How Can You Help Your Senior Determine What Makes Breathing More Difficult?

If your elderly family member has lung issues or COPD, then it’s crucial to know what makes her have more problems breathing. When you have that information, you can do as much as possible to avoid those triggers.

Most people with lung diseases or COPD experience some of the same triggers that make breathing worse. Chemical fumes, cigarette smoke, pollution, and fragrances usually tend to top the list. But your family member might also be sensitive to high humidity or dust and mold. It’s important to note that being stressed or anxious can also be a trigger for breathing problems.Look at Common Triggers.

Keep a Breathing Diary.

If you’re starting from scratch with determining your elderly family member’s breathing triggers, a breathing diary makes everything much easier. What you’re going to want to track first is how your family member is breathing at different times of day. From there, track what she’s eating, drinking, and what is happening when she notices that she’s having trouble breathing.

Include Times of Day.

It’s really important to include the time of day when you or your elderly family member updates the breathing diary. You may start to notice that situations that don’t cause problems in the morning are more difficult for your family member later in the day. This could be because she feels stronger and less stressed in the morning, but by afternoon she’s more tired and less able to deal with certain triggers. Time of day can therefore be seen as a trigger of sorts.

Take the Info to Your Senior’s Doctor.

Once you’ve collected a good bit of data, your aging adult’s doctor can use it to look a little more at how her environment is impacting her ability to breathe. Some of that information can also help her doctor to see how well her medications are helping her to breathe. From there, you can develop a better plan to help your aging adult.

Learn How to Avoid Triggers.

The more you understand the triggers that cause worsened breathing for your senior, the easier it is for you and other people to help her avoid them. If cleaning products or dust create issues for your senior, then it might be time to hire home care providers to take over those tasks for her.

Avoiding triggers is so much easier when you are aware of them. Your family member’s triggers may change as her health changes, too, so it’s important to periodically revisit this process. Each time you can learn even more about what helps your family member to breathe better.

If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Bryn Mawr, PA, contact the caring professionals at Reliant At Home Care today (610) 674-6860 .