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Positive Options for Living with COPD: Self-Help and Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Positive Options for Living with COPD: Self-Help and Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Positive Options for Living with COPD: Self-Help and Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
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Positive Options for Living with COPD: Self-Help and Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

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The diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be devastating. It’s important to note, though, that while COPD is debilitating, it is not a death sentence. With proper disease management, people with COPD can expect to live a full and happy life. While there are no magic pills or quick fixes, there are many things COPD sufferers can do to have more energy, less shortness of breath, and an overall better quality of life despite breathlessness or use of home oxygen. This comprehensive guide helps people in any stage of COPD learn to work with their physical limitations rather than against them. Compassionate and clearly written, it covers every aspect of the disease, including the psychological and emotional issues that go along with having COPD, medications and physical therapy, identifying triggers and warning signs, creating an action plan for worsening symptoms, techniques to make breathing easier, working with healthcare providers, and much more.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 18, 2010
ISBN9781630265571
Positive Options for Living with COPD: Self-Help and Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

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Rating: 4.44736847368421 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The book is wonderful. I am an RT student and this book was really helpful for examination I had. Anyone living with this condition should have a copy. Basic book and does a good job at explaining the details and what should be done to live with COPD.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There simply is NOTHING left to say about COPD that isn;t in this book. There are basiclaly three reasons for earning five stgars, but they all come down to content, even style in fiction. In this case, it is if the information presnted is complete and well outlined. It is. I am glad to see that Ms Allen inserting a spiritual guide as well as the other chapters that deals strictly with the physical and medical care. I have lived with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for some 15 years now, and there are some things I learned, but more importantly, there are many things I had forgotten, all in this book. I recommedn it as MANDATORY reading to anyone with COPD and hope that the publisher, Hunter House, will commission a postive options book for Congestive Heart Failurel (CHF), diabetes, Alzheimers, and Parkinson as well. Ms. Allen's information has updated a few myhths or "facts of yesterday," if you will. Respiratory cells CAN be renewed, she says, and so true it is. We had fallen for the "fact" thaqt lung and bronchial cells were not renewal, but we know today, like brain cells, all cells are renewable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was extremely well-written. As a medical student, I am always reading books about various medical disorders. COPD is not a disease to be taken lightly, as any sufferer of this condition could easily attest to. Even though the book itself is not very long, it still contains an ample amount of information. There are a few drawings scattered throughout the book, which shows the anatomy of the respiratory system as well as the mechanics involved with breathing. This book is also beneficial to the lay person, as it has a full glossary at the end. Also, there are a few pages of helpful resources following the glossary, which allows the reader to do further research on their own. For any person interested in COPD (or any sufferers or family members of someone who suffers from this condition), I would highly recommend grabbing a copy of this very helpful guide.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Don't think because this book is a scant 134+ pages that you won't find a wealth of great information within. As a sufferer of COPD I am always looking for up to date information, coping skills and any other information to make my life more comfortable living with COPD. The book begins with a in depth description of the components of COPD, the tests for diagnosing it and treatment options, including medications currently available. This is great information for the newly diagnosed as a reference. The book then goes on to discuss alternative therapies, strategies for dealing with flare-ups of symptoms, and thoughtful breathing techniques. The authors then touch on exercise and nutrition as a way to manage COPD. One of my favorite sections of the book was daily living tips. So many types of this kind of book stresses the form and function of the disease without any relation to the emotional and physical tolls. Not this one. I was very happy with the information provided. I was very glad that the writing was positive without being preachy, especially on the section for terminal sufferers. If all of the Positive Options for Health series books are written this well, with this much detail, I can't wait to read some of the others. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was pleased with this book. I signed up because my grandmother lived with COPD for most of my childhood and teenage years, until she passed from it in 2003. I was very close with her, and from the time that I was old enough, I helped to take care of her. Though, I never quite understood what it meant to have COPD. THis book was very informative, and explained so much that I had questions about. I now understand this disease so much better, and I recommend it to anyone who is suffering from or has family or friends who are suffering from COPD. I also think that it includes alot of information that even my grandmother would have found useful. This disease can steal your life from you, but with the right information, you can significantly improve your life, and this book is a great tool for that. Thank you so much to Teri Allen for writing it. I hope she knows how many lives she can help by having written this book. The book was very easy to understand, which is sometimes not the case with books on medical issues.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I don't have COPD. I also never expect to have COPD. But if I did have COPD, I would hope that somebody would recommend this book to me.This book, while thin, does not see that daunting to the casual reader; however, it is a storehouse of information. It takes you through the many options you would face, were you diagnosed with COPD, ranging from medicine, surgery, psychology, and even more natural approaches to treating the condition.Were I to discover I had an incurable condition that would be with me the rest of my life, I would hope I could find a book as comforting and informative as this one.If you or somebody you know has recently been diagnosed with COPD, I highly recommend this resource to help you adapt and adjust to your new life.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    We have several family members who have COPD and we've been looking for ways to approach their condition with a more positive spin. Since they were smokers it is very clear what caused their condition and it is too late now to say "would have, should have" so we need to face facts and move on.This book is very basic and does a good job of explaining the condition in simple terms. It gives suggestions for improving your health even after diagnosis.One thing that I found disturbing was the discussion of preparing for life once oxygen becomes a needed accessory and being wheel-chair bound is a possibility.The people in our family with the disease are both still very vital and active so thinking of them in terms of having limited abilities is very hard. Perhaps it is necessary, but I'm not sure that lends a positive spin to the book.We were planning on passing this book on to one of our family members with the condition: however, after reading it I don't think we will yet. He doesn't think of himself as sick and right now I think that is best.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Positive Options for Living with COPD, by Teri Allen, is a book I really wish I had read 10 years ago. My father just died last month after 10 years of painful struggle with COPD. After reading this book the first thing I did was go to an allergist to get tested for AAT deficiency, which my father had, to find out if I was genetically programmed to get this disease early. I am so grateful the test was negative, but if it had been positive, reading this book informed me that I could have had medical treatment to continue in good health.This book has so much essential information about a disease that is so terrible, and yet about which little information has been generally available. My father saw doctors all those years and yet none of them every suggested half of the treatments that are written about here. A few of the things I already knew and tried to get my father to do, but he was of the generation who would listen to the guy in the white coat and not his daughter. I don’t mean to make this review too maudlin, because it was time for my father to go, and I am at peace with his death, and grateful that his suffering is over. I wish I could have read this book earlier, but I am very glad to have read it now. Because I read it, I found out about the genetic test, and don’t have to worry that I will develop this automatically. I now know that I still need to be careful about monitoring my pulmonary function because of years of asthma and allergies, but I feel empowered to know the things I can do to prevent COPD, and improve my life if I should ever develop it because of childhood exposure to second-hand smoke. I am also thrilled to find out that I can do a lot to ensure my children’s life long good health. My aunt on my father’s side also has COPD, and I am sending her this book because now I know that even after a person has the disease, there are a lot of positive things you can do to make your life much better.

Book preview

Positive Options for Living with COPD - Teri Allen

CHAPTER 1

Understanding the

Respiratory System

The first step toward effective disease management is to become familiar with the body parts involved. Learning about the respiratory system will make it easier for you to understand the terminology used by your health-care providers. This will enable you to better understand your disease, as well as to learn why your health-care provider prescribes different treatments and how mismanagement can affect other body systems, which may further complicate the disease process.

The Respiratory System

The respiratory system is both sophisticated and delicate. It supplies your body with the oxygen it needs to survive. Without the oxygen you take in with every breath, you would die within minutes.

Every cell in your body needs oxygen to survive. Oxygen allows the cells to extract energy from the food you eat. Without oxygen the body has no energy, and as a result—no life.

About 20 percent of the air you breathe is oxygen. The rest is comprised of nitrogen and trace gases. When the oxygen supply reaches your cells, it combines with food to produce energy. The waste products from this reaction are water and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is toxic to the body. The respiratory system rids the body of carbon dioxide by exhalation.

In simple terms: When you inhale, you take in oxygen, which is carried to the cells and creates energy for your body (see Figure 1.1). When you exhale, carbon dioxide is eliminated from the body, preventing toxic results. This process is called gas exchange, or oxygen transport.

FIGURE 1.1: The oxygen transport system. Oxygen is taken in through the lungs, passes through the capillary system, and travels on to the skeletal muscles.

The Upper Airway

The upper airway consists of the nose and the mouth (see Figure 1.2). The nose functions to warm, filter, and humidify the air you breathe. Inside the nose are many tiny hairs that filter out dust, smoke, and other foreign particles that you may inhale. The nose is lined with mucus to help trap these particles. When you sneeze or blow your nose, these particles are expelled.

In addition, the warm, moist surface of the inside of the nasal cavity humidifies and warms the air that you breathe before it reaches your lower airways.

The Lower Airway

After air passes through your nose or mouth, it continues on through the windpipe (trachea). The trachea is lined with cartilage, making the passageway very strong and rigid.

FIGURE 1.2: A lateral view of the head showing the anatomy associated with the upper respiratory system.

The trachea divides into two branches, like a tree (Figure 1.3). The branches are called the right and left bronchi. Like the nasal cavity, they are lined with mucus and hairlike structures called cilia, which further protect your lungs from foreign particles. Coughing usually brings up the mucus that has collected for elimination.

The bronchial tubes continue to branch into smaller and smaller tubes (airways). Bands of muscle wrap around these smaller tubes. Air travels through these branches until it reaches the smallest airways, which are called bronchioles.

FIGURE 1.3:The trachea and bronchi.

The bronchioles end in saclike structures, which are called alveoli (see Figure 1.4). This is where the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occurs. Healthy lungs usually have 300 million alveoli (air sacs), which are similar to balloons.

FIGURE 1.4: The terminal end of the respiratory tract showing bronchioles and alveoli.

The blood vessels that surround the alveoli absorb oxygen into the bloodstream. They also allow carbon dioxide to be removed from the blood. Carbon dioxide enters the alveoli and is exhaled (see Figure 1.4).

Blood travels through these tiny blood vessels into larger vessels that eventually empty into the left side of the heart. This oxygen-rich blood is then carried to every cell of the body.

When the blood returns to the right side of the heart, it is full of carbon dioxide that needs to be eliminated. The blood is pumped from the right side of the heart through the lungs and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs (see Figure 1.5).

How Breathing Works

With healthy lungs, little work goes into the act of breathing. The huge band of muscle below the rib cage, called the diaphragm, contracts and pulls air into the lungs. As the diaphragm relaxes, air is exhaled with no effort at all.

FIGURE 1.5: A schematic representation of pulmonary circulation.

How Breathing Is Controlled

The brain is the control center for breathing. The body sends signals to the brain when carbon dioxide levels increase above normal levels. The brain tells the body to breathe faster and/or deeper to get rid of the excess carbon dioxide. This is most noticeable during exercise. As the muscles use more oxygen for energy, there is more carbon dioxide waste to be removed. The brain senses this and tells the body to breathe harder and faster.

How the Heart and Lungs Work Together

The heart and lungs work together to keep the body supplied with oxygen. When the heart and lungs are working together properly, our body gets the oxygen it needs and we are healthy. But if one of them becomes diseased or damaged, the other has to work harder to compensate and keep the body in balance.

Two things happen when the lungs are damaged:

1. Lack of oxygen makes the heart pump harder and faster in an effort to keep the oxygen levels normal. At first, the heart muscle is strong and can keep up with the work. But the heart is not made to work this hard and this fast for long periods of time. Eventually, the heart becomes tired and weak.

2. Additionally, in response to hypoxia (low blood-oxygen levels), the tiny blood vessels in the lungs constrict (become smaller). This constriction creates resistance to blood flow. Back flow creates strain on the heart muscle and weakens it. This can lead to right-sided heart failure (cor pulmonale). Some people with COPD have this complication as well.

TEST YOUR RESPIRATORY IQ

To test your respiratory IQ, decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1. The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs in the alveoli.

2. Healthy lungs have about 300 alveoli.

3. The diaphragm is the major muscle used for breathing.

4. Bands of muscle that line the bronchial tubes can constrict, causing shortness of breath.

5. The nose has no important function in the respiratory system.

(Answers: 1:T 2:F 3:T 4:T 5:F)

CHAPTER 2

What Is COPD?

You are probably reading this book because you or someone you love has breathing problems. You may have been given a diagnosis of emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or chronic asthma. All of these conditions have one thing in common—airway obstruction. People with COPD either have trouble getting air into or out of their lungs. This can cause a wide range of symptoms, but they are all related to airway obstruction.

COPD is suspected when certain symptoms are present, especially when combined with a history of smoking and/or an exposure to particles such as dust, chemicals, or fumes while on the job.

People exposed to indoor air pollution, such as heating supplied by a woodstove, or to high levels of outdoor industrial air pollution are also at risk for developing COPD, especially if combined with a history of smoking.

Symptoms and tolerance to COPD vary from person to person. However, most people share some common symptoms, including:

a cough that is chronic and productive of sputum

repeated episodes of acute bronchitis

shortness of breath that becomes worse over time, is present every day, and becomes worse with exercise or during respiratory infections

A diagnosis of COPD must be confirmed through spirometry testing, which is described in more detail in Chapter 3. An accurate diagnosis is important so that the most effective treatment can be prescribed. COPD is a combination of three disorders—chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic (or bronchial) asthma—all of which disturb the airflow through the respiratory system.

Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is identified when an individual has a productive cough for three months or more over a two-year period. It is different from acute bronchitis because chronic bronchitis does not go away. It usually develops due to smoking, occupational exposure to irritants, or frequent childhood respiratory infections.

Chronic irritation of the bronchi creates inflammation of the bronchial lining. This inflammation narrows the airways (see Figure 2.1). It also leads to excess mucus production, resulting in a smoker’s cough.

The lungs produce excess mucus as a defense against inhaled irritants. Normally, the excess mucus would trap small particles before they enter the lungs and would then be coughed out. Chronic irritation and inflammation result in an increase in mucus production cells as the body tries harder and harder to defend the lungs. This excess mucus becomes difficult to cough up and becomes trapped in the narrow, inflamed airways, thus leading to obstruction.

FIGURE 2.1: Chronic bronchitis

Trapped mucus is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, and this puts you at risk for lung infections such as pneumonia (see Figure 2.2).

FIGURE 2.2: Lungs showing two types of pneumonia (left) lobar and (right) lobular. Microscopic view shows bacteria responsible for fluid build-up.

People with chronic bronchitis may experience shortness of breath. The degree of breathlessness depends upon the amount of airway congestion and irritation. Periods of flare-up (exacerbation) usually follow an upper respiratory infection and symptoms may become more noticeable at this time.

Emphysema

While chronic bronchitis mainly involves the bronchial tree, emphysema involves the lower airways, especially the bronchioles and the alveoli. Constant exposure to irritants causes the bronchioles to lose their elasticity, which causes them to narrow and collapse. The alveoli are damaged as well, which stretches out and destroys the delicate air sacs (see Figure 2.3).

FIGURE 2.3: Emphysema

Our body’s defense system can cause a lot of the damage seen with emphysema. In healthy lungs, an enzyme is released to prevent lung damage from invaders such as bacteria. This enzyme eats bacteria. But if too much enzyme is released in a defensive reaction, the enzyme will also eat the lung tissue and leave holes.

In healthy lungs, chemicals are released to block the effects of damage from this bacteria-eating enzyme. Cigarette smoking disrupts the body’s normal defense system and results in overproduction of the enzyme. The enzyme runs wild and eats lung tissue, resulting in a type of Swiss cheese effect in the lungs.

In addition to smoking, there is a rare genetic cause

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