Over 16 million Americans knowingly have COPD, meaning they have been diagnosed with COPD and are currently treating their COPD. The harsh reality for all of these people is the COPD has no cure, this progressive disease will stick with you, and if gone untreated take years off of your life. That being said, treating COPD has been heavily researched, and following a treatment plan for your personal diagnosis will increase your life expectancy.

Activities of daily living (ADL) is a term that was first coined by Sidney Katz in 1950. Essentially, it refers to the basic functions that an individual must perform on a daily basis in order to be considered self-sufficient. By better understanding the level of independence of patients with debilitating illnesses like COPD, osteoporosis, or Alzheimer’s Disease, medical professionals are able to make better decisions for their patient’s well-being such as recommending medical equipment or an assisted living facility. Activities of daily living are generally divided into five distinct categories:

When you think about your day as a whole, how much time do you spend thinking positive thoughts? What about negative thoughts? And have you ever wondered how these two different lines of thinking are affecting your well-being and your ability to cope with your lung disease? Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an unbelievably complex disease. Like we’ve discussed in previous posts, it’s a “systemic disease’” meaning it can have manifestations in other areas of the body. So, we can’t even begin to imagine all of the ways it affects our physical and mental health. 

Beside oxygen therapy, and utilizing a portable oxygen concentrator, people with COPD are left with few other options to explore that would potentially add years to their lives. Studies have shown that hypoxic patients’s respiratory health improves greatly from long-term oxygen therapy but a viable treatment beyond oxygen therapy, still must be explored. 

No matter what stage of life you are in, it’s always a good idea to find new ways to save money. If you’re someone with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or a similar lung disease, one of the best ways you can cut costs is by looking for ways to save money on medication, medical equipment, and other medical expenses. This study found that the average annual healthcare cost per COPD patient is around $4,147 and that increased disease severity is associated with higher healthcare costs.

There are five big respiratory diseases that are the most common causes of severe illness and death worldwide- COPD, asthma, acute lower respiratory tract infections, tuberculosis and lung cancer. There are other forms of lung disease that also impact large populations around the world like occupational lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea, pulmonary embolism. 

Supplemental oxygen therapy is a foundational part of most COPD treatment plans. The ultimate goal of oxygen therapy is to provide the lungs with a higher concentration of oxygen which helps ensure that your blood oxygen levels remain normal. While most COPD patients need to use supplemental oxygen at some point in their lives, the experience tends to vary from person to person. 

If you tuned into our blog earlier this month, you know that we discussed COPD as a “systemic disease.” In other words, it’s a disease that affects every part of the body, not just the lungs. This is an important distinction to make because it enables both patients and medical professionals to detect systemic manifestations earlier on and treat them more effectively. One of the systemic manifestations that we mentioned in this post is osteoporosis, a disease that affects the density of the bones.