Preparing for Hotter Weather with COPD

[gerald]

Some interesting suggestions


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Preparing for Hotter Weather with COPD

By John Bottrell, RRT · July 6, 2018

So, the weather is getting hotter. In many places, it’s going to get really hot. For many with COPD, this hot air may trigger flare-ups. Why is this? How can you beat the heat? Here’s what to know.

What are studies showing?

Studies are showing that hotter temperatures alone may trigger COPD flare-ups.

        A 2014 John Hopkins University study showed that COPD symptoms got worse during outdoor heat waves. This was true whether COPDers spent their time indoors or outdoors.

        The same study showed that COPDers exposed to high indoor temperatures experienced worse COPD symptoms, increased medicine usage, and lowered lung function. COPDers exposed to high outdoor temperatures experienced worse COPD symptoms, but did not use more medicine or lose lung function.

        A 2009 study showed that COPD symptoms got worse when the temperature exceeded 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit. It showed that heat was responsible for increased hospital admissions for both COPD and asthma.

        A 2013 study came up with similar results.3 Another study showed that hotter weather caused an increase in emergency room visits among the COPD population.

Why does heat trigger flare-ups?

Researchers seem to be unaware of the reason why heat triggers flare-ups. However, there are some theories that attempt to explain why.

Thermoregulation

Intense heat causes stress on your body. Normal body temperature is 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit. So, when exposed to heat, your body has to work to cool down to maintain this 98.7 degrees. This takes energy. It increases your body’s oxygen demand. People with COPD may have trouble keeping up, causing you to feel short of breath.

Nerve Stimulation

Heat may have an impact on nerves inside your lungs. It may activate special nerves that cause bronchospasm. This theory has been tested on asthmatics and not so much on the COPD population. So, it’s something that may be studied more in the future.

Humidity

Higher temperatures allow air molecules to hold more water. Air that holds more water can be heavy and hard to inhale. So, this may be one reason hot and humid air may trigger COPD.

Allergens

Allergens like dust mites and molds love hot, humid temperatures. So, they tend to grow in higher numbers when the air is hot and humid. This can happen in your own home without you even being aware of it. These allergens can become airborne and easily inhaled. They may trigger flare-ups.

Outdoor Air Pollution

Higher outdoor temperatures may have an impact on outdoor air pollution. Some studies have shown links between ozone and respiratory symptoms. Ozone levels may be increased during the warm summer months. Particulate matter is another type of pollution that may be increased in warmer weather. These are microscopic particles too small to be seen but that are easily inhaled.

Indoor Air Pollution

Higher indoor temperatures may have an impact on indoor air pollution. This may include particulate matter and gases like nitrogen dioxide.

Anticholinergics

These include muscarinics like ipatropium bromide (Atrovent) and tiotropium bromide (Spiriva). Ipatropium Bromide is also one of the ingredients in Duoneb and Combivent. Muscarinics are known to “impair sweating and blunt the normal cardiovascular response to heat.”7 Muscarinics are also top-line COPD medicines, and are commonly prescribed to help you breathe easier.

What are some tips for beating the heat?

The best option for beating the heat is air conditioning. Central air or window air conditioners are equally effective. Along with cooling air, they also dehumidify and filter it.

If you don’t have air conditioning, an option is to plan events during the hottest parts of the day at cooling centers. These are public places that offer air conditioning and cool air. They are places where you can cool off, such as your local library or recreation center.

Another tip involves staying well hydrated. The standard recommendation is at least 8 cups of water every day. Make sure you take water with you if you have to leave your home.

copd.net/living/preparing-hotter-weather/

[lavishgail]

Thanks Gerald, very intresting
I know I cannot handle heat what so ever. Plus the fact I have Lupus and other things that make me have a passing out feeling. So no go for me. Most of the heated months As sad as it is I stay at home and inside.

[jarca]

I used to love the heat, now each year i become less tolerant of it. 
I had to go to window a/c units instead of the swamp cooler like most people have here in the desert.  the swamp cooler doesn't 'clean' the air like ac does & also when we do get humidity the swamp coolers don't work.
If there are others that use swamp cooler; it did make a big difference when i switched to a/c in how often i did get sick in summer. a/c really makes a big difference in my allergies too. My allergies are so much better with a/c; especially when all the alfalfa is cut around me AND when the air has been brown with the smoke from fires a/c is a lifesaver!

Interesting as I am going thru a lung infection right now & I always seem to get sick in the middle of summer like this. I have a tendency to blame it on me 'over doing' things as i love to go outside & get things done (just like this time) but this brings light on why EVERY summer I get sick!

in the winter I just assume it's from catching virus' & look forward to summer when I can go out in public & not be exposed to sick people; so this is a real eye opener!!! 

[John]

good one to think about ty

[lavishgail]

I'm so sorry you have a lung infection Jarica. This has happened to me all the time in summer and I only go out very little, quick runs to store, and I'm mostly at doctors . Been in the hospital 5 times this year, between 3 and 6 day's each time. The awful gloom I feel each time I'm in the hospital. Even when coming home, for weeks I'll feel that way. It's really no life.

[gnott]

Thanks for posting... The heat was getting to me this year beyond just simply hot.

"These include muscarinics like ipatropium bromide (Atrovent) and tiotropium bromide (Spiriva). " ... "Muscarinics are known to “impair sweating and blunt the normal cardiovascular response to heat.”

Guess who uses Spiriva? Ha.

Am I the only one that gets the feeling as this disease progresses - it is OUR meds that are becoming the Greater Enemy.

Smile.

[jarca]

gail; sorry to hear you've been getting sick also. I'm not sure why i always get sick in the summer; this year i'll blame it on the fires & all the smoke we had in the air----but it is weird isn't it.
sorry to hear you get sick in summer, but it is always nice to know that it's not just me & that i'm "normal" for this disease.


gnott; I used spiriva since 2012 & quit using it because it didn't seem to make a difference this past year or so.
when i went to Pulm, she ordered 'stiolto' for me which is spiriva with a laba----I haven't gotten any my place that mails me supply so i haven't tried to know if there is a difference; i'll post & let you know if there is if it ever arrives here

[gnott]

Thanks.

A couple of years ago I could more or less separate out the various effects of various medications, but I am rapidly losing much of that ability. One, I take so many more items, and Second, I've discovered the effects do not necessary show up immediately, they have to build up. This came home to me this year when I ventured into "self-medication". Smile

While I had the money, I was very annoyed when I hit that bloody "doughnut hole". The difference is quite spectacular. The "d**n thieves!". Smile So I decided to cut-back. One treatment instead of two, every other day, holding back until I "could tell I needed something", and slipping in the occasional 'foreign' med. Stretching a month's worth of drugs over two months or longer. Well no surprise. I went on a Roller Coaster ride. Ha.

(Don't nobody bother telling me how stupid that is. I knew - BUT everyone just has to touch to stove now and then to see if it really is hot.)

The biggest thing to come out of it - I'm on such a smorgasbord I could not tell what was causing what or not doing what. I thought I knew along the way, but once I removed the subjective there was darn little evidence for any one med or treatment.

But I have confirmed one thing. No evidence, pure anecdotal, BUT just changing out similar medications often has a positive effect. But doctors/techs etc. will just look at you. I liken the phenomena to that of alcohol (a subject I am much more fluent on): Every medical tome in the world will tell you an ounce of ethanol is an ounce of ethanol no matter in what form or frequency you imbibe. Period.

Yet we all know from experience that is NOT true. Drink beer and songs and bad decisions are the most likely result. Drink wine and philosophy and confessions erupt. Take shots of Tequila and a fight or a midnight raid on an Ex in the cards. ... And so on.

Don't care if the formula is the same. Sometimes the inhaler is just better than that one. Smile.

[joany]

Jul 17, 2018 13:49:39 GMT -5 gnott said:

...

While I had the money, I was very annoyed when I hit that bloody "doughnut hole". The difference is quite spectacular. The "d**n thieves!". Smile So I decided to cut-back. One treatment instead of two, every other day, holding back until I "could tell I needed something", and slipping in the occasional 'foreign' med. Stretching a month's worth of drugs over two months or longer. Well no surprise. I went on a Roller Coaster ride. Ha.

(Don't nobody bother telling me how stupid that is. I knew - BUT everyone just has to touch to stove now and then to see if it really is hot.)

...

Gnott, I too was thinking about testing some non-medically approved adjustments to dosage and frequency.  What the heck!  How bad could it get?  Glad you recovered, but it sounds like that's a dangerous "test" especially with maintenance meds which could take weeks to be effective again.  Thanks for leading the way (smile).   Hope others read this warning before running their own tests.

A better option is to figure out a way to reduce the cost of the meds.  We must be missing something; I can't believe the cost.  Grrrr!

[gnott]

Yeah, it is the little things that get you. One really has to read the fine print on their medications - and perhaps a conversation with their pharmacist as well. It is so easy to make assumptions and simply gloss over details.

For example: Here's a boring little thing that happened to me for those who might be following this thread.

I have COPD and Heart Disease. One of the symptoms of the latter as I get older is Chronic Angina (chest pains). For this I take Ranexa. I was given a bottle and told to take two a day. Nothing new, we all have tons of stuff - 2x a day. So I started taking it. I like to have something on my stomach before subjecting it to the daily barrage of prescriptions so I started taking Ranexa right after breakfast, and a little after dinner (the last meal).

Bang! No pain. Stuff is great. But then I started getting them back again, BUT only in the morning. I would take a Ranax and in 30 minutes pain is gone. But I was still having these chest pains in the morning? But not every morning. Over-all I was happy with the new medication - instead of randomly about the day, I only get them at one specific time interval, and could pop a pill and they are gone.

I brought this up during a regular checkup with my cardiologist, suggesting maybe another drug might be more useful. She asked me how I was taking the Ranexa. I keep a complete record of all my medications on my phone so I showed her. "There's your problem, ou quoi!"

Long story short. Ranexa is not to be taken just *twice* a day - it is to be taken *12 hours apart*! It seems it has a very short half-life. During the day I would be taking it as little as 9 hours apart which meant the other half could be as much as 15- hours apart. But that shouldn't make any difference - but it does. Now I take Ranexa every 12 hours on the dot. No Angina.

[joany]

As I'm reading this recent post, a TV report comes on re: medical treatments and women.  Seems, in general, thorough medical evaluations for women have been lacking.  This is under the medical service umbrella of "Women are overly dramatic, therefore we tone down their complaints. Can't be that bad."  I believe in the medical profession (no alternatives suit me).  I don't believe this is intentional.  The report is a wake-up call to the medical profession as well as the potential patients.

I'm a lousy patient and I'm trying to be a better patient.  For my own good!  Geez!!