6 Tips for Managing Your COPD

There’s no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory condition that results from damage to lung tissue, usually in response to long-term exposure to smoke and other environmental conditions. Cigarette smoke is the most common source of this damage. 

As leading providers of chronic disease management services, the team at Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, helps you manage your COPD symptoms. Typically, you benefit from a combination of medical treatments and lifestyle changes. 

While you can expect medication in the form of inhalers and sometimes oral medications, taking steps to control conditions in your daily life is often crucial for symptom control. We’ve prepared a list of six tips to help guide your COPD self-care to improve your enjoyment of life. 

1. Avoid irritants

Quitting smoking is the biggest change you can make to reduce your exposure to lung irritants. Avoiding secondhand smoke is also significant. Keep an eye on air quality information in weather reports, particularly if you live near industrial areas or heavy traffic, where airborne irritants may be a problem. 

2. Boost activity

It can be a challenge to exercise vigorously when your breathing is compromised, but any activity you can add helps. 

Aim for a boost in modest low-impact activities like walking, biking, swimming, or any other active pursuit that you enjoy and which you can manage with your other COPD management methods. About 15-30 minutes per day, five days a week, of additional movement can produce powerful dividends. 

3. Pay attention to nutrition

The tastiest way to manage COPD symptoms is through a balanced and varied diet. Reaching and maintaining a healthy body mass makes life easier on your lungs, for both overweight and underweight patients. 

A diet high in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory foods like berries, leafy greens, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and many other delicious choices can boost your health in many ways. 

4. Clear your airways

Strategies like controlled coughing, home humidification, and adequate hydration can keep mucus production under control. Excess mucus is a common issue for COPD patients. 

5. Know and understand your medications

It’s common to prescribe multiple medications to relieve the breathing problems associated with COPD. Bronchodilators and corticosteroids may be prescribed as separate or combined inhalers, depending on your individual needs. 

Know and understand when you must use each medication. You take some daily, and others  only when certain symptoms arise. 

6. Regular monitoring

Keep to your follow-up schedule with Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, even if your symptoms are under control and you’re feeling fine. We can help with preventive care, like flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, to keep you symptom-free. 

Contact Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, to add us to your COPD management team or when you feel your symptoms taking hold. We offer same-day new patient and sick visits, so book your appointment by phone or online today. 

We’re conveniently located near Boston and proudly extend our services to communities throughout Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol, and Providence counties, including Braintree, Canton, Stoughton, Westwood, Norwood, and Walpole. Whether you're in Foxborough, Easton, Brockton, or Abington, we're just a short drive away. 

We also welcome clients from West Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, and Middleborough, as well as Taunton, Norton, Mansfield, and Attleboro. 

Our reach extends to Rehoboth, Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Westport, Dartmouth, New Bedford, and even farther to Wareham and Pembroke. Rhode Island residents in Providence, East Providence, and Warwick can also rely on our services.