COPD can be difficult to manage. A COPD action plan can help you get a handle on things.

A COPD action plan can help you.

  • This is a complex disease.
  • Stay out of the hospital.
  • reduce your symptoms.
  • Improve your quality of life.

This article will explain what these plans involve, how you can create one, and how to use it when you have symptoms.

More than 16 million adults in the United States have some form of COPD, according to the The American Lung Association is a group for people with lung problems.. And hospitalizations for COPD are on the rise.

A COPD action plan is a simple document that you create with your doctor. It is similar to an asthma action plan. This plan is tailored specifically to you and helps you understand how to handle your COPD symptoms if or when your condition changes.

With a COPD action plan, your doctor will help you identify the characteristics of each stage of the disease and what you can do when your symptoms fall into these different stages.

The goal is to have your doctor create a COPD action plan. The plan will give you an easy to read outline.

  • When to expect and when to worry.
  • How can you treat them?
  • Which drugs or interventions should you use?

An action plan is important because it can be difficult to concentrate or think clearly during a COPD flare-up. During these exacerbations, you may feel short of breath or have an imbalance of carbon dioxide in your body. This can make it easy to become overwhelmed, confused, or frustrated.

Quickly recognizing a change in your condition and taking action can help control a flare-up and prevent it from becoming worse. Research from 2018 has shown that these plans can help:

  • COPD hospitalizations should be decreased.
  • improve The breath was very thin. (dyspnea)
  • Quality of life can be improved.
  • People with COPD should be motivated and engaged in their care.
  • The adoption of healthy behaviors can be improved.
  • People with COPD should be helped to develop better skills.

According to the same research, the use of a COPD action plan over the course of 1 to 2 years helped reduce respiratory-related hospitalizations in people with COPD from 312 per 100,000 to 238 per 100,000. Respiratory-related deaths dropped from 89 per 1,000 without an action plan to 48 per 1,000 with an action plan.

A COPD action plan is created by you and a doctor.

You will identify the most common symptoms of COPD and then categorize them. Some plans use a green, yellow, and red light system.

Green light

You can list how you feel in the green light section. This may include:

  • Being active.
  • Having a good appetite.
  • sleeping well

Yellow light

You can list the symptoms that you might experience during a COPD flare in the yellow light section. This is how you feel when you are sad.

Symptoms in this section might be related to that.

Red light

You and your doctor will list symptoms that need immediate medical help in the red light section.

Your doctor will create a list of actions you should take based on how you are feeling, after you describe your symptoms.

The actions may be broken down by category.

  • Green light. This might include taking your regularly prescribed medications, doing breathing exercises, and avoiding smoking.
  • Yellow light. You may add specific treatments or medications. These may include things like pursed lip breathing, using rescue inhalers, or calling a doctor.
  • Red light. Your plan will usually indicate that it’s time to call for emergency medical care.

Your plan may include a list of your regularly prescribed drugs and therapies. It could give doctors some basic health information.

COPD action plans give a stepwise example of your unique symptoms, along with a list of how your doctor wants you to manage them, with reminders about when to get help.

“The COPD action plans may have their own template. You can bring with you templates to use in your doctor’s office.”

There are many templates available online.

Many of these templates have the same features. Even if you switch doctors, this can make them easy to use. Some templates allow you to type a plan in and print it, while others are ready to print.

A COPD action plan can help you remember what to do when you have COPD and remind you of what to do if you have it.

You can work with your doctor to identify the symptoms of COPD. You will create a list of actions based on how you are feeling, after you categorize the symptoms.

A COPD action plan may help prevent or reduce the severity of flare-ups, Improve your quality of life., and get you the help you need when you need it.