Tips for Dealing With COPD When Air Quality Is Affected

Your mom has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She was coughing all of the time and found herself feeling winded after light activities. Now that her doctor has diagnosed COPD, she’s taking prescription medications. She’s also been told to be careful with outdoor activities when the air quality is poor. Here are some tips for you, your mom and home care services to follow.

Track Air Quality Each Day

Home Care Fair Lawn NJ – Tips for Dealing With COPD When Air Quality Is Affected

Look at daily air quality reports. Sites like IQAir provide real-time air quality indexes. They provide warnings if the AQI is too high. You’ll know to keep your mom inside if the index is getting too high.

Keep Her Inside

Until the air quality improves, your mom needs to stay inside. Ideally, she wants to be in a room with an air purifier. If she spends most of her day in the family room, that’s an excellent place to put the system. If you get a portable model, she can move it to the room she will be in for a while.

If she doesn’t have an air purifier or air conditioner, move her to a hotel or someone else’s home for now. It’s best to have her stay somewhere else than to risk her safety in her home.

Provide Ways to Socialize

Provide your mom with options for socializing. If she has a computer, set up video chat and show her how to connect with family members. She enjoys the benefits of chatting with others, and she doesn’t have to leave her home for now.

She can also video chat using a smartphone. If she doesn’t have these technologies in her home, a phone call is the next best thing.

Could someone move in for now? If she has a grandchild or child with her when she can’t go outside, she’s less likely to feel isolated.

Ask Her Doctor for Suggestions

Talk to your mom’s doctor to see if supplemental oxygen would help her breathe easier when the air quality is poor. If that is a treatment path, she needs to be supported as she avoids strenuous activities. She also needs to stay inside in air conditioning or a room that has an air purifier running.

Hire Home Care Aides to Make Sure Your Mom Limits Her Activities

Home care aides help your mom with activities around the home. Instead of having her do her own housework, she can have aides vacuum, wash dishes, wash and dry clothes, bedding, and towels.

With home care, your mom can take it easy until the air quality improves. Call our specialist to make arrangements.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring Home Care Services in Fair Lawn NJ, please contact the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC. In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today at (973) 427-3553.