Providing care for a loved one living with COPD can be hard, but Respiratory Health Association’s Caregiver’s Toolkit has information and resources to help you along the way. Thanks to our partnership with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Learn More Breathe Better® program, the toolkit is now available online! Learn more at … Read more
Chances are, you know someone who takes care of a sick parent or spouse and faces the many challenges of caregiving. You may even know someone who cares for a person with COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe and gets worse over time. It … Read more
The following is reprinted from the NIH’s National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) When you’re under stress, your body reacts by releasing hormones that produce the “fight-or-flight” response. Your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure go up, your muscles tense, and you sweat more. If this happens often, over a long period … Read more
The following is excerpted from a press release from the Leapfrog Group, a patient safety advocacy organization. The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers focused on health care safety, today released the spring 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, which assigns a letter grade to nearly 3,000 U.S. general hospitals based on over 30 … Read more
By Gary Fitzgerald – Allery & Asthma Network* People with chronic cough, wheeze and shortness of breath may wonder if their symptoms are asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The difference between the two diseases is not always clear. May is Asthma Awareness Month, and Allergy & Asthma Network joins with the US COPD Coalition in raising … Read more
There are many types of oxygen equipment used in the home, with each device having advantages and disadvantages. An assessment of a patient’s needs is crucial to matching oxygen patients with the right equipment. The United States COPD Coalition (USCC) Portable Oxygen Task Force has developed the accompanying Portable Oxygen Needs Assessment form for completion by patients, … Read more
Many of you may have seen very inexpensive “Oxygen Concentrators” available online, including Amazon, Facebook, eBay.These are selling in the range of $300 to $650. They are not FDA approved, nor will they support the supplemental oxygen needs of most living with COPD. FDA-approved portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) produce at least 93% oxygen at any given … Read more
There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Smoking during pregnancy results in more than 1,000 infant deaths annually. Some of the health conditions caused by … Read more
The following is a bulletin from the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Some online sources of information on integrative health are useful, but others may be inaccurate or misleading. If you’re visiting a health website for the first time, ask yourself these questions. The answers may help you judge whether the site … Read more
The following is a statement from Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. As we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has used the best available science as the virus has evolved to make informed decisions with the health and safety of the American … Read more