If you have COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), leaving your home to do errands or take trips can pose multiple challenges.
Apria’s Market Clinical Trainer and a registered respiratory therapist, Lesley Williams says, “To help better prepare you to meet those challenges, we’ve created these simple tips. They can help protect you from COPD flare-ups—and breathe easier—whenever you leave your home.”
Whether you are traveling by plane, train, or automobile, it’s important to be prepared.
We’ve devoted an entire article to traveling safely with COPD: Read more.
Hot, humid weather can cause breathing problems for people with COPD. And dry heat can dry out your airways, leading to irritation and shortness of breath.
Before going out, check the weather. If it is too hot, with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s best to stay indoors.
Following are some tips for going out in warm weather:
Studies show that temperatures that fall below freezing (32 degrees F) trigger COPD flare-ups. If it is too cold, stay indoors until it warms up.
Following are some tips for going out in cold weather:
Constantly running to the grocery store exposes you to environmental irritants that may trigger a COPD flare-up. To reduce the number of trips to the store, plan your meals for the week, make your shopping list, and try to buy all you need in one trip. Lesley Williams, adds “You may also want to investigate meal and grocery delivery services.”
Walking your pet is great exercise and can be a lot of fun. But for people with COPD, it can be a challenge, especially if your pet walks quickly. If so, look into a pet-walking service. Your family and friends may also want to help.
Allergens, which include dust mites, pollen, mold, and pet dander, trigger a range of symptoms, such as sneezing, coughing, itchiness, rashes, runny nose, watery eyes, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath (also called hypoxia).
Before venturing out, check the allergen and air pollution levels, which you’ll find on local weather websites or news stations. You can also sign up to receive air quality alerts—by text message or email—from Airnow.gov, which reports on the Air Quality Index (AQI). It uses a scale of 0 to 500. If the scale is 101 or higher, it’s best to just stay indoors.
Poor outdoor air quality tends to be from 1 to 4 pm, so avoid outdoor activities during these times.
Yards are chock-full of allergens, which can trigger shortness of breath and complicate yardwork. If you do choose to work in your yard, pace yourself. Or ask family and friends to lend a hand. And of course, consider a lawn service.
Do you live in an area where there is a lot of construction, roadwork, and traffic? If so, they can all produce excess fumes and dust, which are particularly harmful to people with COPD. When you leave your home, try to steer clear of these areas.
Want to breathe easy the next time you leave the house to run an errand or take a trip? Just follow the simple tips discussed here. Lesley Williams suggests, “If your COPD symptoms continue to worsen, be sure to contact your doctor, who will work with you to identify the most effective therapies to manage your COPD.”
References
1. The COPD Caregiver’s Toolkit. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/COPD-CaregiversToolkit-Managing-the-Home.pdf.
2. Leader, D. (Updated 2020, May 12). Dealing with COPD in Cold Weather. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/tips-for-reducing-shortness-of-breath-in-cold-weather-914963.
3. Wallace, R. (Updated 2019, February 21). COPD Triggers and How to Avoid Them. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/avoiding-copd-triggers#hot-weather.
4. COPD and Cold Weather: Top Tips to Stay Healthy. University of Maryland Medical Center. https://health.umms.org/2022/01/06/copd-cold-weather-tips/.
5. (2022, June 29). 15 summer safety tips for people with breathing problems. UC Davis Health. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/15-summer-safety-tips-for-people-with-breathing-problems/2022/06.
6. Cannizzaro, T. (Updated 2022, September). COPD and the Weather. COPD.net. https://copd.net/living/weather-changes.
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