My mom could not breathe last week 2 days into a cold. What could she have done to prevent this?

Question

She started sneezing on Thursday and Saturday night she was wheezing and could not breathe. She called 911 and she went to the hospital. She was diagnosed with very minor emphysema. She had so much mucus and could not cough it up. They gave her phenergen for nausea and she had an allergic reaction. She was in the hospital for 5 days, came home yesterday and is still out of breath a little. What does she do when she gets another cold?

Answer 1

I hope she does not smoke.

You do not mention this. Emphysema is usually the result of long term smoking. I suggest your mom stop smoking first, if she smokes.

She could not cough up the mucus because she was most likely dehydrated. It just gets thick and stuck in there. Lots of fluid or steam should help if she is in that condition again. She needs to drink a lot more water.

She should see your doctor about inhalers to help expand her lungs and help with her breathing. And to quit. This is important. She sees the doc and discusses how to prevent recurrences of this. It sounds as if you were a bit frightened by the experience.

There is much controversy about dairy products forming mucus in the body. Doctors say it makes no difference. This is untrue. They were ready to hospitalize me once because my mucus was so bad, but within days of stopping milk, the mucus stopped. I was 5 months pregnant at the time and wanted to avoid the hospital.

Your Mum should get more active and exercise her lungs so that they are stronger. Of course, with the emphysema, she must do this with her doc's permission. Yoga is a wonderful system of exercise to open the lungs and build up strength. It is based on breath control, something that would definitely help her. It is also gentle and you can go at your own pace.

Antibiotics remove infection, bronchodilators dilate, but to maintain the health of the respiratory system after recovery or before unhealthiness sets in, exercise is the only viable tool. Exercise is the only way to help improve the mechanical efficiency of the lungs. The usual exercises are too strenuous for the lungs, especially in emphysema.

Exercises that do not raise the respiratory rate and yet help excretion of the sputum, increase oxygen levels in the blood, increase the elastic recoil of the lungs, prevent recurrent infections, and aerate the whole lungs, invigorating the patient at the end of the session, are necessary. Yoga stands out as the only system eminently meeting all these requirements.

Asanas (poses) are very valuable in treating both disorders. Props are needed to prevent the patient from becoming breathless as the lungs are already unhealthy, particularly for the patient with emphysema. Asanas, especially inversions, are useful in promoting better drainage from the basal parts of the lungs. The steady pressure of the abdominal organs on the diaphragm develops endurance.

As these disorders are due to clogging, poor clearance, fatigue of the lungs and spasms, yoga works very well in all these parameters and also at the micro level, improving oxygenation to the cells. The principal point to remember is that while other exercises exhaust the lungs, yoga gives rest and rejuvenation. Asanas and pranayama work by gentle and steady methods, wafting the air into the lungs; other exercises are harsh and strenuous.

Back bends help clear the bronchial tree of mucus by massaging the lungs. These poses give rest to the lungs and improve stamina. Effort tolerance improves. The heart is made strong in the bronchitic. The opening of the thoracic cage in back bends creates negative pressure in the lungs, allowing blood from the right ventricle to enter without strain. As back bends improve vital capacity, the emphysematic benefits. For the bronchitic, excellent oxygenation occurs. These poses are very valuable as they invigorate the lungs.

In forward bends, the posterior lobes of the lungs are massaged and blood flow is improved. For the emphy-sematic, this position relieves constant strain on the heart. Twisting asanas squeeze the lateral parts of the lungs, improving their function. The asanas help better expulsion of trapped air in the emphysema patient. Resting poses are very useful to remove strain on the heart and reduce the respiratory rate in the emphysematic.

All standing poses improve the endurance of the patient in a manner similar to that of other exercises, but without the added strain. The vascularity of the lung, its mechanical components, its exchange capacity for gases, and the softness of the lung are all preserved by the practice of asanas and pranayama. The drainage of mucus helps prevent recurrent infections. This benefit is of a significant nature for both conditions.

You are good to care for your Mum so much. She sounds run down or this disease would not have run over her body so swiftly. Just get her to the doc to discuss preventative care.

Here is a site on Yoga and conditions similar to your Mom's.

http://www.yogachicago.com/sep04/copd.shtml

Good luck. We Mums are a stubborn bunch.

Answer 2

My mother had the same problem. Early stage emphysema and she would get terrible congestion in her chest with just a simple cold. Colds can be very serious to someone with a lung condition. If she gets a cold, she needs to see her doctor right away. That can turn deadly very quickly. Also, she should see a pulmonologist. They can help treat her emphysema and strengthen her lung capacity some .

Answer 3

It its quite influenza, and you have had indications for under 48hrs., call your surgeon - he would be keen to start you on Tamiflu, that's an anti-viral that has been shown to shrink the size of time human beings have the indicators from the flu virus. considering the fact that your mom is vomiting, I doubt its the certainly flu virus. So, i'd propose staying very nicely hydrated, getting a great number of sleep, steer away from going to paintings in case you are able to, and drink orange juice and soup. Take over the counter drugs for alleviation - like pseudoephedrine for runny nostril, sinus congestion, and so on. and Tylenol/ibuprofen for sore throat, fever, muscle aches. wish you all experience greater valuable quickly.

Answer 4

smoke weeeed