Breathing Distress With COPD....

            Why & How to Breathe Properly ©Philip J. Cable 2006 - Permission granted to re-produce For non-profit distribution.

Note about the Author:  Phil Cable was  a COPD'er who resided in Halifax Nova Scotia.  He helped many on the internet with his proper breathing techniques. 

        The following are my thoughts on the importance of addressing the breathing techniques of those of us who have COPD. This aspect of our treatment is, unfortunately and sadly,  highly neglected by our medical community. It deals in general terms and not all aspects of it will apply to all COPD’ers, as we are all different. I have tried to keep it simple, yet provide some of my insights, (Right or wrong!) into our breathing distresses.

        For “normal people”, breathing is as easy as inhaling and exhaling, without consciously giving their breathing any thought at all. For the vast majority of us with COPD, breathing can sometimes be an adventure, and for some of us, most of the time it is "an adventure. "

        It is my belief, that anyone who deals in the care of COPD’ers in their later stages should try a little experiment as suggested by Dr. Rick Hodder, a noted Canadian respirologist, in his book, “Every Breath I Take – A guide to living with COPD”. Quote: “Take in a deep breath but don’t exhale. Take in another and another. You’re hyper inflated. Hold it! Now run upstairs. You’ll soon appreciate what it feels like to have COPD or asthma.”

 We as COPD’ers have to deal with our breathing on so many levels:

 (1).       The psychology of breathing - How stress and anxiety affect our breathing.

(2).       Dealing with Shortness of Breath (SOB)

(3).       Learning to pursed-lip breathe (PLB).

(4).       How we breathe. Are we shallow breathers or diaphragm breathers?

(5).       Inspiration. (Inhaling)

(6).       Learning to exhale properly.

(7).       Learning to relax our auxiliary breathing muscles

(8).       Learning to pace ourselves so we don’t become (SOB).

(9).      The importance of proper nutrition and proper exercise in combating SOB

(10).    Pulmonary Rehab

                     Let's begin with Anxiety & PLB