Notes

Breathing Tips for People With COPD

Breathing Tips for People With COPD

Pursed-lip breathing
Changing the way you breathe can ease shortness of breath.
Pursed-lip breathing "is like breathing through a straw," says Dr. Edelman. "It can reduce the tendency for airways to collapse."
Inhale through your nose for about four seconds. Then exhale through your mouth for six to eight seconds, with your lips almost closed. This will help you breathe out more air, making rooujghhm in your lungs for your next deep breath.

Breathe with your diaphragm
Breathing with your diaphragm—the large muscle separating your belly from your lungs—makes more space for your lungs to take in air.
"In COPD, the diaphragm tends to be low and frequently tends to have atrophied," says Dr. Edelman, "so whatever people can do to support it can give them a little more respiratory capacity."
To try this technique, lie on your back, or prop yourself up on pillows. Place a hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Push your belly out as you breathe in, feeling the hand there moving out.
The hand on your chest should stay still. As you exhale, the hand on your belly should move in.
Practice belly breathing lying down for 20 minutes at a time, two or three times a day, until you feel comfortable breathing like this naturally; then try it sitting or standing.

Medicines
If your doctor has prescribed medications for COPD—like an inhaler or nebulizer—make sure you know how to use them and take them as prescribed.

Most people find that medicines make breathing easier, keep flare-ups to a minimum, and control coughing and wheezing.

Bending forward
Bending at the waist helps the diaphragm move more easily, allowing more air to fill the lungs.
You can sit or stand with this technique, as long as you lean slightly forward from the waist, keeping your back straight.
"You’ll see many people with emphysema leaning forward," says Dr. Edelman. "They bend forward and support their arms on a chair or a table and that [supports] the muscles in the shoulder that become accessory muscles of breathing, that [people who don’t have COPD] don’t use very much."