With COPD, there are many things that can cause shortness of breath or shortness of breath. Different things cause shortness of breath in different people, but sometimes it seems like it’s happening for no reason. What can you do if this happens?
First, do your best to stay calm. I know, it is very difficult to stay calm when it seems that there is no air. Practice your pursed-lip breathing and try this mantra: Slowly say to yourself, “I’m breathing in…I’m breathing out.”
If you have a quick-relief inhaler, use it. If you’re wearing oxygen, put it on. Do a quick scan of your environment – is there anything there that could have triggered this? If you have accompanying chest pain, or if your shortness of breath gets worse for seconds, call Emergency Services right away. If you can stand, assume the position: hands on the back of a chair, or on a table or counter, leaning slightly forward. This expands your rib cage, allowing you to exhale excess carbon dioxide and take in a larger breath of fresh air.
There are many factors that can cause shortness of breath. It is important to know what can cause these frightening episodes. Often, it’s not so much a physical trigger, but a lack of best practices. For example:
(1) Did you take your medications and inhalers today? People with a good maintenance routine often feel fine and forget to take their maintenance inhalers or other important medications.
(2) Were you doing too much at once? COPD tends to slow people down. Then, on a feel-good day, that person will try to catch up on all the things he didn’t do last week. Remember to pace yourself in all of your daily activities.
(3) Were you holding your breath? Sometimes we just forget to breathe, much less practice our pursed lip techniques. Something seemingly benign, like watching a scary TV show or movie (what about the news?) sucks us in and we hold our breath in the suspense of it all.
(4) If you are prescribed oxygen with activities, have you stopped using oxygen with activities? I can’t tell you how many of my patients need oxygen with activity, but tell me they put it on sitting down, but take it off to go to the bathroom or go get something from the kitchen. This is backwards! I know those 100 foot oxygen hoses are a pain, but please don’t risk low oxygen levels and heart damage just by doing something for a few minutes.
So what can you do to prevent these episodes from happening unexpectedly? Here are some tips. Again, if you can’t catch your breath or have chest pain, call emergency services right away.
Make sure your medications are optimized. Schedule a medication review at least once a year with your GP or a pharmacist, to make sure you’re not taking any duplicate or conflicting medications.
Scan your home environment. Do you need to unwind a bit? Dust some more? Do you need help with these tasks? If you find that household chores take your breath away (especially ones that kick up a lot of dust), hire someone to do them for you. Splurge once a month to have someone deep clean, dust, and vacuum. You are worth it!
Post your Personal Action Plan to remind yourself what to do and in what order. The panic of the episode may even cause you to forget to use your inhaler, or forget to use your pursed-lip breathing techniques.
Keep a fan handy, whether it’s a personal handheld fan or a larger pedestal fan. Turn it on and stand or sit in front of it for a few minutes.
For long-term benefits, consider joining a pulmonary rehabilitation program or starting a regular exercise program. Regular exercise has been shown to help people with COPD. Be sure to exercise within safe limits for YOU.