Nutritional Guidelines for People With COPD
... This guide provides basic information to help you make healthy food choices. Planning what you eat and balancing your meals are important ways to manage your health. Eating healthfully often means mak...

Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Is It For You?
... What is pulmonary rehabilitation?Pulmonary rehabilitation is an exercise and education program individually designed for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other lung diseases...

Understanding COPD
... What is COPD?COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disease. COPD is a general term used for several lung diseases. The most common diseases in this group are chronic bronchitis and emph...

How Your Lungs Work
... Your lungs'' main job is to make oxygen available to your body and to remove other gases, such as carbon dioxide. This process is done 12 to 20 times per minute. When you inhale air through your nose ...

Exercise and Activity Guidelines
... Pulmonary rehabilitationPulmonary rehabilitation is a program that can help you learn how to breathe easier and improve your quality of life. It includes breathing re-training, exercise training, educ...

COPD Exercise Precautions
... Call your doctor if changes have been made in your  medications before continuing your regular exercise program. New medications can greatly affect your response to activity. If you are too tire...

COPD Glossary of Terms
... Acapella: see mucus clearing device Acute: sudden Advance directives: legal documents including the Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. A Living Will states what type of treatme...

COPD Resources
... Alpha-1 Association 8120 Penn Avenue South, Suite 549 Minneapolis, MN 55431-1326 1-800-521-3025 or (952) 703-9979 Email: info@alpha1.org www.alpha1.org Alpha1-Foundation 2937 S.W. 27th Avenue, Suite 3...

Coping with COPD
... By making lifestyle and activity changes, you can take an active role in treating your COPD and help improve your health. You can resume your regular activities as you feel better, but follow your doc...

Conserving Your Energy
... Plan periods of rest Be sure to get plenty of rest. You may need to plan at least one rest period every day. If you have swelling in your feet or ankles, elevate your legs when you are resting or sitt...

Controlled Coughing
... COPD can cause your lungs to produce excess mucus, leading to frequent coughing. Not all coughs are effective in clearing excess mucus from the lungs. Explosive or uncontrolled coughing causes airways...

When to Call the Doctor About Your COPD Symptoms
... Important: Know how to contact your doctor after hours and on weekends. Always keep the following close to your phone for easy access: A list of your doctors'' phone numbers, a current list of your me...

Diaphragmatic Breathing
... The diaphragm is the most efficient muscle of breathing. It is a large, dome-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs. Your abdominal muscles help move the diaphragm and give you more power to e...

Home Oxygen Therapy
... Why is home oxygen prescribed?Your doctor may prescribe oxygen if your lungs are not getting enough oxygen to your blood (a condition called hypoxemia). Breathing prescribed oxygen increases the amoun...

How to Use Your Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI)
... Some COPD medications can be taken in the form of a dry powder using a small, hand-held device called a dry powder inhaler (DPI). Dry powder inhalers deliver medication to the lungs as you inhale thro...

Positions to Reduce Shortness of Breath
... In conjunction with pursed lip breathing and diaphragmatic breathing, use these breathing positions to help you reduce shortness of breath.These positions are helpful when you have shortness of breath...

Pursed Lip Breathing
... Pursed lip breathing is one of the simplest ways to control shortness of breath. It provides a quick and easy way to slow your pace of breathing, making each breath more effective. What does pursed li...

Traveling Tips for People With COPD
... Checklist before you travel  Did you notify your doctor? If you''ve been in the hospital recently, check with your doctor for clearance before traveling. Did you obtain the necessary paperwork to...

Using Inhaled Medications
... It requires practice to correctly use the devices needed to inhale your COPD medications. With the proper instructions, you can learn to use these devices effectively to get the full benefit from your...

COPD
... Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease in which the lung is damaged, making it hard to breathe. In COPD, the airways-the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs-are partl...

Every Breath You Take
... Preventing and Treating EMPHYSEMA by Carol Lewis We begin life with a breath, and the process continues automatically without a thought. It's only when we can't take a deep breath or, as in Sh...