Hello friends!
I hope you are having a good week so far.
Summer is definitely in full swing. Most evenings I can get a whiff of the neighbors grilling, hear the kids playing, and see the lights from the community baseball field where families are gathered to cheer on their favorite teams.
With all the activities and the excitement of the summer, I want to continue to call attention to the monthly topic of “Exacerbations.” This month we have had some good information posted, a fabulous webinar, and we even got to share the new Guides to Better Living booklet on exacerbations. If you haven’t seen these yet, click here and it will take you to the complete list of topics in that new series of educational materials. They are really great resources!
Today, though, I want to know what you do differently when you have an exacerbation or feel one coming on. My experience tells me that there are a few common scenarios that occur, mostly because of the learning curve when you are living with COPD and learning to recognize what an exacerbation looks and feels like for you.
The graphic below represents the behaviors I have noticed in people living with COPD and the way I have watched them learn to manage symptoms and avoid serious exacerbations. The top box is usually someone new to living with COPD, and the bottom box is typically someone who has learned to live well with COPD.
At first, it can be hard to recognize an exacerbation – you might think it is just a regular cold or allergies. And before COPD, that would have been no big deal, right? A sniffle, a little cough, and a few days later you feel good as new. But with COPD, a little cold can turn into a bigger problem. Certain environmental triggers can cause airway responses that can cause bigger problems, too. You learn, over time, that it is important to recognize those changes and get medical help sooner rather than later.
When I first became an RT many years ago, it was a real challenge to help people progress through these stages quickly. We didn’t have organizations like the COPD Foundation to help us educate people. But now, through the marvels of modern technology – good, helpful information is easy to access! The key is putting that knowledge into practice. That can be the hard part, right?
So, my questions are: Where are you in my personal flow chart? Where do you feel like you are along that pathway? If you are closer to the top of the chart, how can we help you learn more and apply the information to your daily life? Or, if you find that you are in the gray box at the bottom, what do you do when you feel an exacerbation coming or if you notice changes in your condition?
I look forward to hearing from you all!