How to be a caregiver for someone with copd

HOW IT’S TREATED AND HOW CAREGIVERS CAN HELP The primary treatments for COPD are medicines called bronchodilators that help open airways. Patients typically get two kinds, Martinez says:

medicines to take every day on a regular schedule, called long-acting bronchodilators, and medicines to take as needed, when symptoms flare up, called short-acting bronchodilators. You might

also hear these described as “controller” and “rescue” or “quick-relief” medications. They usually come in inhalers or are delivered with misting devices called nebulizers. Learning to use

them effectively can be a challenge for patients and caregivers, says Suzanne Lareau, a senior instructor in nursing at the University of Colorado, Anschutz. “Probably 80 percent of people

do not take their inhalers properly,” so they don’t get the full benefit, she says. Caregivers who show up for medical appointments and hospitalizations can help by learning how and when to

use each medication, says Martinez. Unfortunately, he says, insurers sometimes switch patients to inhalers they don’t know how to use. Online videos, he adds, are sometimes the best

teachers. (The COPD Foundation has a series of them.) In addition to medications, some people with advanced COPD get procedures to reduce lung volume and improve breathing, Martinez says.

Some with low oxygen levels may require oxygen therapy where supplemental oxygen is given at home through nasal tubes or a mask. Good treatment and a healthy lifestyle can extend lives,

Mannino says: “All of us that take care of patients have had patients that have lived and lived fairly well with COPD for 15, 20, 25 years.” THE ROLE OF REHAB If a loved one with COPD has

never been told about pulmonary rehabilitation, they may be missing out on “the single best intervention” for improving their quality of life, Martinez says. Rehab programs combine medically

supervised exercise with education on medication use, breathing techniques, infection prevention, diet and other aspects of living with COPD. Caregivers are often welcome to sit in on

educational sessions, Siegel says. Rehab helps many people break out of a “vicious cycle” in which fear of shortness of breath leads to inactivity, leading to more shortness of breath,

Lareau says. While Medicare and other insurers cover rehab for many patients, it’s greatly underused, experts say. One study published in the _Annals of the American Thoracic Society_ found

that fewer than 3 percent of eligible Medicare recipients got rehab in the year after a COPD hospitalization. One reason: The programs aren’t available everywhere. About 20 percent of

Americans live farther than a 30-minute drive from one, research shows. Elizabeth Berger, pictured with mom, Amy Berger, says that everyday tasks like making a bed are "exhausting"

for someone with COPD. Courtesy: Elizabeth Berger Elizabeth Berger, 32, a COPD Foundation volunteer who now lives in Sacramento, California, says her mom, Amy Berger, had COPD for many

years before the family ever heard of pulmonary rehab — and then learned the nearest program was an hour from her home in rural upstate New York. That was just too far, Berger says.

Eventually, her mom found some online sessions that helped, she says. She died of COPD at age 60 in 2017. Brennan-Martinez says her dad went to rehab several times, “kicking and screaming,”

but always benefiting. She says that while families should encourage eligible loved ones to go, they should appreciate that it’s hard for many people to do “something that makes them shorter

of breath so that they can be less short of breath in the future.” James Brennan at his granddaughter’s wedding in July 2016. It was “incentive for him to participate in pulmonary rehab

program following a hospital stay,” Colleen Brennan-Martinez said. Courtesy: Colleen Brennan Martinez PREVENTING FLARE-UPS Part of having COPD is dealing with so-called exacerbations —

flare-ups when symptoms get worse, sometimes leading to hospitalization. The most common causes are infections, like colds, flu and COVID-19, followed by poor air quality, like the kind

caused by wildfire smoke or other pollutants, Martinez says. Caregivers should do everything they can to help prevent infections, Siegel says: “Every time you get a severe infection, you’re

just adding to the overall lung damage.”