The Six Minute Walk Test… Why Six Minutes Chances are you have been through a six minute walk test either at the hospital, pulmonary rehab center or doctor’s office. Our friend John Goodman BS, RRT, answers the question, ‘Why Six Minutes?’ A Little Background The Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) is a time-distance walk, first…
Sharing the Health! Get friendly with your oxygen! A lady from EFFORTS reports her husband has named his “Jose” (hose-ay). They like to try and find the humor in moments if they can – it helps! He has two 25-foot lengths of tubing with a connector between them that rotates as he moves about. It…
Sharing the Health! Living in Florida, I have a grapefruit tree in my back yard and can walk out in the morning and have my pick. I have been told not to drink grapefruit juice at all since I am taking medications. My neighbor told me the grapefruit reacts with many drugs so that I…
Sharing the Health! The Pulmonary Wellness & Rehabilitation Center in Manhattan will host live webinars that bring the experience of a Better Breathers Club meeting to those who do not have the opportunity to at- tend a support group. “Better Breathers Clubs are meetings where people with COPD and other lung diseases can come to…
Sharing the Health I use an LEDtype night light that I plug it into an electrical strip and put under my bed. It puts out a soft light on the floor all around the bed so I can see where I am stepping and find my slippers during the night. It goes off in the…
Rating Your Exercise Intensity Sticking to your exercise program and avoiding overeating can be difficult in the upcoming holiday season. Remember to do things in moderation, as a wise soul once told us! When exercising, the Cleveland Clinic uses the RPE scale to measure the intensity of your exercise. RPE stands for “rated perceived exertion’…
Sharing the Health To better manage my cannula, tubing and Oxy- View glasses, I mounted a tie rack on my bedroom wall. It works great! Joe Donathan Centennial, CO Jean Rommes of Iowa wants you to know the COPD Foundation has made the power point presentations and audio recordings of the sessions…
Sharing the Health To make my home oxygen concentrator less noticeable, I pur chased a freestanding threepanel fireplace screen. It has a three piece metal frame, screening on the panels for air flow and decorative metal vines and leaves on the screening. Small feet raise it enough for the hose to go underneath.…
Sharing the Health Aerobika®, from Trudell Medical International, is a new oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) device that has shown to improve shortness of breath and help raise mucus in people with COPD. The device was used four times a day for four weeks in a clinical pilot study presented at the American Thoracic…
Sharing the Health Praxair of Danbury, CT, recalled all units of its Grab ’n Go Vantage Portable Oxygen Cylinder manufactured from June 17, 2009–November 16, 2012. According to the FDA, fires within the cylinder unit may occur as a result of physical impact such as dropping or knock- ing it over. Although the fires are…