygen, things (like oxygen tubing, facial hair, clothing) are much more flammable and patients have set fire to their heads resulting in serious burns and occasionally even death.
Oxygen therapy is delivered through plastic tubes that go up the patients’ nostrils. Quite a lot of oxygen comes out of the nostrils and effectively bathes the face, head and clothing. Patients have set fire to themselves when not smoking, for example lighting stoves, and one patient was killed when an e-cigarette exploded.
The tubes that the oxygen goes through are made of PVC which is quite flammable and releases highly flammable vinyl chloride gas when it burns.
There is no safe way to smoke when using home oxygen. Until patients quit, they can practice safer smoking. Should an individual need to smoke, it’s important to first turn off the tank, and wait 10 full minutes before going outside to smoke. This practice should decrease the amount of oxygen in the home and on the person. The best way for patients to protect themselves, their families, neighbours, and emergency responders is to quit smoking.
Oxygen is a fundamental requirement for life and therefore taking away oxygen from a patient who will die without it is difficult and perhaps immoral, bringing into consideration other aspects of smoking.
Smokers quite often blame themselves for developing an illness where they are a burden on their families and often feel anxious, depressed and guilty. Oxygen therapy provides relief from some of the anxiety, but sadly effective psychological support is often lacking and oxygen is a kind of substitute.
The benefits from reducing smoking, such as fewer deaths and diseases of the heart and lungs can be discounted by 0% to offset the loss in pleasure that smokers suffer when they quit. For many smokers the fear of losing that pleasure from smoking and perhaps enjoying life a lot less is justifiable in perhaps dying sooner.
Patients are told not to smoke, but recent surveys show the percentage of home oxygen users still smoking to be between 14 and 51%. The use of a less combustible material for cannula tubing and a more efficient oxygen delivery system may reduce the incidence of such burns. Another suggestion would be labelling the oxygen cylinders with large stickers emphasizing the danger of smoking in the presence of oxygen.
In summary there are grave risks that COPD patients take if they smoke on oxygen therapy, such as a detrimental effect on health and disease progression and the risk of burns to themselves and others. However many find that oxygen therapy and the continuation of smoking improves their quality of life, both from the benefits of oxygen therapy and the pleasure obtained from smoking. There is a debate as to whether the importance of a patient's choice to choose how they live and die is outweighed by the possible risks and dangers to themselves and others.
References: http://abetternhs.wordpress.com
What has oxygen got to do with camping
Fatalities have risen this summer and as there are still a few weeks remaining until the end of the season the government have been pushing preventative warnings out to all holiday makers. Deciding to go camping or to stay in a caravan sounds like a harmless and easily planned event. This is why it is popular with older people, as it is easy to travel to and any disabilities or medical conditions can usually be easily managed, especially with a caravan as it is basically just a smaller version of your own home. However there are a few things that must be remembered when doing so, otherwise your holiday could go disastrously wrong.
The main cause of fatalities has been due to carbon monoxide poisoning and related dangers. Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous substance which is created when fossil fuels such as gas and solid fuels like charcoal and wood fail to combust fully due to a lack of oxygen. You can’t see it, taste it or smell it, but it can kill quickly with no warning.
This is usually caused by people cooking inside or allowing their BBQ’s to cool off inside the tent or caravan. When fuels are burning, the carbon monoxide being emitted is converted into relatively harmless carbon dioxide. But once the flame has gone out carbon monoxide continues to be produced and is no longer burnt off. The fumes build up in such an enclosed space quickly and many have died from inhaling carbon monoxide while they sleep. As carbon monoxide is inhaled, it enters the bloodstream and binds to the haemoglobin in red blood cells, replacing and blocking the oxygen molecules, which are normally attached. Your body is slowly starved of its oxygen as it cannot bind to the haemoglobin or travel into any tissues.
Another danger is from using open flame gas stoves, which if are not working properly or are left on can release harmful carbon monoxide. The open flames from a stove or BBQ also increase the risk to those that use oxygen as it is highly combustable and there have been incidences of explosions and severe burns where people have been cooking with their oxygen close by.
Make sure that tubing does'nt become tangled, equipment is secure and not used near open flames.
Oxygen therapy is the main treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning as the high concentration levels of oxygen basically forces displacement of the carbon monoxide molecules from the haemoglobin so that the oxygen can take its place. If you do start feeling any symptoms that could be carbon monoxide poisoning then having your oxygen close to hand could save your life. Some people keep their portable concentrator near to them when they sleep in case they awaken with breathing difficulties.
Barbeque safety
Never take a smouldering or lit BBQ into a tent, caravan or cabin. Even if you have finished cooking the BBQ should remain outside as it will still give off fumes for some hours after use
Never use a BBQ inside to keep you warm
Never leave a lit BBQ unattended or while sleeping
Place your cooking area well away from your tent. Always ensure there is an adequate supplyv of fresh air in the area where the BBQ is being used
Symptoms of CO poisoning include:
• headaches
• drowsiness
• dizziness
• chest pains
• nausea
• vomiting
At high levels, CO poisoning can cause:
• sudden collapse
• loss of consciousness
• death
It's not just BBQ season that you need to worry about CO poisoning, with winter around the corner many deaths occur from faulty boilers and open flames being used to help heat the home.
If you already have respiratory issues then even a small amount of carbon monoxide can greatly impact your oxygenation and breathing so ensure you have a monitor at home.
Carbon monoxide advice
Warning signs can include symptoms that disappear if you are away from your house, or which are worse in winter when the central heating is on more
Other people in the house, or pets, fall ill with similar symptoms
Clues to a leak can include black, sooty marks around gas fires, boilers or stoves
Smoke building up in rooms due to faulty flues
Do not sleep in a room that has an unflued gas fire or a paraffin heater
Make sure your kitchen has an extractor fan
Yellow instead of blue flames from gas appliances
To be safe, you should never use ovens or gas ranges to heat your home
Never use oversized pots on your gas stove, or place foil around the burners
Make sure rooms are well-ventilated and do not block air vents
References: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health and www.gov.uk
Colds and COPD
It's a depressing thought but autumn is just around the corner and with a change in weather there comes the increased chance of catching a cold. If you have COPD or emphysema then you probably already know how miserable it feels when you catch a cold as breathing is already a strain. Not only does catching a cold worsen your ability to breathe, but it also increases your chance of catching a more serious respiratory tract infection.
A cold is a viral respiratory illness, which normally affects your nose and throat but can affect your airways as well. A COPD patient already suffers from damaged airways and a cold will hinder your breathing further and cause other changes:
• An increase in phlegm
• An increase in the thickness or stickiness of the phlegm
• A change in phlegm colour to yellow or green
• The presence of blood in the phlegm
• An increase in the severity of shortness of breath, cough, or wheezing
• A general feeling of ill health
• Difficulty sleeping
• Increased fatigue
Respiratory infections are responsible for 70% of cases where a patient's COPD status has worsened. Catching a cold can open you up to a greater risk of developing more severe respiratory infections. Pneumonia is a common infection in COPD patients as the airways are obstructed and the body cannot cough up infected mucus.
Sometimes patients will require hospitalisation due to the worsening of their symptoms from a respiratory infection. It is important to always inform your doctor if your cold symptoms get worse and not wait until you have more serious breathing problems.
If you catch a cold then ensure you stay on your prescribed COPD medications and then decide, with your doctor, what else to take to treat the cold symptoms.
You might treat the body aches and fever associated with a cold with ibuprofen. Although antihistamines can be helpful if you have mild allergy symptoms, you should avoid them if you constantly have thick mucus; they may make it more difficult for you to cough up the phlegm.
Most over-the-counter cold remedies are generally safe for people with emphysema and chronic bronchitis. However, decongestants raise blood pressure and some of the drugs used to treat emphysema and chronic bronchitis can also increase your heart rate. Use cold remedies with caution, especially if you have high blood pressure or other heart issues in addition to COPD. Again, ask your doctor about medications for cold symptoms.
Patients who use supplemental oxygen should ensure their equipment is kept hygienically clean, especially when friends/family/carers come round who may have a cold or be the carrier of the cold virus. Some patients feel safer using their mask rather than their nasal cannula as it covers their nose and mouth to reduce the chance of breathing in germs. If you are trying to keep active then some use their masks and portable concentrators when going outside or when among crowds, not only to support breathing function but to protect from potential viral germs. Some patients also find that if they do feel cold symptoms coming on then using oxygen when they sleep overnight and using it more during the day helps prevent symptoms from worsening.
The best way to treat a cold is to prevent one, here are some general tips to help you avoid catching a cold:
• Wash your hands regularly.
• Avoid crowds during cold and flu season.
• Avoid cigarette smoke and air pollutants.
• Eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly.
• Stop smoking.
• Make sure you are using your inhalers correctly.
References: http://www.webmd.com
General benefits of oxygen
The benefits of oxygen can be felt by anyone, not just those suffering from a medical condition and requiring supplemental oxygen. We can all find easy ways to increase our oxygen levels naturally through breathing exercises, general exercise, getting more fresh air and eating a balanced diet of foods that help increase oxygenation in our blood.
The general benefits that oxygen brings to our body includes:
• Create energy
• Digest food
• Eliminate toxins from the body
• Fuel the body muscles
• Metabolize fat and carbohydrates
• Increased clarity
• Transport gases across cell membranes
• Strengthen our immune system
• Manufacture hormones and proteins
• Remove viruses, parasites and harmful bacteria
• Keeps the heart pumping and healthy
• Incites the lungs to breathe
• Allow the nerve system, and all other body tissues to function normally
Increasing your oxygenation levels and being fit and healthy has shown to be important for your health as optimum oxygen levels can improve wound healing, vision, mental clarity and intelligence, boost your immune system, help fight cancer cells, reduce stress levels, improve your heart and respiration and help you to lose weight.
For those people who use supplemental oxygen at home there are also long-term benefits:
• Prolongs life by reducing heart strain
• Decreases shortness of breath
• Makes exercise more tolerable
• Results in fewer days of hospitalization
• Improves sleeping
• Improves quality of life
Additional Benefits of Oxygen:
With increased oxygen levels the red blood cells can become fully saturated to provide their maximum potential of oxygen to our cells. Waste gases and toxins are removed more efficiently and cells can perform optimally. Many viruses and bacteria are anaerobic and cannot survive in oxygenated conditions. Oxygen can help build persistence to infections as it not only boosts the immune system but prevents anaerobic organisms from thriving. Oxygen also helps to neutralise acids such as lactate acid which builds up from high-working muscles. It improves wound healing by generating capillaries to grow into the wound to provide blood flow and oxygen to the injured cells to boost regeneration. It generally boosts all chemical pathways in our body and we can burn more fat. We feel better, our body is healthier and we think more clearly because of increased oxygenation.
Recent research has also discovered other benefits:
• Removes free radicals
• Reduces tissue swelling
• Increases energy metabolism in the brain
• Can create sustained cognitive improvement
• Wakes up idling brain cells that are metabolising enough to stay alive but are not actively ‘firing’
• Deactivates toxins and poisons (e.g. side effects from some chemotherapy, spider bites, air pollution, etc.)
• Enhances wound healing (stimulates new capillaries into wounds)
• Acts as an anti-inflammatory
Oxygen is required for nearly every mechanism within our body and by ensuring your body has the optimal levels of oxygen will improve your general medical health and well-being.
Too much oxygen however has a negative impact on our health which is why supplemental oxygen needs to be prescribed and regulated by a doctor to ensure that no oxidative stress occurs on the body which could lead to heart and respiration problems and necrosis.
References: http://www.bodydesigncenter.com
Anxiety
Many people who suffer from COPD also struggle with anxiety. When you have trouble breathing your brain triggers a response to warn you that something is wrong which can cause panic and sensations of anxiety. Also people find they suffer anxiety due to worrying and being stressed about the condition and prognosis as the disease worsens as well as being linked to depression which many COPD patient's suffer from. Medications used to treat COPD can also trigger anxiety too.
The Breathlessness-Anxiety Cycle
It is often a vicious cycle where feeling breathless can cause panic and anxiety, which in turn makes it more difficult to breathe. This cycle can be difficult to break and the symptoms of COPD become indistinguishable from the symptoms of anxiety. Many are confused and make lots of trips to the doctors. Many people avoid enjoying social and leisure activities that can cause breathlessness out of fear from potentially experiencing anxiety that may be caused.
Having some degree of anxiety when you have a chronic disease can be a good thing. It can make you pay attention to your symptoms and follow your treatment plan. It can also warn you when you need to seek medical attention, but too much anxiety can severely impact the quality of your life.
Coping With Anxiety
Coping with anxiety can be tricky especially as many medications have a negative impact on your health if you are suffering with COPD as they can cause decreased rate of breathing and interact with other COPD medications.
Your doctor can help you to determine what medication will work best for you. Some people with COPD find relief with non-addictive anti-anxiety medications which don't interfere with breathing.
Medications are helpful but their effectiveness will be increased by other means of reducing anxiety. Ask your doctor about referral to a pulmonary rehabilitation program, where you will receive education about COPD and get help with coping strategies to deal with your anxiety. One of the most important things that you learn in pulmonary rehabilitation is how to breathe more effectively.
Breathing Retraining
Breathing techniques such as “pursed lip breathing” can help to take the work out of breathing, slow your breathing down, keep your airway open for longer—and help you to relax. To do pursed lip breathing, you simply relax your upper body, and then breathe in slowly through your nose to the count of two. Then with lips pursed as if you were going to whistle, you breathe out slowly through your mouth to the count of four.
Counseling/Therapy
Many people with COPD find that individual counselling is effective in reducing anxiety. One common type of therapy called cognitive behavioural therapy helps people with anxiety symptoms decrease them through learning relaxation techniques and breathing exercises.
Group counselling, such as support groups can also help you to learn how to cope with COPD – and your anxiety – and being with others who have some of the same problems can help you to feel less alone.
Home Oxygen
Many find that if they are in the breathlessness/anxiety cycle then by immediately treating the breathlessness can instantly lessen the feelings of anxiety. By having a portable oxygen concentrator you have access to your oxygen wherever you are, whatever you're doing and if needed can use it when you are feeling short of breath. Knowing that you have the portable concentrator to hand can also in itself reduce your anxiety levels and help prevent episodes as you have that security and peace of mind that if your anxiety or COPD symptoms suddenly flare up that you have something close to hand to instantly resolve it.
References: http://www.healthline.com
Body weight and COPD
Malnutrition can be a common complication with COPD. This is due to dyspnea, a major symptom of COPD, which makes people feel like they have no appetite. People with COPD require 10 times as many calories as healthy people in order to breathe. A patient may suffer dyspnea, have no appetite and not eat enough. They then cannot get enough energy from their food intake to breathe sufficiently and they can then feel tired and their dyspnea increases, making it a vicious circle. The best way for someone to supplement calories without having to eat more to do so, is to eat foods that are higher in calories. This is just one reason why COPD patient's need to be careful of their diet.
Finding the right diet should be part of your management plan for COPD. A healthy diet can help people with COPD maintain an optimal weight and keep COPD symptoms in check, and it provides the much needed energy. The trick is eating right to avoid shortness of breath during meals.
COPD: The Impact of Body Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is very important in order to control your symptoms but being underweight is just as a bad as being overweight.
If you are overweight then carrying more weight around can increase shortness of breath. One factor that may contribute to the problem is the inflammation associated with fat tissue. But excess fat may also constrict the lungs, making it harder to breathe. The weight of the fat on the chest wall decreases the amount of room for the lungs. It also pushes up on the diaphragm, restricting its movement, particularly when bending over or lying down.
Being underweight however is potentially worse as being underweight and weaker will zap your energy, make it more difficult to breathe as your muscles are weaker and give you a poorer prognosis in the long-term.
COPD: Nutrition Tips
A doctor or nutritionist can help you to work out the plan to suit your medical requirements.
• Monitor calories: If you are overweight, you can lose weight by eating fewer calories. But don't eat so few calories that you feel fatigued and hungry all of the time.
• Avoid fad diets: COPD patients need to eat a healthful, balanced diet instead of going on fad diets to control weight.
• Focus on protein: Ensure you're eating enough protein as protein is particularly important for COPD patients who are exercising as part of their pulmonary rehabilitation plan.
• Watch your portions: COPD patients usually find it better to eat small meals frequently rather than large meals twice a day as it helps lessen shortness of breath.
• Get balanced: Focus on consuming fruits, vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, and lean proteins.
• Limit salt: Consuming excessive sodium can lead to fluid retention, which can worsen your shortness of breath.
• Remember your oxygen: If your doctor recommends it, use supplemental oxygen during and after meals to aid in digestion and help combat any periods of shortness of breath.
Ensuring you have a healthy diet is extremely important, not just in the types of food that you eat but the amount and frequency that you eat. The right plan can help manage your symptoms, improve quality of life, provide you with energy and help your body fight against infection. With COPD you need more energy to breathe so feed your body well.
References: www.everydayhealth.com and www.copd.about.com and www.health.com
