Almost nothing hurts worse than watching someone you love deal with pain. We want nothing more than to help ease the pain, and the elderly in our lives need our help even more. In this article, we’re examining COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and its devastating effects on the lives of the seniors we care about. We’ll provide some tips and unique ideas for helping ease the pain, lessen the occurrence of symptoms, and even make life a little better. This will include practical tips such as using bed wedges, doing specific exercises and more.
Living with COPD
Living with COPD can be a constant struggle, and the environment you live in can have a big impact on your comfort level. If you have a loved one dealing with COPD and they are struggling to manage their symptoms, there are a few suggestions you can make that might help them. For starters, relocation could make a whole world of difference for COPD symptoms. The climate you live in, the altitude, pollen levels, and pollution all make an impact on how breathable the air in your area is. But before you suggest a move, you should know what to look for.
Climate
If you have COPD, living in a super hot climate can actually make it more difficult to breathe as humidity and temperatures increase. While many seniors take off for warmer weather in the winter, consider those symptoms and how you can best manage them first. A place with more mild climate and less extreme highs with minimal humidity could improve COPD symptoms and quality of life.
Altitude
Living in a higher altitude can also worsen COPD symptoms because the air is thinner, which can make it more difficult to breathe. Even healthy individuals can experience altitude sickness and symptoms ranging from dizziness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. If you’re considering a move, look for a location near sea-level or at least a lower altitude than your current location.
Smoking
Anyone with COPD knows that you don’t have to smoke to suffer the irritation caused by someone else’s habit. Second-hand smoke can cause a COPD flare-up, so living in a smoke-free community or area with strict smoking laws can help ease any symptoms.
Allergies
Whether or not you’ve suffered from seasonal allergies in the past, COPD can cause allergy symptoms to worsen or even show up for the first time in your life. In this case, you may want to consider reducing items in the home that might cause allergic reactions like carpet or old, dusty knick-knacks. Additionally, there are parts of the country that report below average levels of pollen in both spring and fall. Consider moving to a climate similar to cities in the Pacific Northwest like Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; or to warmer areas like Sacramento or San Diego, CA.
Air Quality
Air pollution can also have drastically negative health effects on people living with COPD. Smog and particle pollution can worsen symptoms, cause lung disease, and even death. Large urban areas are generally more polluted and Southern California can have some of the worst air-quality levels in particular. For someone with COPD, it would be best to avoid living in those areas.
If you care for someone living with COPD, it could be in their health’s best interest to move to an area that has milder climates, smoking bans, and lower pollen and pollution levels. However, before moving, be sure to check in with insurance and Medicare benefits to ensure that any location you choose will have the access to healthcare that your loved one needs.
Helping Ease the Pain
When it comes to someone you love or care about, easing their pain is your number one priority. Seeing them suffer causes your own unique type of pain and you’d do anything to fix it. Unfortunately, there is no quick cure to COPD; there are only ways of coping with it to ease the symptoms and pain.
There are many natural pain management tools that are perfectly safe for seniors and the elderly to use, like some supplements, essential oils, herbs, and other natural remedies. But COPD and respiratory issues often need specific remedies and habits tailored toward their symptoms. Here are five surprising ways to help ease the pain of COPD:
- A bed wedge can drastically improve the quality of sleep for people coping with COPD. Respiratory issues can make it hard to breathe while you sleep, preventing you from ever reaching a REM sleep cycle. A bed wedge elevates the head, neck, and shoulders to improve circulation, breathability, and quality of sleep.
- Music therapy is fun and surprisingly helpful to COPD sufferers. Not only does it improve their mood, but practicing to play an instrument can even strengthen lungs and improve COPD symptoms.
- Yoga is another practice that benefits the mind, soul, and body. Yoga, stretching, and light physical exercise can help improve blood oxygen levels and can even help keep you calm when a COPD flare-up and shortness of breath occurs.
- Walking can help overweight seniors with COPD to shed a few extra pounds and improve their lung function from the light exercise.
- Volunteering is a surprising way to help ease the pain of COPD. People who are suffering might find it difficult to help others, but that may be exactly what they need to feel a little better. Helping others with the same condition you are dealing with can help you feel less alone and happier.
You should always talk to a doctor about how you can help your friends and family dealing with COPD to be happier and more comfortable. The ideas in this article could help all senior with any illness or condition to at least feel better, if not drastically improve their symptoms.
Brooke Faulkner is a senior rights advocate and mother of two in the Pacific Northwest. She loves spending time with friends and family at the assisted living facility near her home and has collected more stories there than she can count.
