Author Archives: Jackie Aim

Transport and travel

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Breathlessness associated with getting out and about may result in you spending more time at home and less time getting out to do the things you used to do.

Support with transport may be available in your area through community agencies / groups. More information should be available from your local libraries / GP practice / or Social Work department.
Blue badge logo

Blue Badges,  can be applied for although strict eligibility criteria exist. The Blue Badge scheme is for drivers or passengers with severe mobility problems. The scheme provides a range of on-street parking concessions enabling Blue Badge holders to park closer to where they need to go. The scheme does not apply to off-street car parking, in privately operated car parks. You must apply for a Blue Badge to the Scottish local authority in which you are resident.

Some local authorities have a taxi card scheme which allows people with limited mobility to use a subsidised taxi service.

Some local authorities have a dial a bus  service from your home for routes to main shopping centres. You need to be registered with your local scheme and journeys are usually subsidised. Check with your local authority.

You may be eligible for Motability which can support provision of a car, scooter or powered wheelchair, assisting people in maintaining your independence and managing your breathlessness. More information is available at Motability.

Meal planning and eating

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Healthy eating, green pepper and yellow pepper

© Crown Copyright 2009

  • Try to eat nutritious foods. Don’t skip meals (see Dietician’s healthy eating tips), eating regularly helps your energy levels.
  • Planning your meals in advance can help.
  • Consider resting between cooking and eating.
  • Small meals, more often, can be better for you if you are breathless when eating.
  • Sit while eating. Eat slowly and put down utensils between bites. Remember to eat slowly and to control your breathing while chewing.
  • If necessary try taking your medication and inhalers before your meal as this can make your breathing easier.
  • Try not to fill up on drinks while eating. Avoid fizzy drinks which will make you feel full.
  • Cooking and eating with family or a friend shares the task, and is sociable, so you are more likely to enjoy your food.

Meal preparation and cooking

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Organise your kitchen

  • Keep the kitchen items that you use most often together and within easy reach. For example keep tea, coffee and sugar next to kettle where you will use them.
  • Organise your kitchen cupboards so you don’t need to bend down or reach up for the items you use regularly.
  • Leave dishes to drain on a rack instead of towel drying.
Food cooked in a metal basket

© Nottingham Rehab

Preparing meals sitting on a stool

© Nottingham Rehab


Tips to save your energy when cooking

  • Sit down to cook, or take regular rests while preparing your meals. This helps you to manage more easily and to pace yourself.
  • Slide heavy items such as pans of food along worktops rather than lifting them.
  • If preparing food while standing keep your body close to the worktop for support.
  • Kitchen trolleys are useful to carry items around the kitchen or to other rooms in the house.
  • Use recipes which can be made in one pan.
  • Try using a metal basket inside your saucepan. Placing whatever you are cooking in the basket inside the pan means you do not need to lift a heavy hot saucepan; easier when draining cooked vegetables, potatoes, pasta.
  • Have some pre made meals as options for days when you really don’t feel like cooking. This could be small portions of foods you can re heat in a microwave straight from your fridge or freezer or quick cook foods like scrambled eggs on toast, tins of soup, fruit or milkshakes.
  • Some companies specialise in ready meal deliveries for your freezer.
  • Most local council social work departments will have arrangements for delivery of meals for housebound people. Contact your local council. You could ask your local council if there is a lunch club near you.

Shopping

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Couple shopping

© Crown Copyright 2009

Plan ahead and organise your shopping trips. Avoid carrying heavy bags and only buy what you can carry without getting overly breathless. Consider getting a wheeled shopping trolley.

Friends and family can also help by getting heavier shopping such as washing powder, cleaning products and tinned food. You may wish to think about ordering shopping on line for home delivery, most supermarkets provide this service. This can also be useful if the weather is bad in winter.

If there are times you can’t get out to do your own shopping (windy days, when you have a chest infection) ask family members to help get perishable foods like milk and bread.

There may be a shopping service or a subsidised bus or taxi scheme in your area which would take you door to door. Ask your local council.

If you are housebound contact your local council to arrange an assessment for a “package of care” to help with shopping, meals. Some social services supply a small freezer and deliver frozen ready meals.

Housework

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Mature lady hoovering

© Crown Copyright 2009

  • Prioritise what tasks need to be done, and plan into your day and throughout your week. Do not try to get it all done at once.
  • Schedule more demanding tasks for the time of day which is best for you. Remember to pace yourself, resting after each stage of a task to manage increased breathlessness.
  • Some housework tasks are harder than others. Changing a duvet cover or making a bed can be heavy work. Get help or try doing this in stages rather than all at once.
  • Vacuuming can also be difficult because of the weight of the machine and the dust. If you are buying a new vacuum cleaner think about getting a light weight model.
  • Use a damp microfibre cloth when dusting. This will help to keep the dust from spreading in the air around you and getting into your lungs.
  • Sit down when you are ironing or washing up.
  • Avoid strong scented air fresheners or cleaning products.

Dressing

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Easy reacher being used to put on shoe

Photo provided with permission from Nottingham rehab

Easy reacher, shown being used to pick up mail

Photo provided with permission from Nottingham rehab

  • Put all the clothes you need together before you start. You could do this the day before or at a time when you have more energy.
  • Choose clothes which are easier to put on. Stretch fabrics, loose fitting with few fastenings are often best. Polo type shirts are very easy. Slip on shoes, loose fitting socks. Avoid heavy or bulky clothes.
  • If you feel hot some times in the day and cold at others, try layers of clothes which can be added or taken off easily.
  • Sit down to dress. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor or your chair may be too low or too high. Take care when bending as this can make breathing more difficult. If you can, sit upright and cross your leg so you don’t have to bend down so far to your feet.
  • Rest in between putting on each item of clothing.
  • There are some pieces of equipment which may help. Easy reacher to pick up items without bending, or a long shoe horn. There are also sock aids available.
  • Watch out for breath holding – try not to hold your breath when are doing any task which involves a lot of effort. If you notice yourself breath holding, sit back, rest and try your breathing or relaxation exercises.

Bath/Shower

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Bath rail

Photo provided with permission from Nottingham rehab

Bath seat

Photo provided with permission from Nottingham rehab

  • In general showering is easier than getting in and out of a bath. Always use a non slip mat in the bath or shower.
  • Avoid using strongly scented soaps and body washes. There are unperfumed options.
  • Avoid using bath oils. They make your bath very slippery and make getting in and out of the bath much more difficult.
  • There are grab rails, bath seats and bath boards which can all help if you are having difficulty using your bath. See your GP or practice nurse for a referral or contact your local council for an assessment by an Occupational Therapist or Community Nurse.
  • Circulate air in a steamy bathroom. Open a window / door to circulate the air, or use an extractor fan.
  • Some people feel more breathless if they have a shower spray on their face. To avoid this lower the shower head if it is on an adjustable rail.
  • If you are tired after your bath or shower try using a large towelling bath robe to wrap around yourself to get dry and keep warm at the same time. You can go to sit and rest in another warm room. Use your breathing control techniques and wait until you are dry.
  • If you have difficulty washing and drying your hair, try using a travel size hairdryer which is much lighter. If you have someone who can help ask them, or make an appointment at your hairdresser to choose an easy to manage hairstyle.
  • You may find it easier to bath / shower later in the day or in the evening if this is a time when you feel better.

Morning routine

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In the bathroom:

Hand rail

Photo provided with permission from Nottingham rehab

Toilet frame

Photo provided with permission from Nottingham rehab

  • Use the toilet before you begin washing and dressing.
  • Don’t grab on to radiators, toilet roll holders, door handles or the side of the sink or bath when trying to stand up from the toilet. All of these can be slippery or may come away from the fixings when you put weight on them. There are grab rails and toilet seats or frames designed for this.
  • Try sitting down to wash. This saves energy for other things later on.
  • When washing at a sink or basin make sure you are ready and have all you are going to need close by. This saves time and effort of getting up and down several times.
  • A hand sized sponge is usually easier to squeeze out than a towelling face cloth.
  • Use an electric shaver which is easier than a wet shave with a razor. Some electric shavers have a built in balm dispenser and can be used wet or dry.
  • Try not to rush. This just makes you more likely to be breathless, tense, and less likely to thoroughly wash and dry yourself.

Mornings

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Alarm clock

Many people with COPD find they feel at their worst first thing in the morning. This is part of the disease pattern. You may not have slept well, you may be bothered by secretions / phlegm. You may feel your muscles are stiff or sore until you get moving again.

Chest clearance exercises will help you to clear your chest of as much phlegm as possible. If this is a particular problem for you then it is important that you are shown how to do this by a respiratory physiotherapist. Practice these techniques routinely first thing in the morning, and at regular points in the day as part of breathlessness management. For more information please see the Active Cycle of Breathing Technique (ACBT) on this website.

Have your inhalers beside your bed and take a first dose to open up your airways before you start to do your morning tasks. Start slowly until you feel your breathing is better.

If you do find it harder to get going in the morning reorganise any activities you plan to do around this. Try and make any appointments you have for later in the day if possible or give yourself extra time to do things

If you have not slept well, think about changing your sleeping position – you may sleep better if you are more upright with pillows for support. Consider rearranging your pillows or getting an ‘A’ shaped pillow.

Daily activities and COPD

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Lady shopping for groceries

© Crown Copyright 2009

Living with breathlessness can affect your daily routines and the way in which you manage the daily tasks that we all need to do; getting dressed, having a shower, shopping, cooking and so on.

You may notice there are times when you are more, or less, breathless. Think about the ways in which you already manage your breathlessness. What have you discovered that helps you in managing your breathlessness day-to-day? It is important to think about, and use, any strategies that work for you.

Think about the times you are more breathless. This may be related to the amount of effort needed for certain tasks or you may notice you are more tired or breathless the day following a busy day?

The following pages will give you some practical tips and ideas to try yourself.

You will also find some options for equipment which you could use to help control breathlessness, make tasks easier, and maintain your independence.

If you need help to manage some of the heavier tasks there are ideas for how to get the help you need.

Remember

Planning activities in advance, working out what needs to be done alongside managing your breathlessness and energy levels, is helped by pacing. Choosing your priorities and planning what you want to use your energy for will help you manage your daily routines.