During hurricane season, power outages are a commonplace. For most people, these power outages are an inconvenience. For those on oxygen therapy, it can be more concerning. Being prepared for a hurricane is paramount – especially for oxygen therapy users.
With a little bit of planning, you can prevent having unnecessary stress during an already stressful situation. We have created a list of things to consider when making your preparedness plan.
As many of you may have heard (or even unfortunately experienced), a hurricane, deemed “Harvey,” hit the coast of Texas, near Corpus Christi. The long road to clean-up and recovery is just beginning for many.
Natural disasters, such as flooding, can be extremely dangerous for people of all ages, especially if you suffer from any lung or breathing related illnesses. Even after the flood water recedes, there are conditions that can put your lung health at risk. How can you stay safe during these uncertain times? Keep reading for our top five things you’ll want to know during a flooding weather emergency.
You’ve taken steps to quit smoking and are working on other areas of your health now that you’ve been diagnosed with COPD. Despite all of your efforts for staying healthy and avoiding harmful things, you still seem to be getting worse and have frequent, severe exacerbations.
It’s true that some of the things that can have a significant effect on our lungs aren’t things we have direct control over. We can wash our hands and get vaccines to prevent illness, avoid allergies and take medications, but it can be nearly impossible to avoid what is already in the air around us.
Pollution, whether man-made or natural, can have serious adverse effects on our lungs. People who have a chronic lung disease like COPD or asthma will feel the effects more than anyone since the lungs are more sensitive. BioMed Central, a medical journal and article publisher, conducted a study that says forest fires are having a significant impact on people with COPD, especially. They based the findings on reports from pharmacies filling more prescriptions than usually in areas that were close to where there were recent forest fires.
Maybe you’ve just gone to the store for something to freshen up the air in your home. Keeping windows closed over the winter can make a house start to smell a little musty or stale, so naturally you want to make it smell better for guests, as well as your own pleasure.
You may have picked up some scented candles, which are perfectly safe as long as you keep them away from flammable materials, right? Unfortunately, most candles aren’t as safe as you think. Scented sprays contain chemicals that can irritate your lungs and even cause exacerbations in people with COPD or other chronic lung diseases.
People who do not have chronic lung diseases shouldn’t be breathing the things in most home air fresheners, and they aren’t good for the environment in general. Luckily, there are other things you can use as healthy alternatives to common home air fresheners.
Oxygen concentrators are important to the livelihoods of many people, especially patients who suffer from COPD, asthma and other respiratory diseases. As if October 2012’s Superstorm Sandy didn’t bring enough problems, the catastrophic natural disaster also caused trouble to patients who rely on oxygen therapy. This was evident in states such as New York, where power outages were rampant for several days. One tragic example was reported just one day after the storm struck New York City, when a Manhattan woman was found dead after she ran out of oxygen with her electric concentrator.
In light of recent weather-related events, the COPD Foundation published an e-Newsletter article about emergency preparedness for oxygen users. This is something that we do not normally think about, but what if the worst really does happen and bad weather strikes?
The COPD Foundation suggests contacting your local power company to register with them as oxygen dependent. Questions to ask them should include:
