COPD -- The Diagnosis and What It Means...

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

COPD -- The Diagnosis and What It Means...

Copd can be- and alas- often is mistaken for a number of other ailments, particularly asthma.

The symptoms of COPD and asthma are similar, though with important differences, in fact, the courses of treatment use some of the same medications.

But the proper treatment for COPD differs in important ways from the proper treatment of asthma.

That's why getting a correct diagnosis is so important.Your Doctor should take a full medical history from you that covers any symptoms you have, your family history, and exposure to chemicals, dust or other pollutants that are known to cause COPD. Then your Doctor should perform the appropriate tests, to rule out health issues and confirm the presence of COPD.

Many things can make you feel short of breath. COPD is just one of them. Your Doctor should run or order several tests to rule out other causes and confirm the presence of COPD. Most of these tests are noninvasive and easy to perform.Some,like spirometry, may be performed right in your Doctors’ office. Others may have to be done at a separate lab, hospital or imaging facility.

Spirometry is a simple test that provides your Doctor with a wealth of information about your lung function and, indeed, many other aspects of your health. Even though it’s a lung test, abnormal results can indicate problems with your heart or circulatory system.

Although spirometry can detect several different health issues, COPD gives characteristic readings that are different from other diseases like asthma. When you have COPD , your FVC(the total amount of air you exhale is lower, and so is the amount of air  you can exhale in 1 second. The real identifier is the ratio or how much air you exhale in the first second as a percentage of the total amount of air you exhale.In healthy lungs, between 70 percent and 75 percent of all the air exhaled is exhaled in the first second.

Even if you don’t have trouble breathing , you may consider having a spirometry test if you’re a current or former smoker and you’re 44 or older. You should ask your Doctor about it if you have a family history of COPD or long term exposure to pollution or irritants.

On a final note, chest x-rays aren’t terribly good as a diagnostic tool for copd unless the disease is fairly advanced. However, your Doctor may order one to help him rule out other diseases. 

Email: service@oxygencare.cn 

Lovego Service

Toll free: 400-6677-247

Tel:86-0755-23733851

Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China

Nutrition and Weight Management

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

Nutrition and Weight Management

In this article, we will identify which foods are good for your lungs, and which aren’t and Understanding Why Weight Control is so important

When you have COPD you have to pay particular attention to your diet and your weight. COPD makes your body work harder to distribute oxygen, so you spend more energy just trying to breathe. Without a proper diet, you cant get either the calories or the nutrients your body needs to function.

People with COPD use up to ten times more energy than people with healthy lungs. Unfortunately, COPD often depresses appetite. You may not feel like you have any energy to prepare meals, and if you do somehow manage to make yourself a nice lunch or supper, you may not be able to work up the energy it takes to eat it.

Being overweight will make it more difficult to breathe and can add to your health problems. Extra pounds increase your risk for high blood pressure and diabetes, both of which may complicate efforts to treat your COPD.

Figuring out the proper diet for you depends on several factors, and you should consult your doctor and your nutrionist for specific dietary recommendations. WE can get you started though with a look at some foods that can help you breathe a little easier.

Fruits and Vegetables.
These provide a variety of essential vitamins and minerals. They are also high in fibre, which helps you feel full, aids in digestion and helps control blood sugar and cholesterol.

Vitamin C

This is the most common of the antioxidant nutrients that coat the surface of your airways, and research shows that people who take in more Vitamin C have less severe declines in their lung function as they age.
Foods rich in Vitamin C include citrus fruits ,oranges and grapefruit. Kiwi and strawberries are also good sources of Vitamin C as are peppers and tomatoes.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Omega 3 can calm your airways when they’re irritated or inflamed. They do this by limiting the production of substances that tell the airways to swell. They fatty acids are found in certain types of fish- particulary wild salmon, mackeral, sardines and anchovies. Walnuts are also a good source of omega-3 fats, as are kiwi fruit and linseed oil.

Possibly one of the most important aspects of your diet is Water…Drinking lots of water helps keep the mucus in your lungs thin, which can reduce coughing spasms and makes it easier for you to clear your airways. Most people should be drinking 6-8 glasses a day.

But , if your appetite is poor, you may want to cut back on the water intake. When you have COPD, maintaining a healthy weight is essential, so you need to do all you can to help yourself feel like eating.

In the next article, we are going to talk about the Foods to Be Aware of That Can do more harm to COPD sufferers than good…

Email: service@oxygencare.cn
Lovego Service
Toll free: 400-6677-247
Tel:86-0755-23733851
Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China

Tips on Taking Care of Your Nasal Passages

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

Tips on Taking Care of Your Nasal Passages

An Oxygen concentrator is the most common method of providing oxygen. The air we breathe is made up of a mix of oxygen and nitrogen. A concentrator is an electronic pump that filters out the nitrogen and supplies oxygen through tubing.

Oxygen therapy may sometimes cause irritation of the nose. To reduce the chance of this occurring, you need to take good care of your nose. The following tips should assist in minimizing irritation.

• Apply a water based lubricant or sesame seed oil spray product to just inside the nostrils 2 to 3 times a day. These are available in most pharmacies.

• Try different shaped nasal prongs if irritation starts to occur. 

•  Clean the ends of the nasal prongs with soapy water and a soft cloth on a weekly basis. The nasal prongs should be changed every four to six weeks. If the nasal prongs have become hard and brittle, they should be changed earlier.

•  NEVER use petroleum jelly or other petroleum based lubricants with nasal prongs or cannula as these products can be flammable and may irritate the lining of the nose

Lovego Service

Email: service@oxygencare.cn 

Toll free: 400-6677-247

Tel:86-0755-23733851

Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China

Lovego weekly report- How much do you know about the Home Oxygen Therapy?

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

How much do you know about the Home Oxygen Therapy?

Oxygen therapy is often used in hospitals to treat people with heart and lung problems. However, it can be used safely at home to treat these conditions, and to Improve Quality of Life.

The aim of Oxygen therapy is to increase low levels of oxygen in the blood, relax blood vessels in the lungs, and to avoid the long term problems that chronic low oxygen levels can cause.

We all need Oxygen to Live. It passes from our lungs into our blood stream, where it is carried to our organs and tissues.

If you  have a chronic Respiratory condition, your Doctor or Specialist may prescribe Oxygen at home.

It is IMPORTANT TO follow this prescription.

People who may need oxygen at home include those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, Heart Failure, Severe Angina, life threatening asthma and Lung Cancer.

Oxygen at home has been proven to improve well being, quality of life and longevity of people with COPD.

You will obtain maximum benefit from your oxygen therapy by following the usage your Doctor has recommended.  

In terms of usage, normally your recommendation would be one of the following…

•          Continuous 24hrs per day oxygen
•          At least 16 hours per day
•          Supplemental oxygen needed during sleep periods
•          Supplemental oxygen needed during exercise or activity.

If there is any of these categories applies to you , consider an affordable, quality Oxygen concentrator to suit your needs at

LOVEGO portable oxygen concentrator

Email: service@oxygencare.cn Tel: 400 6677 247/075523733851

Lovego Service

Toll free: 400-6677-247

Tel:86-0755-23733851

Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China

Lovego weekly report-COPD and Headaches

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

COPD and Headaches

If you have copd, you may find that you have frequent morning headaches. Also it may be accompany with some other symptoms like chest pain, Wheezing, Extreme shortness of breath, Choking upon waking up, Rapid breathing Low oxygen. The main reasons are easy to know, as breathing decreases during sleep at night, which lead to the lack of oxygen and the buildup of CO2.

Among of the reasons, hypoxia is a condition where oxygen intake is too low. This can be addressed by your doctor prescribing oxygen therapy. Headaches caused by hypoxia are usually taken care of when the patient gets oxygen during sleep time.

Also, the sleep apnea will cause headaches in people with COPD. Again, this condition leads to hypoxia and morning headaches. A CPAP machine, which we had a brief talk last week, helps to keep the airways in the body open so that there is air exchange Studies have shown that the CPAP can reduce the chance of death in patients with COPD and sleep apnea.

After we know the main reason leads to headaches is lack of oxygen, what we need to do is to improve the oxygenation by taking some measures.

The first one we’d like to suggest is quit smoking, smoking does much harm to our lung and decrease the air flow.

The second is pay more attention to your diet, just we can talk before, be care of the food with caffiein, also, eat more food which will help to reduce headaches, like brown rice, peas, almonds ect

The third one is exercise your lungs, Any exercise that elevates your heart rate and allows you to take in more air will help strengthen your lungs. Healthier lungs will take in more oxygen when you are sleeping, so exercise is a great benefit.

The forth is getting a good pillow. A nice, firm, pillow is needed to use at bedtime so that your head is elevated. This position improves airflow to lungs.

The fifth is taking supplement oxygen during the night. It will help a lot to improve the oxygen in blood.

Email: service@oxygencare.cn Tel: 400 6677 247/075523733851

Lovego Service

Toll free: 400-6677-247

Tel:86-0755-23733851

Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China

CPAP and COPD & Sleep Apnea

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

CPAP and COPD & Sleep Apnea

We had a brief talk about the connection between COPD and sleep last month. Actually, about 50 percent of people with COPD suffer from sleep disorders or conditions that prevent a restful sleep. Among of the disorders, one is Obstructive Sleep Apnea, called OSA. It is a disorder that causes our body to stop breathing while we sleep, from a few seconds to a minute. It's caused when tissues in the upper airway become too relaxed, thus blocking the airway. These episodes are ended by the person waking up slightly to an audible grunt or snore. A typical person may have 30 or more such episodes each night.

During the episodes, the oxygen levels drop, it will rise to the normal levels, but as with COPD may result in chronically lowered oxygen levels, these may drop to critical levels while sleeping. Lower oxygen levels then cause blood vessels to constrict, and the heart rate to work harder to pump blood through the lungs in search of more oxygen that is not there. Over time, this may cause heart failure or even death.

For the treatment, Some patients may benefit from wearing an oral appliance to keep the airway open at night. Others may benefit from CPAP at night. This involves wearing a mask that supplies pressures during exhalation to keep the airway open. If these treatments don’t work, surgery is another option. The latter way is the most common treatment for sleep apnea, and it may also provide benefits to those with COPD. By restoring your blood oxygen levels at night, CPAP can actually slow down the inflammatory processes of COPD that damage your lungs. What’s more, using a CPAP machine may reduce the amount of work your breathing muscles need to do on their own. It also can prevent your lungs from overinflating. This is a common occurrence in people with COPD that makes breathing more difficult. As a result of using CPAP, you might be able to walk more or otherwise be more active during the day. This makes your life easier, and it can also improve your lungs and overall health.

So when you suffer from the COPD and you have the symptoms below, pls talk with your doctor and see whether the CPAP machines are ok for you or not.

• Daytime sleepiness
• Loud, chronic snoring, especially with pauses in breathing
• Choking or gasping during the night
• Morning headaches, dry mouth, or sore throat
•  Mood swings or personality changes

Email: service@oxygencare.cn Tel: 400 6677 247/075523733851

Lovego Service

Toll free: 400-6677-247

Tel:86-0755-23733851

Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China

Lovego weekly report--An interview with Laura, a young woman with COPD

LoveGo, Go Along With Love!

Your Second Doctor

Weekly report

An interview with Laura, a young woman with COPD

The interview is not generated by us, but after reading the part, we think there are many similar stories within us like Laura, as being young with COPD, learning how to cope with it step by step, changing many things in life to face what has been brought, and surely, it will teach us something above living, about living better. 

With brown waist-length hair, smooth skin, and happy eyes, Laura doesn't look her age. At first glance you'd think she's a very young, healthy 48, but her lungs tell a different story. Laura has severe COPD. Her taking on being Young with COPD might surprise you; it might make you laugh or cry, but without a doubt it will teach you something about living.

Q: How old were you when you were diagnosed with COPD?
A: I was 47.

Q: Did you know what COPD was?
A: Not at all.

Q: What were your very first thoughts?
A: I have what? Now what? Quit smoking and work out a lot? Surgery?

Q: Did you go through a period of denial, thinking, "There must be some mistake."
A: Not so much, because I had known for a while (a few years) that something wasn't right with my breathing and coughing. I knew, from watching everyone around me not having any difficulty like I did in some situations, that I was hurting.

Q: Okay, but why did you not seek help earlier? What kept you from that?
A: Honestly, I thought it was from smoking and being around nasty chemicals, and that once I would give up smoking and exercise more, it would go away. And I didn't want to take time to go to the doctor or take medicine.

Q: What finally brought you to the doctor?
A: My coughing a lot and not speaking very well (I was out of breath so fast). I would take a shower and end up coughing when I got out to dry myself, and when eating dairy products the phlegm would build up almost instantly. I would cough so hard I would have to have a pad on (so much for my hysterectomy!) I have to now wear granny undies when I go away or if I drink beer.

Q: How do your kids feel about you having COPD?
A: My children are adults. At first I assumed they'd take it in stride - think I'd just be strong and deal with it. And I do. Really, they're sad and angry. But they're learning to help out more now and see that I'm okay. They think I'm fragile - and way too young. They're liking that I'm home and not working all the hours I used to work. They're gradually adjusting to this slower mom.

Q: How about your husband?
A: (She smiles and laughs.) He still loves me so far! He didn't expect this and is slowly adjusting to it. He's glad we found out when we did and can stall it, hopefully. He thinks it's a good thing that it finally made me stop smoking. He's only 37, so I thought it would be hard because I don't participate in a lot of things we did five years ago when we got married. But he's dealing with it and trying to make it the best he can for both of us... and he says that no matter what... I'm still his bride!

Q: What has been the worst thing so far about having COPD?
A: My regular doctor has not been helpful, and Social Security has been a huge hassle. I have worked hard and long hours in factories for 30 years, raised two children, and have never had help. Now I need some help. My insurance has been tough. The bill for my medicines each month (with insurance) is around $125 - and I do holler!

Q: If you knew then what you know now, do you wish you were diagnosed earlier?
A: Most definitely! I HATE being on all this medicine, giving me my first couple of grey hairs I just found this month. But without it I would be a lot worse and not able to do much of anything. I was one of those people who did not even like using aspirin.

Q: What has been the most helpful thing so far?
A: Truthfully, it was going to pulmonary rehab! I learned a lot of new things I didn't know before and that was a blessing. I learned what my [pulmonary function] percent actually was (severe). I learned how to breathe through my nose to filter and warm up my air before it hits my lungs. I learned to do things in sections - not all at once - so I can still accomplish things.

Q: What do you say to yourself when you get discouraged?
A: STOP having a pity party, woman! A lot of people are way worse off than you are! Then I usually am okay with it. But once in awhile I have a beer break when I get too down. I love beer and I loved smokes, and I had to give one up. Then in the morning I think that was dumb, and I'm usually good for quite a while.

Q: What have you learned about yourself? Has anything good come out of this?
A: I learned to cook.

• My hubby quit smoking too. He also, as I did, works in paint fumes, and grinding steel. 
• I have learned to understand the saying, "Take time to smell the roses," but this is still not the way I had planned to retire. 
• I'm slowly cleaning out the house (I'm a pack rat). 
• I love having the time for outside walks. So what if just around the block? 
• I'm taking more time outs for just ME - hot baths, etc. 
• I have time to read books! 
• I drink lots of water. 
• I'm learning to have a lot more patience on a day-to-day basis. It's okay to let things wait ‘til tomorrow. 
• I'm planning way ahead now for any trips - even little ones. 
• I'm grateful I found out before needing oxygen tank. 
• Finding out young made me slow down sooner and enjoy life instead of being caught in the rat race. 
• I took the time to carve a pumpkin this year (the last time was about 10 years ago). 
• I'm learning to find all I can to keep ahead of this - so maybe I can see 80. 

Email: service@oxygencare.cn Tel: 400 6677 247/075523733851

Lovego Service

Toll free: 400-6677-247

Tel:86-0755-23733851

Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua District, Shenzhen, China