We've long known that the harsh chemicals found in many cleaning products can be dangerous if not handled correctly. However, recent research shows that common household cleaners may be much more dangerous than most people realize.

Studies show that breathing in the fumes from cleaning chemicals can cause both short-term and long-term breathing problems. Even if you don't notice immediate symptoms, years and years of exposure to these fumes can cause permanent lung damage and even life-threatening diseases like COPD.

This means that anyone who uses cleaning chemicals regularly may be putting their lungs at risk. However, the risk is much higher for people who suffer from existing respiratory problems like asthma or COPD.

People with respiratory diseases are particularly sensitive to the damaging effects of respiratory irritants like chemical fumes. That's why it is particularly important to learn how to recognize and avoid hazardous cleaning chemicals if you have a lung condition like COPD.

In this article, we're going to explain everything you need to know about how to protect your lungs from dangerous chemical fumes. We'll tell you which products are dangerous, which products are safe, and how to adjust your cleaning methods to be more lung and COPD-friendly.

We'll also introduce you to a variety of simple, safer cleaning techniques and alternative cleaning products, including lung-healthy cleaning solutions that you can make yourself at home. You will find all kinds of practical tips and tricks in this guide that you can use to significantly reduce your exposure to toxic cleaning fumes.

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What Cleaning Fumes Do to Your Lungs

Any time you use a cleaning solution, it emits fumes into the air that you inevitably end up breathing. These fumes are made up of gaseous chemicals and tiny droplets that mist from the solution.

Many chemicals found in cleaning products create fumes that are irritating and toxic to your lungs. As soon as the fumes touch your lung tissue, they can cause inflammation and a variety of respiratory symptoms like coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath.

These fumes can also inflame your eyes, nose, and upper airways, causing sharp, burning pain when you breathe. If you're exposed to a lot of fumes all at once, you might experience a sore throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, and even stomach pain.

These are the acute, immediate effects, but breathing chemical fumes can cause long-term health problems as well. Breathing in even small amounts of fumes over a long period of time can cause chronic health problems and do permanent damage to your lungs.

This often happens as a result of inflammation in the lungs, which can occur any time you breathe in a respiratory irritant, including chemical fumes. If sustained for too long, the inflammation begins to injure healthy lung tissue.

This kind of lung damage is permanent and cannot be reversed. Over many months or years, as more and more lung tissue gets affected, the damage can add up and cause noticeable lung function decline.

Certain chemicals, such as ammonia, emit fumes that are immediately caustic to your lungs. When these fumes come in contact with the delicate tissue lining the inside of your lungs, they cause immediate cell death, destroying healthy lung tissue and causing inflammation.

Usually, it takes many episodes of chemical exposure and inflammation over the span of many years to cause noticeable long-term damage. Unfortunately, studies show that simply using household cleaning products on a regular basis is enough to cause permanent damage—and even COPD—over time.

That's why you should never assume that your lungs are safe when you clean just because you don't notice any symptoms or the fumes don't burn your nose. You might not realize that cleaning fumes have damaged your lungs until much later in life when it starts to have more obvious effects on your health.

What the Research Says

Researchers have known for some time that exposure to cleaning chemicals can cause asthma and respiratory symptoms, but they had little data on the long-term effects. In the past few years, however, researchers have found strong links between cleaning chemical fumes and chronic respiratory diseases.

This is something scientists have long suspected but, until recently, didn't have the data to prove. Fortunately, two large-scale studies published in the past couple of years have shed more light on the link between cleaning fumes and long-term respiratory problems.

One study from Harvard, published in 2017, found a strong correlation between subjects' use of chemical cleaners and fatal lung diseases like COPD. In a study of more than 55,000 US nurses that spanned thirty years, they found that those who used chemical disinfectants just once per week had a 32 percent higher risk of developing COPD.

A more recent study from the University of Bergen in Norway looked at the effects of cleaning in a typical home environment. After tracking 6,000 subjects for twenty years, they found that women who regularly used chemical cleaning solutions had poorer respiratory function than those who didn't.

In fact, researchers estimated that the amount of lung function these women lost was roughly equivalent to smoking a whole pack of cigarettes every day. Those who were exposed even more often than that experienced more severe lung decline.

Despite including men in the study, they were unable to find any strong evidence of cleaning product-related lung decline in men. However, that doesn't mean that men who get regularly exposed to fumes from cleaning chemicals are any less at risk; the researchers noted that the men in the study just didn't use cleaning products as often as the women subjects, which likely left them with too small a sample to detect such effects among the men.

These studies show that even minimal exposure to chemical fumes can have a significant effect on your lungs over the span of many years. They also indicate that the severity of lung damage is directly related to how frequently you are exposed.

The most important take-away is that you should limit your use of chemical cleaning products as much as possible. And when you must use them, you should be careful to breathe in as little fumes as possible.

How Cleaning Fumes Affect People With COPD

Using household cleaning chemicals puts you at risk whether you're a healthy adult or someone who suffers from a chronic breathing disorder. However, exposure to chemical fumes can be even more dangerous for lungs that are strained due to an existing respiratory problem like asthma or COPD.

People with these conditions have particularly sensitive lung tissue, which means that even small amounts of fumes can trigger inflammation in their lungs. This makes their lungs more vulnerable to permanent damage as a result of exposure to chemical fumes.

Because their lung function is already limited, the damage COPD patients sustain from repeated exposure also has more serious effects. Further damage and inflammation from cleaning chemicals is much more likely to cause noticeable symptoms and measurable lung function decline.

Because of this, repeatedly breathing in respiratory irritants like chemical cleaning fumes can actually cause the disease to progress faster. It can cause quicker lung function decline and cause patients' respiratory symptoms to permanently get worse.

Cleaning fumes are also more likely to trigger immediate respiratory symptoms—like wheezing, coughing fits, and severe shortness of breath—in people with COPD. In some cases, they can even trigger COPD flare-ups that last long after the fumes are gone.

As a result, using household cleaners at all can make your COPD symptoms more difficult to manage on a daily basis. This can be dangerous, since managing your symptoms is a vital part of keeping your lungs healthy, preventing complications, and slowing down the progression of COPD.

In the next sections, we're going to show you a variety of ways you can reduce your exposure to dangerous cleaning chemical fumes. First, we'll take a look at which cleaning products are safe (and not safe) to use, and then we'll show you some specific tips and tricks for keeping your lungs protected every single time you clean.

Which Cleaning Products are the Most Dangerous?

Few commercial cleaning products are completely safe to use, but some seem to be much worse for your lungs than others. Certain harsh cleaning chemicals, like ammonia and bleach, are particularly toxic to breathe.

The 2017 Harvard study, for instance, identified some specific chemical culprits that were most strongly linked to respiratory decline. They found that exposure to cleaning solutions containing bleach and a category of chemicals known as quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) seemed especially likely to cause COPD later in life.

Researchers believe that both types of chemicals can cause significant respiratory problems, even in small amounts, to people who use them regularly. If they are that dangerous even to healthy adults, using these chemicals could have even worse consequences for people with asthma or existing respiratory diseases.

Unfortunately, ammonia and bleach are some of the most common chemicals found in commercial cleaning products. If you don't read the ingredients carefully, you might even use cleaners containing ammonia or bleach without even realizing it.

However, ammonia and bleach are not the only chemicals worth avoiding; most commercial cleaning products contain chemical compounds that can irritate your lungs. A category of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), for instance, are well-known air pollutants and respiratory irritants that are found in all sorts of cleaning solutions.

There are many different types of VOCs, and they are found in a wide array of products, including cleaning solutions, hair spray, and even building materials like plywood and glues. Some VOCs are harmless, while others can hurt your lungs and cause a variety of other health issues, including organ damage and cancer.

In small amounts, VOCs are usually not harmful to healthy adults. However, if you get exposed to too many VOCs over a long period of time, they can cause serious health problems and chronic respiratory symptoms.

VOC's are most likely to cause respiratory symptoms in people with sensitive respiratory tracts, including people with asthma and COPD. Their existing respiratory issues make their lungs more prone to both the short-term and long-term effects of exposure, which is why they should be more careful to avoid VOCs.

If you have asthma or COPD, even mild fragrances in cleaning solutions and air fresheners can irritate your lungs badly enough to cause serious respiratory symptoms. Other VOC-heavy household chemicals, like adhesives, varnishes, and fabric softeners, may also trigger coughing and shortness of breath.

That's why it's important to check the ingredients on any cleaning and chemical products you buy to use in your home. Unless you need them for a very specific purpose, you should always avoid any cleaning solutions that contain ammonia, bleach, VOCs, or other harsh cleaning chemicals.

Sometimes, you can find versions of cleaning products that contain smaller amounts of VOCs and other noxious chemicals. However, it can be difficult to determine whether a product is safe because it's so hard to recognize the names of all the hazardous chemical compounds.

To help you out, we've made a list of some of the most common chemicals in cleaning solutions that can be dangerous to your lungs. We've also included some of their more obscure chemical names so you can more easily pick them out of ingredient lists.

Here are some of the most hazardous chemicals for your lungs and respiratory system:

• Ammonia
• Bleach
• Sodium hypochlorite
• Chemical solvents
• Hydrochloric acid
• Sulfiric acid
• Napthalene
• Propellants
• Formaldehyde (a VOC)
• Hydroxymethylglycinate
• Diazolidinyl urea
• Quaternium-15
• DMDM, aka Glydant
• Bronopol, aka 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
• Grotan, aka hexahydro-1,3,5-tris(2-hydroxyethyl)-S-triazine
• Quaternary ammonium compounds
• Stearalkonium chloride
• Benzalkonium chloride
• Centrimonium bromide
• Quaternium 1-29
• Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC)
• “Fragrance” (many products don't list specific chemicals used for fragrance)
• 1,4-dioxane
• Cresol

Here is a list of some specific products that contain hazardous chemicals or emit fumes that can irritate your lungs:

• Drain cleaners
• Disinfectants and sanitizing solutions
• Aerosol sprays (including fragrances and air fresheners)
• Carpet powders
• Dry cleaning powders
• Pain thinners
• Varnishes
• Adhesives
• Paint fumes
• Fabric softeners

If you suffer from chronic respiratory problems, it's worth going well out of your way to protect your lungs from all types of cleaning fumes, not just ammonia and bleach. That's why it's best to avoid commercial cleaning products all-together when possible and make your own lung-healthy cleaning solutions at home.

Which Cleaning Products are Safe?

The vast majority of commercial cleaning solutions are likely to contain noxious chemicals, VOCs, and fragrances that are dangerous to breathe. In order to eliminate the risk of harmful fumes, you will likely have to buy specialized, mild cleaning products or make your own DIY cleaning solutions.

Lung-Safe Commercial Cleaning Products

Unfortunately, products labeled “green” or “environmentally-friendly” may not actually be any safer for your lungs. That's why reading the label is a must; you should always look closely at the ingredients list and warning information before using any commercial chemical.

However, there are some other resources that can help you find safer cleaning products to use in your home. Both the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and the EPA have endorsed a multitude of products that are better for your health and the environment.

How to Find Safer Cleaning Products:

• The EPA's search tool for “Safer Choice Standard” products (search by product type to find a variety of products for different cleaning purposes)
• The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America's list of certified asthma- and allergy-friendly products

DIY Lung-Safe Cleaning Products You Can Make Yourself at Home

Photo by Abi Porter

Safe commercial cleaners can be difficult to find and expensive to buy once you do. Luckily, you can make simple and effective cleaning solutions yourself using just a few basic ingredients.

The following DIY recipes for homemade cleaners all use common, mild ingredients like soap, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, and borax. If you have asthma or COPD, these solutions won't harm your lungs and shouldn't trigger any respiratory symptoms.

All-purpose Cleaner

Recipe:

• 1 quart warm water
• 4 tablespoons baking soda

Uses: This deodorizing solution is great for cleaning smooth surfaces like appliances, faucets, kitchen counters, door handles, and more.

Instructions: Mix the water and baking soda together in a large container like a bucket, mixing bowl, or a large pot. To use, simply wet a cleaning towel or sponge with the solution and gently wipe down the surface you want to clean. The solution works best while the water is warm, so you should try to use it immediately.

Glass and Window Cleaner

Recipe:

• 2 cups water
• ½ cup white vinegar

Uses: Use to wipe down smooth glass surfaces like windows, glass doors. and glass tabletops.

Instructions: Mix the water and white vinegar together and store the solution in an airtight container or spray bottle. To use, either spray the solution directly on the glass surface and wipe dry, or wipe down the surface with a clean cloth dampened with the solution. You may need to wipe the surface one more time with a dry cloth to remove any moisture and leave the glass streak-free.

Grease-cutting Cleaner

Recipe:

• 1 cup white vinegar
• A few drops of liquid Dawn dish soap
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 2-3 cups of water

Uses: This cleaner is great for removing oil and grease from smooth surfaces like your kitchen counters, oven, and sink.

Instructions: Mix the vinegar, dish soap, and baking soda together in a spray bottle or another airtight container. Then add 2-3 cups of water and shake vigorously. Spray the greasy surface directly or dip a sponge in the solution, then wipe the surface clean. You may need to give the surface another wipe with a damp cloth to remove any leftover residue.

Scrubbing Solution

Recipe:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ up borax

Uses: This paste is great for removing rust and stains from porcelain, enamel, or stainless steel surfaces like your bathtub or sink.

Instructions: Mix the lemon juice and borax together to form a gritty paste. Apply the paste to a sponge or scrub brush and scrub the surface you want to clean. Once the stain or rust is removed, wipe the area clean with a damp cloth.

How to Reduce Your Exposure to Cleaning Fumes

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There are many things you can do when you use cleaning products to reduce your exposure to their fumes. After all, even cleaning products that are safer for your lungs can irritate your respiratory system if it is very sensitive or you suffer from severe COPD.

That's why it's important to learn how to use all cleaning products safely. That includes properly handling chemicals, using noxious cleaners only when necessary, and ensuring that the air is well-ventilated while you clean.

Don't Use Spray Bottles

Spray bottles turn cleaning solutions into a fine mist, much of which ends up in the air rather than on the surface you are spraying. These droplets and fumes mix into the air and get into your lungs when you breathe.

Because of this, any time you use a cleaning spray, you are essentially spraying chemical fumes into the room. It is exposes you to significantly more fumes than plain liquid solutions and can be much more damaging to your lungs.

Instead of using spray bottles, you can simply use a cloth or sponge to absorb the solution and coat the surface you want to clean. Just dip your cloth (or sponge) into the solution, wring it out, and use circular wiping motions to distribute it evenly over the area.

Then, use a clean, damp cloth to wipe off the solution and any residue it loosens up. You may need to do a final wipe with a dry cloth to remove any excess moisture left behind.

Minimize How Often You Use Chemical Cleaners

Having COPD means you are more prone to illnesses and respiratory infections, which means it is very important to keep your environment free of bacteria and other sickness-causing pathogens. However, that doesn't mean that you have to use harsh chemicals and disinfectants every time you clean.

Chances are you don't actually need to use chemical cleaners and sanitizing solutions nearly as often as you think. In fact, the vast majority of cleaning tasks can be completed to satisfaction with nothing more than a clean cloth,

Influenza—also known as the flu—is one of the most common and deadly viruses that spreads throughout the US every year. With the peak of the flu season beginning in January and continuing through March, now is the time to get your flu vaccine if you haven't done so already.

Experts recommend that every person over 6 months old get the flu shot every year, but it is especially important for older adults and people with serious health conditions. This applies particularly to people with chronic respiratory diseases like COPD, who have a much higher risk of experiencing life-threatening complications if they get exposed to the flu.

Unfortunately, most adults fail to get the vaccine, and only about forty percent of American adults get their flu shot in any given year. However, doctors and health experts strongly urge all adults to get vaccine, both for their own health and to protect the health of others.

Still, flu vaccination rates stay low, in part because many people underestimate how serious and deadly the flu can be. This, in turn, causes many people to underestimate the importance of the flu vaccine and assume that skipping the yearly shot is not a big deal.

In this post, we're going to explain why getting your flu shot is vital, whether you are old, young, healthy, sick, or anything in-between. We'll also take a closer look at some of the reasons people decline the flu shot while debunking some of the most common myths and misconceptions.

We'll show you how the flu shot works, why it's recommended, and how it protects the lives of people with COPD and other chronic diseases. With the information in this guide, we hope that you will better understand the flu vaccine and why doctors believe it is so important for public health.

Flu Vaccine Basics: What You Should Know

Who Should Get the Flu Vaccine?

Many people assume that the flu vaccine is meant mainly to protect the young, elderly, and people with serious health conditions. However, this is false; doctors and health experts urge everyone over 6 months of age to get a flu shot every year, with just a few exceptions.

Your doctor will be able to tell you if you should get the flu vaccine and will give you the vaccine that is appropriate for your age. For example, adults over the age of 65 receive a special high-dose flu vaccine that is more effective for older adults.

According to the CDC, the following people should get vaccinated against the flu every year:

• Children 6 months of age and older
• All adults, including pregnant women
• Most adults who have chronic health conditions (talk to your doctor if you are unsure)

However, there are some people who should not get the flu vaccine, including:

• Some people with allergies to eggs or other ingredients in the vaccine (If you are allergic to eggs, you should notify your doctor, but you can most likely still get a flu vaccine.)
• Some people with Gillain-Barre Syndrome

Who Recommends the Flu Vaccine?

Just about every major governmental health organization along with many other expert health organizations recommend routine flu vaccination. They emphasize the importance of vaccination in the young, elderly, and those with chronic health conditions, but also urge healthy children and adults to get the vaccine as well.

Here is a list of some of the major health organizations that endorse the flu vaccine:

• The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The World Health Organization (WHO)
• Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI)
• The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control
• A large number of leading public health organizations and experts. The following represent just a few:
• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• American College of Physicians (ACP)
• American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
• Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP)
• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)
• And many more!

Who is Most Vulnerable to Serious Flu Complications?

Certain groups of people are much more susceptible to the flu and flu-related health complications than others. This includes a larger number of people than most tend to realize, including anyone over the age of 65, anyone under the age of 5, and people with common health conditions like heart disease and COPD.

For these people, a flu infection could be deadly or cause serious secondary infections like pneumonia. That's why it's especially important for people who belong to these vulnerable groups to get vaccinated against the flu.

According to the CDC, it is particularly important for people in the following vulnerable groups to get the flu vaccine:

• Children under 5 years old (particularly children under 2)
• Older adults over the age of 65
• Pregnant women
• People in nursing homes and long-term care facilities
• Native Americans and Alaska Natives
• People with chronic respiratory illnesses, including asthma, COPD, and cystic fibrosis
• People with other chronic diseases, including heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, and metabolic disorders like diabetes
• People with blood disorders (e.g. sickle cell disease)
• People with extreme obesity
• People with neurological and developmental disorders (e.g. cerebral palsy, epilepsy, stroke, and muscular dystrophy)
• People with suppressed immune systems (e.g. people taking steroids, immunosuppresant medications, and people with HIV)
• People receiving long-term aspirin therapy

When Should You Get Your Flu Shot?

The CDC recommends that you get your flu vaccine by the end of October every year. This gives the flu vaccine time to work before flu season begins to pick up in November-December.

In general, you will be protected from getting the flu about two weeks after you get your shot. That's why it's better to get your shot earlier in the season, rather than waiting until the flu has already begun to spread.

However, if you forget to get vaccinated early, you can still get the flu vaccine anytime throughout the winter and early spring. It will still be just as effective later in the season, but it won't be able to protect you from any flu viruses you catch before the vaccine takes effect.

If you are over the age of 65 or suffer from a chronic disease like COPD, then it's especially important for you to be protected from the flu for the entirety of the flu season. You should get your vaccine as early as possible so that your immune system has plenty of time to prepare before the virus begins to spread.

How Much Does the Flu Shot Cost?

If you have health insurance, then it's almost always free to get your yearly flu shot. But even if you don't have insurance, you may still be able to get the shot for free, or at least at a reduced price.

The chances are good that you can find some sort of program or event in your city that offers the flu vaccine for free. At worst, you shouldn't have to pay more than $25-35 out of pocket to get the shot at your local Walmart or CVS.

All Medicare plans also fully cover the flu shot. If you have medicare part B, the deductible doesn't apply to the flu vaccine, so you shouldn't have to pay any out-of-pocket costs.

If you don't have health insurance, click here to see a helpful list of some of the cheapest places you can go to get your flu vaccine.

Where Can You Get Your Flu Shot?

Flu shots are cheap, quick, and readily available all across the United States. You can get the vaccine at a variety of different places, including your doctor and just about any chain-business pharmacy.

Many colleges, employers, and other organizations also give flu shots on-site or offer vouchers to get a flu shot for free. You can also check with local health organizations and city, county, or state health departments to see if they offer flu vaccination programs or incentives.

Here is a list of some of the places you can go to get your flu vaccine:

• Your primary care doctor (you can make a special appointment or get the shot during a routine examination)
• Urgent care centers (these are often more convenient and closer to home than the doctor's office)
• Pharmacies (these are often the cheapest and most convenient option, and it's usually free if you have health insurance)
• Walmart
• Walgreens
• CVS
• Kroger
• Rite Aid
• Target
• Kmart
• Stop & Shop

Why You Should Get the Flu Vaccine: A Matter of Life and Death

The reason you should get your flu shot is twofold: first of all, you want to protect yourself from getting sick with the influenza virus and experiencing potentially life-threatening complications. The second is to prevent you from transmitting the virus to other people around you who could be even more vulnerable to the illness.

Here is a quick summary of the major benefits of getting the flu vaccine before we go into them in more detail.

Benefits of Flu Vaccination:

• Reduces your chances of getting sick with the flu
• Reduces your chances of experiencing a serious health complication (including hospitalization and death) from the flu
• Can reduce the severity of your flu symptoms and your risk of complications even if you end up getting sick with the flu
• Reduces your chances of spreading the flu virus to other people (including infants, who cannot receive the vaccine)
• Reduces the risk of serious complications, hospitalization, and death if you are over 65 or suffer from a serious health condition like COPD
• Protects pregnant women and infants (If a pregnant woman receives the flu vaccine during pregnancy, it can protect their infant child from the flu for several months after giving birth)

Getting the Flu Vaccine Protects Your Own Health

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu kills, on average, 12,000 to 56,000 people in the US and puts up to 710,000 people in the hospital every year. The exact number of deaths and hospitalizations can vary significantly from year to year depending on the severity of flu outbreaks.

2017, for instance, was a particularly bad year for the flu in the US. That year, more than 80,000 Americans died from the flu, marking the highest number of flu-related deaths in four decades.

Many of these deaths and hospitalizations could have been prevented if more people had gotten the flu vaccine. Many of those who died were also healthy adults with no other serious medical conditions.

Image created by the CDC

Just because you've had the flu before and it turned out fine, that doesn't mean you're not at risk in the future. You may have gotten over many flus in your life, but all it takes is one serious infection to put your life and health on the line.

Whether you are 17 or 75, the flu vaccine could save your life and significantly reduce your chances of being hospitalized with the flu. Especially if you have COPD or belong to another high-risk group, there is no reason to take the risk of not getting the shot when the vaccine is so cheap and readily available.

Getting the Flu Vaccine Protects Others Around You and Can Even Save Lives

Even if you are not concerned about getting sick yourself, failing to get your flu vaccine could put the lives of vulnerable people at risk. That's why doctors recommend that everyone, even those with a low risk of flu complications, get the flu vaccine every year.

Chances are, you, a family member, or someone else you know comes into regular contact with someone with a serious health condition who needs extra protection from the flu. More than 11 million people in the US have been diagnosed with COPD alone, and they are certainly not the only ones who are at risk.

Unfortunately, many vaccinations—including the flu vaccine—are not as effective in the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. Even if they get vaccinated, their immune systems may not be able to build up an effective immunity to the virus.

The same applies to infants under the age of 6 months, whose immune systems aren't fully developed. Because of this, infants this young can't generate the immune response necessary to gain immunity from the vaccine.

All of these people who cannot build immunity on their own--from infants to older adults to immuno-compromised individuals--have to rely on the people around them to get vaccinated to protect them from the flu. This relates to a concept known as herd immunity, which we'll discuss more in the sections below.

How Does the Flu Vaccine Work?

Even though the flu vaccine is more effective and more readily available than ever, a large percentage of people in the US still decline this life-saving vaccine. We hope that by learning more about how the vaccine works and the benefits it has to offer, more people—especially at-risk populations like people with COPD—will choose to get their flu vaccine every year.

How Does the Flu Vaccine Protect You From the Flu?

The flu vaccine is essentially a mixture of inactivated flu virus strains. However, instead of getting you sick, the viruses in the vaccine help your immune system prepare to fight similar viruses in the future.

Most simply put, the flu vaccine introduces your immune system to a small sample of the same types of viruses that it might encounter if you get exposed to the flu. Your immune system then “remembers” what those viruses look like by creating an army of tiny molecules—called antibodies—that can recognize what the virus looks like.

That's why, when you get the flu vaccine, it takes a couple of weeks to take full effect. During those two weeks, your immune system is working hard to build up store of antibodies that will lie in wait until you get exposed to the virus again.

The next time one of those viruses (or a similar virus) enters your body, the antibodies will recognize the virus immediately and mark it for destruction. This allows your body to kill the virus so quickly that it never gets the chance to infect you and make you sick.

How Do Researchers Develop the Flu Vaccine Every Year?

The first vaccine able to combat the influenza virus was developed by researchers in the mid 1940's. This first vaccine only worked against one specific strain of the flu virus, but modern flu vaccines offer even greater protection.

The flu vaccine is unique in the sense that it get re-formulated every year. This allows researchers to create a vaccine that targets specific virus strains that are active at the time.

This is necessary because the flu is not just a single virus. There are hundreds of different known flu virus strains, and they evolve and change very quickly.

Right now, it is impossible to develop a vaccine that works against every single flu virus strain. Even if it were, the flu virus changes so quickly that it would evolve to evade the vaccine over time.

That's why researchers work hard every year to predict which strains are the biggest threat. Then, they pick the top 3-4 strains and develop a vaccine that boosts your immunity to those and similar virus strains.

Researchers are pretty good at predicting which strains will be most active, even though their estimations are not always perfect. But even with just 3-4 strains included the vaccine, researchers have been able to develop a vaccine that prevents, on average, up to ninety percent of of targeted flu viruses and about fifty percent of overall flu infections.

However, it's impossible to predict the future with absolute certainty, which means that the flu vaccine might be more or less effective in different years. If the common flu virus strains circulating around don't match well with the strains included in the vaccine, then the vaccine may not be able to prevent as many infections as expected.

How Effective is the Flu Vaccine?

On the surface, a sixty percent overall effectiveness rate might not seem very impressive for a vaccine, but there's a reason that it's endorsed by CDC and leading health organizations. A flu vaccine that prevents more than half of infections is extremely valuable, especially considering how deadly the flu can be.

Consider the fact that, in one of the deadliest flu seasons in America, the flu killed more than 80,000 people and forced Alabama to declare a public health emergency. The flu is no joke, and any vaccine that prevents a noticeable percentage of infections or deaths is absolutely worthwhile to use.

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The flu vaccine doesn't just reduce the number of people who get sick, but also reduces the number of serious flu complications and protects people in vulnerable groups. For example, the vaccine is 30-70% effective at preventing hospitalization with the flu in healthy adults, and 50-60% effective at preventing hospitalization in adults living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes.

The flu vaccine can also dramatically reduce the number of people who die from the flu. For people in long-term care facilities, the flu vaccine reduces death from flu complications by a whopping eighty percent.

The flu shot is also particularly effective at protecting children, which is evidenced by the fact that three out of four children who die from the flu did not receive a flu vaccination. In fact, one study found that getting the flu shot reduced the risk of flu-related death by 65 percent in healthy children and 51 percent in children with high-risk medical conditions.

What is Herd Immunity?

Remember how we mentioned that the flu vaccine not only protects you, but it protects people around you, too? This happens largely because of a nifty phenomenon known as herd immunity.

Simply put, herd immunity is the ability of a large population to resist an illness when a large number of people within that population are immune. It works by “breaking the chain” of infection, because people who are immune to an illness won't pass on that illness to others.

Viruses like the flu cannot spread as quickly when it continually encounters people who are vaccinated and immune. In this way, the flu vaccine can protect even those who are not vaccinated—and are thus not immune—from catching the flu.

Think of it this way: each person who gets the flu is one link in a long, branching chain that represents how the virus spreads from person to person. But if the flu virus reaches someone who is immune, then that particular branch of the chain stops, since the

COPD is an invasive disease and living with this chronic illness will change your life in more ways than one. In this article we will talk about how you can take back your freedom and independence by exercising regularly and having the right oxygen equipment.

Freedom and independence

One of the most common sources of stress between the COPD patient and their caregiver is adjusting to a different level of independence and freedom than they were both used to before the patient started experiencing symptoms, which was likely before they were ever diagnosed.

Both persons are responsible for adjusting to a lifestyle where the COPD patient depends on their caregiver more than they had in the past, which is not always easy, especially if you are an independent person.

COPD is an obstructive disease that inhibits your ability to breath making everyday activities like showering seem nearly impossible. This is obviously hard for a person who is used to doing things on their own and now has to ask for help. The caregiver may also struggle with this because they are not used to being needed for so many tasks, and might feel used up by the end of each day.

Rather than focusing on how much your life has changed since being diagnosed with COPD, try focusing on a plan to find independence in parts of your life you hadn’t noticed you had before this can be as simple as adjusting to a new from of oxygen therapy and exercising more often.

Oxygen therapy

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There are a lot of ways people with COPD can find more independence in their lives starting with their oxygen therapy.

If the COPD patient uses oxygen tanks or a home oxygen concentrators, the issue of portability comes in the picture. This lack of maneuverability can be very frustrating and leave oxygen patients at the will of their caregivers as far as transportation and accomplishing chores and tasks around the house.

This is obviously frustrating for you because you are probably not used to asking for help.

Being able to be active and portable is a very beneficial thing for both you and your caregiver, and the most effective option is to switch from using heavy bulky tanks, and buy a portable oxygen concentrator.

Portable oxygen concentrators range in weight from 4 pounds to 18 depending on your flow rate and oxygen prescription. All portable oxygen concentrators run off of batteries, batteries that can last anywhere from 2-16 hours depending on your flow rate and the brand, unit, and model. All portable oxygen concentrators are FAA approved, meaning you can take them on the airplane, cruise ship, or car with you when you travel.

One of the most beneficial aspects of portable oxygen concentrators is how portable they really are compared to traditional home oxygen therapy, where people had to carry around heavy tanks or little oxygen canisters that would barely last a day before they had to get it refilled.

Portable oxygen concentrators never have to be refilled. This modern form of oxygen therapy extracts the surrounding air, compresses and purifies it into medical grade oxygen for the oxygen user.

Most people prefer this more modern technology for their oxygen device because portable oxygen concentrators gives people the ability to travel alone, carry their oxygen device on their own, and helps them get into a strict exercise regime because the device is so easy to bring along with them for a walk, to the gym, or to their pulmonary rehabilitation class.

Being able to accomplish your own tasks, do lawn work or other chores around the horse, run your own errands, gives you a valuable source of independence and also allows your caregiver a break from doing all the things they once did before you had a portable oxygen concentrator.

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Exercise

Exercise is your ticket to freedom and independence, and the sooner you start on an exercise regime for COPD, the better you will feel. Exercising is the one way you are going to strengthen your lungs.

Even olympic athletes will train at higher altitudes where there is less oxygen saturation in the air, so their blood oxygen levels are lower. When they go down to lower altitudes to compete, there is a lot of oxygen in the air so their body will perform very well in these conditions.

It is the same for a person with COPD. Even though environmental factors, genetics, or smoking has caused your COPD, and the damage to your lungs is irreversible, exercise will help your body adjust to your lung’s capacity, and even slow down the deterioration happening in your lungs.

Remember if you are ever exercising and become short of breath, you can take a break and let your breathing come back to normal.

Also talk with your doctor about your exercise regime, so you know if you need to increase your oxygen intake while you exercise compared to your normal prescription.

Here are the best exercise you can do everyday in order to strengthen your lungs and muscles:

Walk

Walking is one of the easiest and the best exercises you can do if you have COPD. There is no excuse for anyone with COPD not to walk, because even if you have very severe COPD, you can walk to and from your living room everyday as your form of exercise. Each day you could increase the speed of your walk or the distance. You can walk anywhere- outside, in a grocery store, on a treadmill. Even a slow pace and short distance will be beneficial for you.

Bike

Biking is a great low impact exercise that will work out your leg muscles, it's good for your cardiovascular system, and will help your lungs increase breathing capacity over time. You can get a stationary bike for your home so you can stay connected to your oxygen device inside. You could also choose to bring your oxygen device with you if you have a portable oxygen concentrator! The Caire Freestyle Comfort or the Inogen One G3 and G5 are great options for carrying with you outside while you bike, so you also get sun shine and fresh air. These POCs offer long battery life, which allows you to go further distances, and they are lightweight, so they won’t significantly increase the weight you are already riding with.

Weights - arm curls

Working out by lifting light weights can help you gain independence because you will be able to reach a high shelf on your own or carry heavier grocery bags. You can use hand weights, stretchy bands, or water bottles to try arm curls.

Here's how to do a basic arm curl:

1. Hold the weights at your sides with your palms facing forward
2. Breathe in
3. Now lift toward your chest
4. Keep your elbows down
5. Exhaling slowly
6. Slowly lower your arms back down as you breathe in
7. Build up to two sets of 10-15 repetitions

Forward Arm Raises

Whenever you are doing weight lifting exercises, you should start with light weights and increase the weight every two to three weeks to challenge your muscles. Arm raises strengthen your upper arms and shoulders so you are able to mow the lawn or do other upper body intensive chores on your own.

Here is how to do arm raises:

1. Hold weights down at your sides, palms facing in.
2. Inhale
3. Exhale slowly as you raise both arms straight out front to shoulder height.
4. Inhale as you slowly lower your arms
5. Build up to two sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Calf Raises

Adding a leg exercise to your routine will allow you to walk easier and further. Your legs carry your weight everyday, by working out those muscles you will not feel as drained after doing simple activities throughout the day because your legs will be stronger.

To to a calf raise:

1. Stand 6-12 inches behind a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Hold on for balance
3. Inhale
4. Lift up high on your toes
5. Exhaling slowly
6. Hold the raised position briefly
7. Lower your heels back to the ground, inhaling slowly.
8. As you get stronger, do one leg at a time. Work up to two sets of 10-15 reps.

Leg Extensions

Leg extensions are very low impact. Doing these will build the muscles in your legs, but you can sit down while you do them! This means there will not be weight on your joints, and if you already have a hard time standing up, this is a great exercise to do everyday until you can stand more easily, and eventually start trying other exercises like walking.

1. Sit in a chair that supports your back
2. Inhale
3. Exhale slowly as you stretch one leg as straight as you can, without locking your knee.
4. Breathe in as you slowly lower your foot back to the floor
5. Do one set with your right leg, then one set with your left
6. If this is too easy, Add ankle weights or try both legs at one time for a core workout
7. Work up to two sets of 10-15 reps.

Exercise your diaphragm

Your diaphragm is a key breathing muscle underneath your rib cage and lungs. Strengthening your diaphragm is great for people with COPD because this muscle helps your lungs inhale and exhale, and your lungs are not pressured to work so hard on their own.

1. Lie down with your knees bent or sit in an easy chair -- one hand on your chest, one below your rib cage
2. Slowly inhale through your nose so that your stomach raises one hand
3. Exhale with pursed lips and tighten your stomach
4. The hand on your chest should not move
5. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes, three or four times a day
6. Breathing this way will become easy and automatic

Tai Chi and yoga

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese practice of gentle, flowing movements so this is a great workout for people with COPD both for physical wellness, but also mental calmness and stress relief. It's a mild workout for your heart and lungs and helps tone your muscles. It is so important to find an activity that helps you relax. These calm moments will help you practice mindful breathing and make it easier to breathe in your everyday life. You can find a class that you can attend, or watch videos online to learn the moves.

Exercise and oxygen overview

Having COPD can strip you of your freedom an independence, but only if you let it. The more time you let go without freedom and independence the harder it will be to grasp when you so desperately want it.

This does not mean that living a normal independent lifestyle is going to be easy if you have COPD.

With the help of a portable oxygen concentrator you are able to accomplish your own chores and travel on your own confidently and with ease. With a lightweight breathing device that is powered off of battery and will never run out of oxygen you can go out alone and spend time enjoying your day without having to ask for help or feel uncomfortable leaving your home alone.

If you doctor gives you the "OK" to start exercising, you can begin your customized workout routine everyday, which will help you build muscles and endurance. COPD researchers and health expert strongly encourage exercise for people with COPD in order to slow down this progressive disease from getting worse.

Exercise is so good for strengthening your bones and muscles, but it also increasing your lung's capacity and actually makes you lungs stronger and more capable of inhaling and exhaling.

Being diagnosed with a respiratory illness such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, or pulmonary fibrosis can be life-changing. You’ll have to make adjustments to your daily routine in order to accommodate for doctors visits, pulmonary rehabilitation, supplemental oxygen therapy, and other lifestyle changes.

One hurdle many respiratory patients struggle to overcome after being diagnosed with COPD or similar conditions is maintaining relationships. Whether you like to visit a friend down the street or you have a long-time friend who lives overseas, a respiratory impairment of any kind can make these relationships difficult or impossible to maintain. 

The good news, however,  is that with enough time and patience, it is possible for respiratory patients to live a normal life. And the more you educate yourself about your condition and the tools at your disposal to help you succeed, the more equipped you will be to deal with problems when they arise.

Possibly the best way for COPD patients to overcome the setbacks of their illness is to invest in a portable oxygen concentrator. Unlike other oxygen delivery devices, portable oxygen concentrators enable patients to regain their freedom and independence while ensuring their oxygen needs are always met. Read on to learn 7 of the most important social benefits of owning a portable oxygen device.

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Greater Independence

Independence is something that’s easy to take for granted until it’s gone. Independence is what allows us to get out and do the things we want on our own terms rather than being bound to a person or thing. Unfortunately, many COPD patients lack the independence they need to maintain an active social life.

Traditional oxygen devices like compressed oxygen tanks make it very difficult for respiratory patients to maintain their independence. These tanks can often weigh in excess of 100 pounds and they need to be refilled every time they run out of oxygen. There are portable oxygen tanks available, but they typically only hold a couple of hours worth of oxygen.

Refilling an oxygen tank is a long and tedious process no matter how you do it. If you want a professional to refill your oxygen tanks, you’ll likely need to sign up for an oxygen delivery service which is not only expensive, but it can be very time consuming as well. If you opt to refill your own oxygen tanks, you’ll need to purchase an oxygen refill system. These are very bulky devices that will stay in your home and can take several hours just to refill a small oxygen cylinder.

Aside from being dependent on their oxygen tank, oxygen refill station, or an oxygen provider, many COPD patients are dependent on their friends and loved ones. From making it to monthly doctors appointments or pulmonary rehabilitation appointments, it can be impossible to keep up with all of these things on their own. There’s no understating the work that caretakers put into helping their patients, but the truth is, many COPD patients want to take care of themselves.

This is where portable oxygen concentrators come into play. Unlike with oxygen tanks, you can be entirely self-sufficient when using a portable oxygen concentrator. Since they are electronic devices, all you need is access to a wall outlet in order to charge the batteries. And once they’re charged, you can go wherever you please without having to worry about your oxygen supply. 

Ultimately, POCs will give you the independence you need to handle your own life without depending on others. You can make it to doctors appointments, pulmonary rehab, and social gatherings without having to bring a loved one or caretaker along to help out. 

Better Health

The goal of supplemental oxygen therapy is to reduce common symptoms associated with COPD. This includes symptoms such as breathlessness, chest pain, coughing, wheezing, and more. Studies have also shown that supplemental oxygen plays a key role in treating COPD exacerbations by preventing hypoxia (deficiency of oxygen in the tissues).

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Whether you’ve been prescribed oxygen for several hours a day or your doctor wants you on oxygen 24/7, your health depends on your ability to receive the right amount of oxygen at the right time. And at the end of the day, portable oxygen concentrators offer much more flexibility when it comes to how your oxygen is administered.

Portable oxygen concentrators like the Inogen One G5, for example, provides patients with up to 1,260 ml/min of medical grade oxygen. The flow rate can easily be adjusted using the arrow buttons on the top of the unit, allowing you to fine-tune the amount of oxygen you receive. If for some reason a breath isn’t detected and no oxygen is put out of the device, you’ll hear an audible alarm notifying you. 

When your health is in check and you’re doing everything you can to prevent COPD exacerbations, you’re likely going to have a much better social life. Whenever you go out with friends or family, you can rest assured that you’re receiving the oxygen you need to stay saturated. Of course, you’ll still want to take precautions such as avoiding polluted or smokey areas that could lead to exacerbations.

Long-Distance Travel is Possible

It’s hard to believe that just several decades ago, it was impossible for oxygen patients to travel long distances safely. Oxygen tanks have never been approved for in-flight use because they’re a fire hazard and they’re highly explosive. However, with the advent of portable oxygen concentrators, oxygen patients can travel freely on most major airlines as instructed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The main reason POCs are safe on airplanes is that they contain pressurized oxygen like oxygen tanks do. They simply take ambient air, remove nitrogen, argon, and other impurities, then put out medical-grade oxygen via the nasal cannula. As aforementioned, it will only work when it detects a breath, so if you happen to drop the cannula, it won’t continue to put out oxygen.

Another form of long-distance travel you’ll have available to you are cruise ships. Taking a cruise is one of the best ways to explore an area of the world that you’ve never been to before and it’s also a great way to catch up with friends and family. While oxygen tanks are often permitted on cruise ships, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a way to refill it. And spending extra time with that means less time that you can spend with your loved ones. 

On the other hand, all you’ll need with a POC is a fully charged battery and you’ll be able to stay out all day enjoying your time. Once you settle in for the night, you can charge up all of your batteries and have them ready to go in the morning. With the Inogen One G5, you can even invest in an external battery charger which will allow you to charge a battery separately from your POC.

If flying or taking a cruise isn’t your style, you might want to take a long road trip. Luckily, this is also a breeze when you have a portable oxygen concentrator. Most POCs either come with a DC charging cable or you can purchase one separately which will allow you to charge your device in your car using the cigarette outlet.

All-in-all, owning a portable oxygen concentrator is the best way for respiratory patients to stay connected with their friends and loved ones over long distances. Rather than fussing with an oxygen device that’s difficult to use and could put your health at serious risk, POCs just work, allowing you to spend quality time with your loved ones. 

Improved Physical Endurance

Everyone has a friend or two who are constantly on the go. With healthy lungs, this might not be a problem, but if you have a respiratory illness, you may find it difficult to keep up with them. Aside from keeping your COPD symptoms in check, studies have also shown that supplemental oxygen can induce an enhanced physiologic training effect on the muscles which can improve your endurance and strength.  

Another way portable oxygen concentrators help with physical activity is that they’re extremely lightweight and easy to carry. The Caire Freestyle Comfort, for example, weighs in at just 5 pounds and it’s still able to put out an outstanding 1,050 ml/min of medical-grade oxygen. Compare this to oxygen tanks or continuous flow portable oxygen concentrators which are too heavy to carry meaning you’ll have to wheel them behind you using a rolling cart.

Ultimately, owning a pulse flow portable oxygen concentrator means you’ll be able to keep up with those active friends in your life. Whether you just want to go for a daily walk in the park or you want to start a new exercise program, you’ll be able to do so without worrying about your ability to keep up. 

Reduced Social Stigma

Social stigma is an unfortunate, but very harsh reality that people face on a daily basis. Essentially, a social stigma is a sort of generalized feeling about a certain person or thing. For example, people may see someone in a wheelchair and believe that they’re less capable than someone who can walk.

Similarly, someone who’s carrying or rolling an oxygen tank around with them may be seen as less capable than someone with a portable oxygen concentrator. One of the reasons for this is because most people don’t even know what portable oxygen concentrators are. They also look a lot more high-tech and advanced than oxygen tanks which affect the way people view them.

At the end of the day, we all know that oxygen patients are equally as capable as anyone else. However, owning a portable oxygen concentrator may prevent people from making generalized assumptions about you and your condition. It can also be a great conversation starter because people will be curious about what your POC does and how it works!

Improved Self-Confidence

One thing that’s more important than the way others feel about you is the way you feel about yourself. Confidence is key to maintaining any relationship and portable oxygen concentrators will inevitably make it easier to feel comfortable and confident being yourself.

When it comes to oxygen tanks, there’s very little in the way of customization or personalization. Most oxygen tanks are a drab silver and green color that’s not very appealing to the eye. This can lead to you feeling self-conscious about your oxygen tank, taking your mind off social interactions as a result.

Due to their size and bulkiness, oxygen tanks can also be embarrassing to maneuver in public. Whether you’re walking down a crowded sidewalk or you’re going up a flight of stairs, it’s difficult to be graceful with an oxygen tank. 

Portable oxygen concentrators are the polar opposite of this. They’re light enough to carry on your shoulder and small enough to tuck under your arm without bumping into people. You also won’t have to dread taking public transportation or going up a flight of stairs with a portable oxygen concentrator.

When it comes to aesthetics, portable oxygen concentrators are much more stylish than oxygen tanks. While oxygen tanks are very oblong, portable oxygen concentrators are compact and sleek looking. You’ll also have access to more accessories like the Inogen One G5 Custom Carrying Case or the GO2 Carryall for the Inogen One G3 which completely conceals the concentrator. 

They’re More Affordable for Long-Term Care

Potentially the most controversial topic surrounding supplemental oxygen is its cost. On one hand, patients need a device that can meet their needs consistently and reliably. On the other hand, they don’t want to break the bank doing it.

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While at first glance, portable oxygen concentrators may seem like they’re the most expensive option, they’re actually far more affordable for long-term oxygen therapy. For example, if you spend $2,000 on an oxygen concentrator that lasts an average of 5 years, that’s just over a dollar a day. What’s more, most POCs come with a 3-year warranty at the very least meaning you’ll have an extra safety net if there happens to be a defect with your unit.

Ultimately, when you invest in a more cost-effective long-term solution for your oxygen needs, you’ll have more money to spend on other things such as a night out with your friends. Since financial struggles are among the top triggers of stress and anxiety, it’s best to always create a long-term financial plan rather than choosing the option that’s the most convenient at the time.  

Conclusion

Being diagnosed with COPD or another chronic respiratory illness should not mean sacrificing time spent with friends and loved ones; if anything, the exact opposite is true. COPD patients should be spending more time on their relationships because they’re proven to reduce stress, boost life expectancy, and improve general well-being.

While there are many things you can do to maintain an active social life with COPD, investing in a portable oxygen concentrator is likely one of the most important. With a portable oxygen concentrator, you’ll have the freedom to go where you want, when you want. And you’ll feel significantly more confident and secure with a high-tech medical-oxygen delivery device at your side.

If you have any questions at all about portable oxygen devices for seniors, don’t hesitate to reach out to our respiratory specialists here at LPT Medical. Start by filling out the contact form at the side of the page and we’ll answer any question you may have.

Telehealth is defined as “the use of telecommunications to provide long-distance administration of healthcare services for patients.” if you’re having trouble putting this into perspective, you’ve likely already used some form of telehealth services in the past. Scheduling a doctor’s visit by phone or through the internet is one example because you’re using a digital medium to make healthcare more convenient and accessible.

While telehealth is all around us, it’s still in its infancy when it comes to the technology that makes it possible. For example, services like Doctors On Demand allow you to speak with a board-certified health specialist in a matter of minutes via video chat in the comfort of your own home. However, there’s little more these health specialists can do for you than discuss your symptoms. Without patients in their office, they won’t have the ability to diagnose or treat a patient with an illness.

If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or any other respiratory condition that requires you to use oxygen, there are some interesting prospects on the horizon in terms of telehealth technology. Oxygen manufacturers like CAIRE Inc. and Inogen are already hard at work on new software and devices that make oxygen therapy more accessible for patients all over the world. Let’s take a look at 7 things oxygen patients can look forward to with emerging telehealth technology.

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Improved Early Diagnosis of COPD

According to the American Lung Association, millions of people around the world may be suffering from undiagnosed COPD. Despite going to the doctor frequently and maintaining an otherwise healthy lifestyle, many people ignore the symptoms of COPD or they shrug them off as a natural part of aging. This happens with a number of chronic illnesses, but it’s especially prominent with COPD because it’s a disease that progresses slowly.

Another reason for undiagnosed COPD is that patients have a fundamental misunderstanding about what COPD is and what causes it. Many people believe that the only way to contract a lung disease is by smoking cigarettes or being exposed to some other harmful substance for a long period of time. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. According to Medical News Today, around 1 in 6 people with COPD have never touched a cigarette. Many people with undiagnosed COPD have a condition called Alpha-1 deficiency.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is an inherited condition. It’s known for contributing to the onset of liver disease and lung disease in otherwise healthy people. Normally, the liver produces the alpha-1 protein and distributes it throughout the blood. It’s responsible for protecting the lungs from inflammation, either resulting from airborne irritants like cigarette smoke or infections. So, even if you’ve never smoked, being in an environment with smoke or getting sick frequently could greatly increase your risk of contracting COPD.

At the end of the day, there is no cure for Alpha-1 deficiency. Your doctor won’t be able to provide you with a medication or procedure that will return your AAT levels back to normal. However, there are many ways to treat the condition including lifestyle changes and augmentation therapy. This procedure is done by infusing AAT into your blood through an IV tube which can be used to help slow the progression of COPD. Since the effects are temporary, you’ll likely need to repeat this procedure weekly for the rest of your life.

Now that you know how difficult it can be to detect COPD early on, you’re probably wondering how telehealth technology will help mitigate this. Since undiagnosed COPD is largely the result of people not being open or honest about their symptoms, it goes without saying that being more digitally connected to your healthcare providers will make people more likely to open up about how they’re feeling. In this day and age, people are often so busy that they neglect scheduling doctor’s visits. This will ensure that people have no reason not to speak about their symptoms. While it’s unlikely doctors will be able to diagnose something like COPD through video chat, simply speaking about your symptoms may be enough for your doctor to know if you should be scheduled for an in-person appointment. At this point, your doctor will be able to test for and diagnose any health conditions normally.

Last but certainly not least, the practice of telepulmonology (telespirometry) may lead to higher rates of COPD diagnosis. These terms refer to a general practitioner (GP) consulting a pulmonologist via telecommunication for advice on interpreting spirometry results. As opposed to the old days where you’d be referred to a respiratory therapist if you had a cough or chest pain, your general practitioner may be able to diagnose you more quickly with a quick and simple video chat. According to a study published in pubmed.gov, telepulmonology reduced physical referrals by 22 percent and 90 percent of general practitioners reported learning from their consultation with a pulmonologist.       

Tracking Disease Progression More Easily

COPD is a progressive disease. This means that, as time goes by, symptoms like breathlessness, coughing, and chest pain tend to get worse. But that doesn’t mean that COPD patients don’t have the ability to live full and rewarding lives. Many patients can even significantly reduce the severity of their symptoms as long as they follow a strict treatment plan including dietary adjustments, pulmonary rehabilitation, and oxygen therapy.

Most pulmonologists recommend scheduling 2 or 3 doctor’s visits each year. However, people with later stages of the disease will likely need to schedule even more than that. Over long periods of time, this can really get exhausting for COPD patients, and if they have caretakers, they may find it difficult to take the time to schedule and attend all of these office visits — this is where telehealth technology could come into play.

Although you’ll still have to schedule meetings with your doctor, telehealth technology will enable patients to have more frequent checkups without the need to drive to the doctor’s office and sit in a waiting room. Frequent checkups are more beneficial anyway because it will give your doctor the ability to keep tabs on how your disease is progressing and what adjustments you can make to improve your outcome. 

Ultimately, infrequent doctor’s appointments are ineffective when treating a disease like COPD. One day, respiratory patients may feel energetic, healthy, and alert, whereas other days they may feel sick and unmotivated. If the doctor only sees you three times a year, they’re not getting the full picture and they won’t understand your condition as well as they could. If you’re able to see your doctor once a month, for example, he/she may be able to prevent things like exacerbations.

Tracking Oxygen Usage

One of the most common symptoms of COPD is a below-normal blood oxygen level. Your body needs an arterial oxygen level of about 75 to 100 milliliters of mercury (mm Hg) in order for you to be considered “healthy.” Low blood oxygen level (hypoxemia) has many adverse side-effects including shortness of breath, a chronic cough, and confusion. Since every organ in your body relies on oxygen, long-term hypoxemia can lead to organ damage and even organ failure.

Typically, a COPD patient is prescribed oxygen when they have a blood saturation level below 60 mm Hg. At this point, you should start looking for a medical oxygen device that matches your lifestyle. In the past, oxygen tanks were the only option for people who needed medical-grade oxygen, but they’ve since been replaced with portable oxygen concentrators which are much lighter, smaller, and safer to use. We recently wrote a guide about finding the perfect portable oxygen concentrator which you can find here

Aside from portable oxygen concentrators making oxygen therapy much safer and accessible for COPD patients, they’ve also made some significant breakthroughs when it comes to telehealth technology. CAIRE Inc., an oxygen equipment manufacturer based out of Georgia recently released its most advanced portable oxygen concentrator called the FreeStyle Comfort. This POC has the longest battery life of any machine on the market and also offers an outstanding oxygen output and lightweight design. However, the most interesting thing about this concentrator is the new CAIREView Telehealth Application.

Each Caire FreeStyle Comfort portable oxygen concentrator has built-in technology that allows it to connect with your mobile device such as a cell phone, tablet, or laptop, and upload important data about your oxygen usage. What’s more, this data can be sent off to the oxygen manufacturer, giving them live updates about your oxygen settings and daily oxygen usage. The best part of all of this is that it’s done on a secure network so you can rest assured that your privacy will always be protected.

While many oxygen patients likely don’t know what CAIREView is, it indicates a significant step forward for both oxygen therapy and telehealth technology. Just twenty years ago, most oxygen patients relied on bulky oxygen tanks and home oxygen concentrators which significantly stunted their freedom and independence. However, in 2020, oxygen patients not only have access to lightweight oxygen devices that they can take everywhere, but they have the comfort of knowing that their doctor or oxygen manufacturer will have live updates about their oxygen use. And this application has just scratched the surface of what’s possible. Since the Caire FreeStyle Comfort is such a popular portable oxygen concentrator, we’re likely to see other manufacturers following suit by creating new and innovative telehealth technologies to accompany their oxygen machines.

Remotely Troubleshooting Oxygen Devices

Purchasing a new electronic device like a smartphone, tablet, or laptop can be a nerve-racking experience. On one hand, you want to always have the latest and greatest model of your favorite device, but you also don’t want to have to deal with any problems that arise if it were to malfunction. Most device manufacturers require you to ship off your device to have it repaired at a warehouse somewhere. This can be costly and it can leave you without a device for weeks or months on end.

But what if the manufacturer had the ability to connect to your device and troubleshoot it remotely without you having to lift a finger? This would save you a lot of time, money, and hassle. Amazingly, this is what CAIRE Inc. has been able to accomplish with their CAIREView application. While you’re out and about enjoying your day, your Ciare FreeStyle Comfort will send periodic updates about your oxygen usage and the integrity of your portable oxygen concentrator. If they detect that you are not receiving oxygen or that it’s not being used as prescribed, they can contact you quickly to fix the issue. If the device malfunctions, they can provide you with the necessary steps to troubleshoot it quickly and easily.

This new telehealth technology could immensely improve the lives of COPD patients all over the world. Since oxygen is a clear and odorless gas, you would normally have no idea if your device stopped putting out oxygen. The only indication you would have is if you started feeling lightheaded, out of breath, or noxious, all of which could be avoided if you had live updates about how the device is functioning. Losing your oxygen supply while you’re out can ruin your day or worse, leading to a severe COPD exacerbation that can put you in the hospital. 

Improved Freedom and Independence

One of the most considerable concerns of COPD patients is their ability to maintain their freedom and independence. The lungs play an important role in our capacity to remain mobile, so naturally, a chronic disease that causes significant inflammation in the lungs and airways may cause people to revert to a sedentary lifestyle. At the same time, many COPD patients rely heavily on friends or loved ones to help them with day-to-day tasks like cooking, cleaning, or taking a trip to the doctor’s office.

Before portable oxygen concentrators, it was even more difficult for COPD patients to retain their freedom. Oxygen tanks can weigh upwards of 100 pounds and need to be refilled regularly. Stationary oxygen concentrators were lighter but they needed to be connected to a wall outlet in order to run. This meant that oxygen patients could only travel as far as their nasal cannula would permit them to. In the early 2000s, portable oxygen concentrators were introduced and COPD patients were able to experience some of the freedom they had before they contracted the disease.

In 2020, portable oxygen concentrators are more advanced than ever before. POCs like the Inogen One G5 offer over 13 hours of battery life on one charge, a lightweight design, and 1,260 ml/min of oxygen — more than enough for the majority of oxygen patients. Modern POCs are also incredibly easy to use meaning you can start using it straight out of the box without having to memorize a bunch of commands or buttons. Since these devices are so advanced and innovative, you may be wondering how telehealth technology can add to this.

One of the ways telehealth will improve freedom and independence is by making oxygen patients see their therapy device as less of a burden. Rather than having to fear whether their POC will hold up throughout the day, POC patients can relax knowing that their doctor or oxygen manufacturer has an eye on their oxygen machine. Oxygen patients can focus more on the important things in their life like spending time with family or taking a trip to a place they’ve never been before.

Another benefit of telehealth technology is that it will make patients less reliant on caretakers and loved ones. Instead of having someone at your side to troubleshoot your oxygen machine if something goes wrong, most oxygen patients will feel comfortable fixing their own device. What’s more, you won’t have to carry your POC manual around with you because you’ll have access to all of that information on your phone or another mobile device.

Reduced Medical Costs

According to Investopedia.com, healthcare spending in the United States in 2017 was reported at $3.5 trillion and it’s expected to rise to $6 trillion by 2027. Medical costs are a growing problem in the country especially for people who already struggle to pay their bills. While it would be unwise to sit around and wait for reasonable healthcare reform, telehealth technology has already proven to be a major driving force in reducing medical costs.

According to High Point Solutions, the average cost of a telehealth appointment costs $79 whereas an in-person doctor’s office visit costs around $146. First and foremost, telehealth appointments cut costs for patients. Instead of having to drive to the doctor’s office and in some cases, skip a day of work, patients can have access to medical services and education in the comfort of their own homes. On the healthcare provider’s side, telehealth technology can cut costs by reducing the need for clinical workspace and making appointments go quicker and more smoothly. Ultimately, some of these savings will make it back to the patient as well.

Another way telehealth technology cuts medical costs is by reducing hospital admissions. According to studies done by Cardinal Health, telehealth services are able to eliminate nearly 1 in 5 emergency room visits. This is substantial considering the fact that one day in a hospital costs an average of $3,949. When it comes to COPD, periodic appointments via telehealth technology could result in significant health savings for many patients. Since telehealth appointments enable patients to have more frequent checkups, doctors will have a higher chance of catching exacerbation symptoms before they become serious.       

Increased Accessibility

Lastly, the accessibility of medical services is another major issue facing COPD patients. While healthy patients have the means to get themselves to the doctor’s office, many people with COPD are physically incapable of doing so. COPD patients who are immobile or struggle with mobility issues may need to rely on caretakers or loved ones meaning that appropriate healthcare, in general, is less accessible.

Furthermore, people who tend to forget things that they discussed with their doctor will have the added security of being able to record every appointment they have with their doctor. Instead of having to write everything down and take notes on what your doctor says, you can simply use video recording software to keep an archive of all your telehealth appointments. This will also ensure that you follow your doctor’s instructions as closely as possible.

Conclusion

Health specialists and health equipment manufacturers have barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with telehealth technology, however, we’ve already seen many of its benefits come to light. Video conferences are one simple way doctors can offer their patients more accessible, cost-effective, and reliable services and all it requires is a computer and a video camera. For COPD patients, this could mean less frequent admittance to hospitals due to exacerbations.

Oxygen device manufacturers like Caire Inc. and Inogen are also hard at work on telehealth technologies that allow for better communication between oxygen users, oxygen providers, and practitioners. CAIREView is an easy-to-use application that connects to all Caire FreeStyle Comfort devices. It provides the oxygen manufacturer with up-to-date information about the patient’s oxygen usage and allows them to assist with troubleshooting your device anywhere in the world.  

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of incurable lung diseases that obstruct airflow making it difficult to breath normally without experiencing shortness of breath and incessant coughing. This chronic illnesses also progressive, meaning it becomes more severe over time.

Approximately 14.8 million adults have been diagnosed with COPD, and approximately 12 million people have COPD and not yet been diagnosed, totaling just under 30 million people with COPD in the United States.

Based on that information gathered from vital statistics, health interview surveys, hospital charge records, national publications, and the World Health Organization, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death amongst Americans, exceeded only by heart attacks, cancer, and strokes. 

The worst part is that millions of people are living with the symptoms and this progressive disease, without even knowing that they have it. This scary statics displays how important COPD patient education is, because the methods for testing COPD are often overlooked and mis-diagnosed.

The more you know, the more you can relay to your doctor how you are feeling and what your symptoms are.

The good news is that COPD is often preventable and treatable, so if you know that you have COPD you can begin to take the necessary steps to slow down the progression of COPD from getting more severe. LPT Medical can provide you with valuable resources about the ways to prevent COPD as well as resources for how to treat the disease, how to manage your COPD symptoms, and live a high quality life with COPD. You can find all of this information and more, here.

It is no secret that COPD and other respiratory illnesses, leave the people affected dependent on supplemental oxygen therapy as their main form of treatment. They rely on their breathing device to get enough oxygen, to not only live, but to live more active and high-quality lives.

Despite how millions of Americans depend on supplemental oxygen to live and breath, the devices are still considered “equipment” rather than an essential medication, which has inevitably lead to more costs for oxygen users.

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Financial requirements of COPD treatments and medical equipment

Living with a chronic disease like COPD comes with many challenges, and financial challenges are no exception. Many people who are diagnosed with the disease find themselves blindsided by the high costs of medical equipment, pulmonary rehabilitation courses, and other necessary treatments.

Since we have already covered one of the most challenging burdens of being diagnosed with a chronic illness: How to save money on COPD medication. In this particular post, we will be focusing on how people with COPD can save money on their oxygen therapy.

For the nearly 30 million American people that have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), nearly 6 million experienced heart failure and 18 million also suffer from asthma. For these individuals taking a full deep breath of air can sometimes be hard if not impossible without the help of oxygen therapy.

Oxygen therapy helps to treat shortness of breath and trouble breathing while sleeping, exercising, or simply to live, and it has been proven to extend life for people with COPD, however it also costs money.

In order to help you find the best financial option to choose when it comes to supplemental oxygen therapy you must first understand what breathable air costs over an amount of time.

This means you need to find the financial and personal costs associated with your options:

• What is the initial cost of your medical-grade oxygen device that can deliver you high-quality oxygen
• What are the cost that accumulate over time (i.e. refilling tank, refilling cans, maintenance, etc.)
• Will your insurance provided cover any of the cost associated with your desired equipment
• What personal freedoms do you hold your medical equipment accountable for (i.e. traveling by plane, lightweight for transportability, pulse dose and continuous flow options, etc.) 
• What do you want to rely on: The hands of a oxygen tank refilling company, or an electrical power source in your home or car.
  
  

Oxygen Therapy and Medicare

Medicare has always assisted in paying for durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs, in-home hospital beds, etc. However, Medicare is often only able to cover the rental of oxygen devices and pay for some supplies.

There are some very rare situations where Medicare or insurance will cover the purchase or rental of one of our portable oxygen concentrators. But in order to qualify, you have to meet strict criteria, and each situation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

That being said, You will need to talk to your insurance provider to understand what kinds of oxygen supplies they cover and what requirements you need to meet in order to qualify.

Here at LPT Medical, we have years of experience dealing with the frustrations and financial challenges set by Medicare. Every year, it becomes increasingly more difficult for people to pay for the medical equipment they need in order to treat conditions like COPD, asthma, and sleep apnea.

To counteract this, our goal is to get an oxygen concentrator in the hands of anyone and everyone who wants one. We’re proud to offer the lowest prices on portable oxygen concentrators you can find online, alongside financing options that make monthly payments more manageable for the average buyer. We have a wide price range of oxygen concentrators for sale and we always have second hand machines for you to consider.

If you would like to know more about medicare and oxygen, please use this link here

If you are interested in knowing how to save money while using oxygen therapy, read on!

All of your oxygen therapy options

You have three options when it comes to supplemental oxygen therapy.

1. Oxygen gas

Oxygen gas can be stored in a portable tank. These are also called compressed gas systems. You can use a larger stationary concentrator while you are at home, and a smaller oxygen tank can be taken on the go as a more portable option. The oxygen is delivered in pulses, not continuously and will always need to be refilled, see more information about oxygen flow settings here.

2. Liquid oxygen

Liquid oxygen can be stored in a portable tank. Liquid oxygen is more highly concentrated, so more oxygen can fit in a smaller tank but it will evaporate if it isn’t used in a timely manner. You must get these tanks refilled as well.

3. Portable oxygen concentrator (POC)

Portable oxygen concentrators are the most portable out of any other option. An oxygen concentrator is a device that takes oxygen from the room, concentrates it for therapeutic use, and removes other naturally occurring gases. Some units can operated with continuous and pulse dose oxygen settings. The two most evident benefits of POCs are that they are less expensive and don’t require refilling like tanks and you will therefore never run out of medical-grade oxygen.

Why are POC's the cheapest oxygen therapy option?

One of the most financially beneficial aspects of owning or renting a POC, is how you are able to rely on the battery life of the machine rather than worry about running low on oxygen and getting your liquid or compressed oxygen refilled.

Costs of owning a oxygen tank

Not only do you waste money refilling your oxygen tanks and canisters every week, you waste valuable time and peace of mind you could be saving by using a POC.

You will pay weekly to get your oxygen tanks refilled and delivered, so you have to take into account your distance from the gas company. No matter where you get your gas supplied, they are not going to ship those big steel tanks for free.

You also have to schedule your delivery in advance, and if you forget to order it, you will have to pay extra to get the shipment expedited. Also you will need to be weary of when their a prices increase and being denied service because, for example, the tanks you own are deemed unsafe.

If you don’t own your tank, you’ll pay a rental fee. Not to mention, during bad weather or in the current reality, a global pandemic, it may not be possible for the delivery truck to reach you, or the company may have to lay-off workers, making a timely delivery less reliable.

If you have or are thinking about purchasing a oxygen tank, you should know that it will periodically blow off pressure, which can be alarming if you’ve never experienced it. The pressure in the LOX tank builds until a safety blow-off valve releases pressure.

The resulting emission of oxygen creates a loud sound like a steam locomotive coming to a stop. A LOX tank may blow off as much as 10% of its contents every day. That’s oxygen that you’re paying for, but not breathing in therefore wasting.

The bottomline is that, oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrators ultimately serve the same purpose: They provide you with supplemental oxygen in order to improve your blood oxygen levels and your body overall. Despite what device you use, your oxygen is inhaled through the use of a nasal cannula (or through a breathing mask) to reduce shortness of breath, improve oxygenation and increase energy levels.

However, oxygen tanks have significantly higher daily costs that do not decline over-time. This means, that for as long as you need oxygen and use an oxygen tank, you will be paying to get the canisters refilled and replaced.

Costs of owning a POC

The initial prices of your oxygen concentrator depends on a lot of factors and prices vary for every individual. 

Including:

• The merchandise brand (Inogen, Ari Sep, ResMed, Philips Respironics, and more) 
• The model that is best for your breathing requirements and lifestyle
• Additional oxygen device accessories (i.e. extra batteries,  external batteries, carrying backpacks, particle filters, extra Ac/DC power cables) 
• If you purchase a new or refurbished unit 
• If you choose to finance the device 
• The warranty 
• The price of utility in your area specifically electricity

All of these factors will influence the initial price tag for your POC. However, this first step of your oxygen therapy journey is not where you see the financial savings. 

These saving occur over time. Every day, every month, and every year you are not wasting money on refilling your oxygen canisters you are paying off that initial cost of your POC. In no time, you will notice your not only breaking even, you are enjoying the medical-grade oxygen for free. 

The only reoccurring payment you have to make on your POC is a second-hand payment. Every time you plug your machine in the wall to charge the batteries, you are contributing to the amount of electricity you are using. If you are curious to know how much electricity you use to charge your POC's batteries, it will likely not be drastic at all. 

You could easily counter that payment by turning off lights more often when you are not in the room and be conscientious of other electrical sources in your home that you do not need to be on all of the time (tooth brush chargers, phones chargers, computer chargers, etc.).

One rule of thumb is to turn off your power cords, and unplug you POC batteries once they are fully charged. This will not only save your electricity reducing you bill monthly, it will also preserve the life of you batteries so they keep operating at full capacity.

Of course, like any machine, there are sometimes complications and things might break or malfunction. This is why the basic 3 year warranty LPT offers for all of our new units, is so beneficial for the buyer in the long-run.

After purchasing your POC, the daily costs are reduced dramatically compared to the price you pay each day with an oxygen tank.The fact remains that oxygen delivery devices cost money. Nevertheless, oxygen concentrators are the least expensive per day for long-term oxygen therapy by far.

How portable oxygen concentrators can save your life

Portable oxygen concentrators like the Inogen One G5, the Caire Freestyle Comfort, and the Restironics SimplyGo all offer you more freedom, independence, and mobility. Not only do these devices give you the wellbeing you may be looking for, change your daily experiences, and ultimately lower the amount you pay for oxygen, they can also save your life.

Oxygen therapy at a time of the COVID-19 pandemic

If you need to get your oxygen tanks delivered and the empty tanks removed on a regular basis, people will be going in and out of your home after handling your tanks. Both the delivery person and the tanks may be contaminated with a variety of substances like detritus like mud and dust that may contain seeds, spores, bacteria, and viruses.

While it is still uncertain how long the virus COVID-19 lives and can be contracted from surfaces, there is also no evidence suggesting that the virus cannot live on surfaces for an extended amount of time.

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Therefore you must minimize any risk of contacting COVID-19 and avoiding deliveries if at all possible is imperative for people with COPD and other respiratory illnesses.

While it can be assumed that medical-grade oxygen tank companies would take every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of their employees and their customers, if you have any option to avoid deliveries and contacts with others, it is best to take those added defenses.

Especially when the risks of contracting COVID-19 if you have an underlying condition such as COPD the symptoms are likely to affect you more severely than others, and induce hospitalization and other medical and financial complications.

Life long benefits of oxygen therapy for COPD

Several studies show that using oxygen at home for more than 15 hours a day increases quality of your life and helps you live longer if you have severe COPD and low blood oxygen levels.

There are numerous short-term and long-term benefits that portable oxygen concentrators offer patients.

By reducing the blood pressure in your lungs along with the workload of the right side of the heart, oxygen therapy may prevent the development of heart disease caused by high blood pressure in the lungs. Some people fear that using supplemental oxygen will make them dependent on supplemental oxygen, and worsen their COPD. However, this is simply not a cause for concern.

There are myriad benefits of oxygen therapy for people with COPD and other respiratory illnesses, and these effects are well-documented. For patients with COPD, studies have shown that supplemental oxygen can increase exercise tolerance, improve your quality of sleep, improve mental awareness, improve energy and stamina and even increase survival when used at least 15 hours per day.

Save your money and save your livelihood

Stop spending a fortune on a your oxygen when your device won't allow you to travel by air, creates a flammable unsafe environment, and takes away your ability to exercise and be independent.

If there was a cheaper option, that you could take on an airplane, was light weight and powerful enough to allow you to accomplish more physical activity, and gave you the freedom and peace of mind you need to live a more joyful life with COPD, wouldn't you choose that option?

You have the ability to take control of your future by purchasing your own portable oxygen concentrator. The benefits of owning your POC far outweigh the cost you are paying. Not only does it help treat your specific condition or illness, it gives you the independence to travel, work, visit loved ones, socialize, enjoy hobbies, and so much more!