How Can a Senior with COPD Conserve Energy?
When it comes to managing COPD, conservation of energy is probably one of the biggest skills your senior needs to learn. This means that she is spending her limited amounts of energy on the truly important tasks rather than spending it on activities she doesn’t have to handle herself.
Get a Handle on Breathing Triggers
Breathing triggers are situations that make breathing more difficult or even almost impossible for your senior. They’re something along the lines of certain situations, smells, or even emotions that can make COPD problems much worse. When you know what these triggers are for your senior, you can help her to avoid them, which is a big part of helping her to save her energy for bigger things.
She Does Still Need to Move Some
One of the things you might find difficult to understand at first is that you’re senior really does need to move some still. Conserving energy isn’t about keeping her still, it’s about making sure that she doesn’t spend her energy doing things that aren’t necessary or helpful for her. So wasting her energy is something to avoid, but exercising is something she still needs to do. Her doctor can help you figure out how much exercise is right.
Stress Management Is Key
Stress is a massive trigger for a lot of people with COPD. First of all, stress affects your senior’s breathing, sometimes without her noticing. That takes a toll on her body immediately. Then, when she notices that she’s not breathing well or getting enough oxygen, she’s in trouble because her anxiety ramps up and she has even more trouble breathing. Learning how to deal with stressors, both big and small ones, matters a lot.
Elderly Care Providers Can Handle Some Tasks
There’s a lot that your senior can still do, but it doesn’t hurt for her to have more help. She doesn’t have to do those regular tasks like cooking and cleaning if they wear her out. More importantly, she shouldn’t be doing those if they drain her of energy that she can use elsewhere, like exercising and handling activities she wants to do. Leaving those tasks up to elderly care providers is a way to free up her time and her energy.
Every day is going to be a little bit different for your aging adult. The key is going to be learning what she can handle on any given day and learning where her limitations are. As she becomes better at managing those energy levels, she’ll start to feel better overall.
If you or someone you know needs Home Health Care in Robertsdale, Al, please contact the friendly caregivers at Hughes Home Care. We provide quality and affordable care for your elderly loved ones in our community. Call Us Today 251-517-9901. Serving Mobile & Baldwin County.
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