Triggers related to COPD are anything that causes her to have more trouble breathing. These types of COPD triggers could be things like smoke, fragrances, dust, and even weather conditions like increased humidity. Any of these issues and more can create breathing issues for someone with COPD.
Triggers Are a Big Cause of Breathing Trouble
The most obvious reason to avoid breathing triggers is that of course, they cause breathing problems for your senior. Anything that makes breathing more difficult for your elderly family member is not a great situation for her to be around. Your senior may avoid specific people, for instance, because of the perfume or fragrances they wear. It’s important to know what types of situations contribute to breathing issues for your senior so that you can help her to avoid those.
Her Entire Body Is Affected, Not Just Her Lungs
COPD affects more than just your senior’s lungs and it’s important to remember that. Her entire body is affected by having breathing trouble. Your elderly family member’s body may physically be working harder to help her to breathe, which can mean that she experiences things like pain in her chest and sides. She may also feel more tired than she usually does, especially on days when she’s been exposed to many different triggers. All of that is difficult to recover from.
She May Have Trouble Staying Healthy
Because of how much work your senior’s body is doing, she’s burning a lot of energy. Something that people tend to forget is how well-rested someone is factored into how well their immune system is able to function. If your aging family member is being exposed to breathing triggers often, she may find that she’s feeling more run down and she’s more susceptible to little illnesses that her body might have fought off more readily before.
Constant Exposure to Triggers Affects Quality of Life
If your senior is constantly battling her breathing triggers, feeling sick, and experiencing exhaustion, that takes a toll. Overall, her entire quality of life can suffer and that’s something that neither you nor she wants her to experience. The more that you can identify and reduce exposure to triggers, the more likely you’re going to be able to protect your senior’s quality of life.
Having help from elder care providers can make managing triggers easier for your senior. This allows her to conserve her energy and can help her to spot triggers she didn’t know were at play.
