The importance of getting enough oxygen-Lovego Weekly report

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The importance of getting enough oxygen

Having a chronic lung condition like COPD can leave you wanting to understand the importance of getting enough oxygen. At first, you may have been wondering why your doctor has prescribed you with oxygen, and why most people with COPD need it regularly. Patients who are found to have very low oxygen in the blood need oxygen therapy, and depending on oxygen levels while active or at rest, your doctor will determine how many hours a day you will need to be on oxygen therapy. Some patients may only need oxygen while doing physical activities, while some may need it almost the entire 24 hours.


So why do you need to follow your doctor’s prescription for oxygen? Why is it important to get the right amount of oxygen? Though not all COPD patients need oxygen therapy, majority of patients in the later stages do need it. Getting enough oxygen can help you be better able to do your daily chores and other physical activities. It can also help reduce difficulty in breathing, along with reducing the strain on your heart caused by low oxygen levels. Getting adequate oxygen can also help you be able to sleep better and feel better throughout the day.


Aside from the above reasons, read on to find out why getting enough oxygen is important.


Adequate oxygen helps prevent hypoxemia and hypoxia

All of the body’s tissues and organs need oxygen to function properly. Hypoxemia, or a low level of oxygen in the blood, causes a lack of oxygen in various organs. This low oxygen level in body tissues is called hypoxia, which occurs when the blood carries inadequate oxygen to tissues and organs during circulation. Mere minutes of insufficient oxygen can lead to tissue and organ damage, especially to critical organs like the brain, heart and liver.

Hypoxia can manifest as various signs and symptoms, like having shortness of breath, a very rapid heart rate, very fast breathing, coughing, sweating, and changes in skin color, such as having bluish or purplish skin.

Hypoxia and hypoxemia can readily be treated with adequate amounts of oxygen. To prevent such conditions, its best to follow your treatment plan, do your best to prevent flare-ups, and get sufficient amounts of oxygen as advised by your doctor. It’s also good to stay physically active and be on a nutritious diet.


Adequate oxygen helps prevent complications and progressive organ damage

When your body cannot provide enough oxygen, many of your tissues and organs start deteriorating. This leads to a number of complications that can severely make your condition more difficult to manage. Some of these complications are progressive pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale (a type of heart failure), and secondary polycythemia. Other conditions also include heart problems like arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats, and possible ischemia, or a lack of oxygen supply to the heart. Experts have found that adequate oxygen therapy can help reduce the risk for such complications by stabilizing oxygen levels throughout the body. This leads to reduced chances of pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and other complications.

Adequate oxygen prolongs survival

Studies have found that COPD patients on long-term oxygen therapy had higher chances of prolonged survival. This is, by far, one of the most important reasons why you have to comply to your doctor’s orders of getting adequate oxygen therapy. Not getting enough oxygen, or voluntarily under-dosing the amount of oxygen you get, can decrease its effectiveness and limit the benefits it can offer. Thus, if you are having problems complying to the right dose of oxygen, or having trouble receiving oxygen throughout the day or when going out of the house, its best to discuss alternative ways to receive adequate amounts of oxygen with your doctor or health care provider.

All in all, getting enough oxygen has been found to reduce the severity of COPD symptoms, prevent complications, reduces hospitalization, and ultimately improves a patient’s quality of life. Having enough oxygen ensures that every organ in your body gets the right amount of oxygen it needs to function at its best.


Do you think you are getting the right amount of oxygen? If not, it’s best to talk to your health care provider about this. If you have any helpful advice, comments or suggestions about getting enough oxygen, share it with us in the comments below!

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Developing Coping Strategies-Lovego Weekly report

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Developing Coping Strategies

COPD is one of those conditions that produces highly individualized symptoms, and the right strategies to cope well with your COPD may not be the same strategies that work for someone else. As you become more familiar with COPD and how it affects you and your lifestyle, you’ll find some tips and techniques offered by others that work beautifully and some that don’t quite fit your needs.

Here are some steps that can help you develop your own coping strategies

Research COPD. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about COPD and how it’s affecting you, the better prepared you are to adapt to your changing needs.

See your doctor every six months. Regular appointments are the easiest way to monitor the progress of your COPD and your general health.

Know how to use your meds. If you don’t use your medications properly, you can’t manage your COPD symptoms as well. If the instructions are confusing, ask your doctor or pharmacist for clarification.

Follow your exercise and diet plans. Staying fit and making sure you get the proper nutrition can do a lot to keep your COPD symptoms under control.

Find ways to enjoy life. Even if you can’t do some of the things you used to, there are still things you can enjoy. Learning new skills and exploring new activities help keep your mind sharp and your spirits up.

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How to increase appetite in COPD

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How to increase appetite in COPD

Having COPD comes with various effects like easily getting fatigued and difficulty moving around. For some patients, COPD also comes with a loss of appetite that could cause lack of proper nutrients and weight loss.

Many COPD patients report that this lack of appetite is due to food not tasting as great as it used to. Others say that fatigue often gets in the way of preparing meals and eating, and sometimes it’s quite a challenge to chew, swallow and breathe at the same time. Additionally, some COPD medications can also affect appetite.

Though not given enough attention, a loss of appetite in COPD patients is an issue that needs to be resolved. When you aren’t eating enough, your body cannot get the right nutrients it needs for energy and for functioning as normally as possible. This in turn leads to more fatigue and can subsequently result to a worsening inability to move about and do physical activity.

A lack of nutrients can also make it more difficult to breathe. This is because COPD patients need more calories to engage the muscles needed in the breathing process. Thus, it is essential that you get enough nutrients and calories to support breathing and keep your body functioning well. If a loss of appetite is increasingly becoming an issue, here are some things you can do to get yourself to eat more.

Rest before eating. If feeling tired or fatigued is the main reason why you don’t feel like eating, a nap or scheduled rest time before eating may help give you enough energy and drive to eat a meal. If preparing meals gets you tired, ask for help from a family member or friend.

Add some appetite-boosting herbs. Herbs like ginger, cinnamon, ginseng, dandelion, fennel, tarragon and peppermint are known for their appetite-stimulating properties. Some, like ginger and fennel, can be added as spices, while others, like peppermint or dandelion, can be drank as tea. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if these herbs are safe to take with your medications.

Choose recipes that are attractive and easy to make. If the thought of preparing food makes you feel tired already, its best to choose recipes that you find interesting yet easy to make. Stir fries, one-pan meals, and other easy cooking methods can get you delicious meals that are worth looking forward to. Try adding in colorful ingredients like different-colored veggies that make food look more flavorful. You can also opt to prepare food in a different way than you usually do. Cooking your food in various ways can make meals seem more appetizing. Add spices that smell good to entice your appetite. You can also prepare meals that are freezer-friendly for you to just throw in the freezer and reheat at any time.

Keep your favorite foods handy. If you don’t feel like eating during mealtime, you can instead eat some of your favorite foods, as long as they’re healthy. Knowing that your favorite foods are available can help stimulate appetite. Keep a good supply of them in your fridge or pantry so that you can easily access them. Also, snacking frequently throughout the day can help stabilize metabolism and thus make you feel hungrier during mealtime.

Get regular exercise. Even light physical activity, like walking for about 15-20 minutes, doing yoga, or other light physical activity, may be able to help you feel hungry and thus, have the appetite to eat. Physical activity can also help you more easily absorb the nutrients from a meal.

Keep a variety of fruits at hand. Some people find that eating more fruits can help boost appetite. This is because strong fruit flavors, like those in peaches, figs, apricots, and dates, help stimulate appetite. Fruits smoothies, fruit-flavored snacks, and dried fruits are good choices as well.

Keep your dining area pleasant and stress-free. Mealtime should always be a relaxing affair. See to it that your dining area is free from noise and any disturbances. Use your best dinnerware. Place some flowers and add some fancy place mats. You can even play soft music in the background! Knowing that you’re going to have an enjoyable meal with your family can help make you look forward to eating.

If you really think your appetite needs a boost, try some of these tips above and tell us how it went. Were you able to entice yourself to eat? Tell us how your experience was in the comments below!


If you’ve already experienced having a loss of appetite in the past, what did you do to overcome it? Did you try any of the above tips, or do you have other helpful advice for those going through this stage? Share your experiences, comments, or helpful tips below!

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Depression worsens COPD symptoms--Shared from ScienceDaily news

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Depression worsens COPD symptoms

Debilitating symptoms from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can worsen in patients who also experience depression, research suggests.

A new study, published in journal CHEST , demonstrates a link between an exacerbation of COPD in patients and depression.

Patients who had pre-existing depression or developed depression after COPD diagnosis were more likely to experience heightened COPD symptoms, such as increased breathlessness, reduced exercise tolerance and hopelessness.

Patients with the obstructive lung condition and depression also performed worse than COPD patients without depression in exercise tests, showing a pronounced loss in performance in their daily activities.

The results have implications for healthcare practitioners who could potentially screen for mental health problems periodically in those patients with a history of difficulty coping at home, poor adherence to therapy or experience of a recent bereavement, in a bid to reduce COPD-related hospital readmission.

Lead researcher Dr Abebaw Mengistu Yohannes, Reader at Manchester Metropolitan University, an expert in COPD and mental health, said: "We have found a previously unknown link between the brain and COPD. Mental health can have repercussions elsewhere in body, in this case, exacerbating the negative effects of COPD and poor prognosis in health outcomes.

"Essentially, we can treat the brain to treat the lungs and this is something health practitioners should be aware of when working with COPD patients.

"It creates a strong argument for vigorous screening of mental health problems in patients who are admitted in the short term for exacerbations of COPD. Managing mental health problems associated with COPD should be an important part of the management plan for the short term as well as the discharge planning with longer-term follow-up."

The research looked at 1,589 patients over a three-year period. It found that more than half did not experience any depressive symptoms. Almost a quarter of COPD patients were classified as permanently depressed while 14 per cent developed a 'case' for depression during the three-year follow-up.



COPD patients were asked to complete a six-minute walking test and quality of life scale. Those with depression performed worse in exercise tolerance and impaired quality of life than COPD patients without depression. Researchers concluded that depression in COPD is chronic and inadequately treated.

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How to prevent COPD from worsening-Lovego Weekly Report

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How to prevent COPD from worsening

Although COPD is not curable, the next best thing is to prevent the condition from progressing to a later stage. With proper maintenance therapy and a number of habits to incorporate into your lifestyle, you can take a good approach to keeping COPD symptoms at bay and prevent it from worsening. Here are some steps you can take:


Eat well and maintain ideal nutrition. Patients with inadequate nutrition have been found to be more prone to breathing difficulties and reduced strength in the diaphragm and in muscles surrounding the lungs. Additionally, patients with low body weight may have more difficulty in exercising. Because of this, it’s a fact that a balanced diet rich in proper nutrients can help in the fight against COPD difficulties. Knowing what to eat and what to avoid is also crucial. Stay away from foods that may contribute to worsening of symptoms, such as salt which can retain water in the body and cured meats which contain nitrates that can worsen COPD. Choose natural sources of protein instead, like lean meat or fish, and enrich your meals with more fruits and vegetables that contain many of the nutrients needed to boost your health. Also, choosing the right foods can help you maintain the right weight, as being overweight can put more pressure on the lungs.

Stay away from smoke and fumes. Having COPD means that it’s crucial to check the quality of air you breathe. Make sure that your home and work environment is free from irritants like dust, chemical fumes, and even cigarette smoke. Exposure to such irritants can cause flare-ups, possibly making you have more trips to the hospital. If people around you smoke, talk to them about smoking somewhere else, like outdoors, to minimize chances of inhaling cigarette smoke. This being said, it’s also important to stop smoking if you are a smoker, as smoking can contribute to rapid progression of the disease.

Get the needed vaccines. For patients with COPD, getting vaccinated against influenza and pneumonia is important. These infections can severely impact lung functioning, and can make patients with COPD seriously ill. During flu season, it’s important to take measures to prevent getting the disease. Stay away from people who have the flu, and make it a habit to wash your hands often. If family members are sick, it’s best to avoid going near them and using the same utensils and plates.

Make sure to conform to your medication regimen. Depending on the COPD stage your condition is in and the symptoms you frequently feel, your doctor will prescribe you with a variety of medications that are best for your condition. These medications will help keep symptoms at bay and prevent exacerbations. Sticking to these medications and taking them at the right time is very important if you want to prevent COPD from getting worse.

Increase your physical activity. Staying active can keep your lungs healthy by strengthening the muscles needed in breathing. This being said, regular exercise can help prevent worsening of COPD. If you have difficulty exercising, talk to your doctor and start slowly. You will find that physical activity gradually gets easier to manage once you start. Other activities that require physical effort, like climbing stairs, can also get easier on your lungs once you start exercising.

Consume more antioxidants. Studies have found that oxidative damage from free radicals may have a link to the worsening of COPD. Consuming foods rich in antioxidants may help slow the progression of COPD and protect your lungs from any tissue damage from oxidative factors. Brightly-colored fruits, along with green tea and chocolate, may help provide you with a significant amount of antioxidants.

With COPD, one of the most important treatment goals is to maintain adequate lung function and preserve healthy lung tissue. Taking the steps above can massively reduce the chances of COPD progression to later stages.

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