Managing the symptoms of COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is not easy to do at any stage of the illness. In the later stages, this illness becomes even more difficult to manage. COPD patients can benefit greatly from hospice care services as soon as their doctors recommend this type of care.
Here’s how it helps.
Putting a Plan Together for Exacerbations
Exacerbations are periods when a person’s symptoms become much worse with COPD. They can even lead to an infection such as pneumonia or other illnesses. Managing exacerbations is tough enough in the early stages of COPD, but in the end stage, even a minor exacerbation can lead to a hospital stay. Hospice care helps patients stay home and get care there instead of having to go to the hospital.
Managing Oxygen and Other Medications
Oxygen is often a key component in any care plan for a late-stage COPD patient. Oxygen treatment may feel complicated for family caregivers to manage alone and they may find it intimidating. Other medications, like those inhaled through a nebulizer, may also be necessary. Having help from hospice providers to manage these medications can help family caregivers feel less stress around medication management.
Learning Calming Techniques
When COPD patients experience shortness of breath, they can quickly become stressed by that feeling. Learning calming techniques and breathing methods can help them to recover from these episodes quickly. Pursed breathing techniques and meditation are just two of the ways that seniors might learn to calm themselves during episodes where they experience shortness of breath.
Positioning to Keep the Patient Comfortable
Sometimes rearranging the patient can help with breathing issues and overall comfort. Moving a patient is not always easy to do, especially safely. Hospice care providers are trained to help patients move safely, even when they’re bedbound.
Reducing Fatigue and Conserving Energy
It takes a lot of energy to fight to breathe. Patients with COPD tend to experience a great deal of fatigue and they must conserve as much energy as possible. Hospice care providers can help with everyday tasks that require too much energy for the patient to handle on their own. When patients focus on conserving energy, they’re less likely to experience shortness of breath and may also reduce their risk of developing an exacerbation.
Educating Family Caregivers
There’s so much to know when it comes to helping seniors with a serious health issue like COPD. Family caregivers can easily feel overwhelmed and worry that they don’t have all of the information that they need. Hospice care providers help families to understand what they need to know and understand new health issues as they crop up.
Helping with End-of-life Decisions
What matters most for any person near the end of life is that they have the experience that they want to have if that is at all possible. If patients haven’t talked about their end-of-life decisions yet with family caregivers, hospice can help them sort out what they want from this time.
Hospice care providers are there for every aspect of caring for someone in the later stages of COPD. They can help family caregivers and seniors as well to deal with the challenges that this condition brings.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Hospice Care Services in Princeton NJ please get in touch with the caring staff at Expert Home Care today at (732) 937-5320.
Providing exceptional live-in home care in New Jersey, including Monroe Township, Edison, New Brunswick, Red Bank, Lakewood, Princeton, Morristown, Flemington, Stockton, Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Montclair, Livingston, Summit, and surrounding communities.
We have been providing Home Health Care to New Jersey families since 1985, and have grown to become one of the largest licensed providers of Live-In Home Care in the upper New Jersey area. Our many years of New Jersey home care experience has produced a company that over 8,000 clients have come to rely on confidently, for help.
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