HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Self-care for COPD
Tāu ake whakaora i te COPD
If you have been diagnosed with COPD, you can stop it getting worse. It will never go away completely but there are things you can do to stay well and to make your symptoms less severe.
Being smokefree
If you smoke, you should stop smoking. This is by far the best way to reduce your symptoms and prevent your condition from getting any worse. If you are having difficulty stopping smoking, speak to your general practice team or pharmacist.
Physical activity
Keeping as active as possible is an important part of helping your breathing.
There are several ways to increase the amount of activity you do in your day.
You can get support to help you. Ask your general practice team about Support for getting active.
The Canterbury Better Breathing programme is specially aimed at people with COPD.
You can go along to a Canterbury community respiratory support and exercise group.
Learn to manage flare-ups
Worsening symptoms like increased coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and a change in the colour of your mucus (sputum or phlegm) is called a flare-up or exacerbation.
If you have developed a plan with your general practice team, you can start treating a flare-up at home.
Your plan will often include having a supply of antibiotics and prednisone (oral steroid tablets) that you can start taking. If you take them, make a note of what you have taken and when.
If you are following your plan and are not improving or are concerned, see your general practice team.
If you are getting better, see your general practice team a week after starting your antibiotics. This will let them assess your health. You can also refill your emergency prescriptions.
It may take up to a month before you feel normal again. Continue to keep active to maintain your strength.
Learn to manage breathlessness
Finding ways to manage your breathlessness and the anxious feeling it can cause can allow you to enjoy more activities.
Though often frightening, it is important to know being breathless does not usually mean you are short of oxygen.
Simple measures such as having cold air blowing across your face from a fan and finding the right body position can help. See Breathlessness strategies for COPD for more suggestions.
The Canterbury Better Breathing programme will give you options for controlling and improving your breathing.
Vaccinations
It is important to have an annual flu vaccination. If you have COPD, you are more likely to be seriously affected by catching the flu or getting a chest infection after having the flu.
Keep up to date with COVID-19 booster vaccinations.
You should also get a pneumococcal vaccination that protects against a particular type of bacterial infection that can cause a serious lung infection. You may have to pay for this vaccination.
Weight and nutrition
Keeping close to a normal weight (not too high, not too low) is good if you have COPD. Some people with COPD have difficulty putting weight back on, especially after infections.
Your general practice team will check your body mass index (BMI) and offer advice on whether you need to lose or gain weight. Keeping active is a good way to stay a healthy weight as it builds up your muscles.
Keep your home warm and dry
It is important for your health to keep your home warm and dry.
Keeping your home warm & dry has information about subsidies and support for heating and insulation.
The Asthma Foundation has some useful information about keeping your home healthy.
HealthInfo recommends the following videos
- Canterbury Clinical Network – Exercise, kōrero and friendship
A Better Breathing Coffee Group discussing their experiences of attending group meetings.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ – Manage your COPD
Information about how to manage with COPD.
On the next page: COPD medications
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed October 2024.
SourcesReview key: HICOP-16602
