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Living A Full Life — Even With COPD

By Christine Hall

January 18, 2024
Senior woman in fields with arms spread out.

Consonus Healthcare and AgeSTRONG clients with COPD are benefiting from the Body Strong and Chronic Conditions programs.

Body Strong Program is a wellness program offered to medically stable individuals who may reside in independent or assisted living communities or even in nursing facilities.

4 Ways to Fight COPD

#1 How do I avoid getting COPD?

  • Don’t smoke, anything.
  • Stay clear of secondhand smoke
  • Avoid other pollutants like dust, pollens and wildfire smoke
  • During pollen and wildlife season, stay inside, breathing filtered air

#2 How do I recognize the symptoms of COPD?

Symptoms may include: Discomfort and pain, Chest tightness Fatigue, Breathlessness, Wheezing, Chronic cough, anxiety, and Inability to engage in normal activities. If you feel any of those symptoms, contact your doctor immediately and ask for a COPD test.

#3 If I’m diagnosed with COPD, what is my treatment?

Along with your doctor’s recommendations, you can adopt the Marquis Deep Breathing Program, easy daily steps developed by our own healthcare professionals. They include:

  • Precisely take your daily medications.
  • Eat a Heart Healthy Diet.
  • Avoid Infections

#4 What does it mean to know my COPD “Zone”?

If you have COPD, it’s important to pause twice a day and check how you’re doing. You can identify them in colors in this COPD Action Plan but here are the definitions of each zone.

  • Green Zone: Symptoms are under control.
  • Yellow Zone: Symptoms include increased coughing, shortness of breath, swelling of the ankles, less energy, cold symptoms, feeling the need to use your rescue inhaler to quickly open the lungs.
  • Red Zone: Symptoms in the red zone include significant shortness of breath, inability to perform basic activities, the rescue inhaler no longer helps, there’s chest pain, fever and even coughing up blood. This is life threatening. Call 911. Go to the emergency room.

There you have it! To learn more, check out the full blog article here:

https://www.consonushealth.com/blog/living-a-full-life-even-with-copd

Note:  Consonus Healthcare and AgeSTRONG are FTJ’s rehab partner.

Categories: General