FAQs about Lung Disease

COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

COPD is not one disease; it covers a spectrum of respiratory diseases that all keep air from getting to your lungs and bloodstream. The most common forms of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

RANA can help you understand how your lungs work and how to optimize your lung function through use of medications, exercise, energy conservation techniques and individualized treatment or action plans. Better management of your lung disease allows you to be more active and to enjoy life more fully.

The following symptoms could indicate a flare-up in your COPD:

Important: If you are experiencing 2 of the first 3 symptoms listed, call your family physician immediately.

• Increased and unexpected shortness of breath
• Yellow, green or brown mucus (phlegm)
• Mucus changes (more, thicker or stickier)
• Chest pain
• Fever
• Swollen ankles
• Inability to sleep lying down
• Headaches in the morning
• Dizziness or confusion
• Difficulty sleeping
• Blue lips or fingers
• Increased and unexpected shortness of breath
• Feeling sick

Click here to learn more about managing asthma and COPD.

The following symptoms could indicate you are experiencing a flare-up in your asthma. Recognizing these symptoms will help you treat flare-ups, keeping you out of the hospital:

• Cough more than 3 days per week
• Wheeze more than 3 days per week
• Chest tightness more than 3 days per week
• Shortness of breath more than three days per week
• Mucus more than three days per week
• Night awakenings more than once a week
• Having to stop exercise or activities due to breathing problems such as shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness or wheezing
• Use of reliever medication (e.g. Salbutamol) more than three days per week

The Canadian Asthma Association has developed national guidelines outlining the fewest number of symptoms you should experience.

These guidelines state you should not:

• Cough, wheeze or experience chest tightness, shortness of breath or mucus more than three days a week
• Awaken at night more than once per week
• Use your reliever medication more than three days per week
• Need to stop exercising or doing activities you enjoy because of your asthma

RANA will help you control asthma by teaching you:

• About the disease
• How to recognize triggers
• How to avoid triggers
• How your medications work
• When to use your medications
• How to recognize symptoms of a flare-up
• When to seek help

Many patients have lived with their symptoms so long they accept them as normal. RANA will help you understand what good asthma control is (according to national guidelines) and help you achieve improved asthma control through the use & development of a management plan or action plan.

You will develop an action plan in consultation with your family doctor and a RANA professional to help you manage your asthma.

This written plan reviews what symptoms to watch for, what your symptoms mean, explains how to adjust your medication based on your symptoms and when to call your physician or 911.

Taking your puffers as prescribed by your physician should help you feel better and experience fewer symptoms.

There are two main types of medications that are often used together to control your symptoms: preventer medications and reliever medications.

Take your preventer medicine every day, even if you have no symptoms. These medications decrease swelling in your airways and make sure they stay clear of mucus. 

Take your reliever medication only when you need it: during a flare-up, if your breathing gets bad and before exercise (if you experience induced respiratory symptoms or if you unexpectedly experience symptoms during exercise).

Having prescriptions for more than one puffer is normal for people with lung disease. Each puffer performs a specific and different action on your lungs. Your physician determined you need the actions of each one of these inhalers to treat your lung disorder. When used correctly, these medications provide you with the best treatment to control your disease. 

Contact RANA for help developing your action plan, so you will learn when to use these medications and how each of them works.

There are many types of inhaler devices, each with their own set of instructions. It is very important to understand how to use your specific devices to ensure you get the full dose of your medication.

Ask your physician, pharmacist or a RANA professional to teach you the proper technique.

Visit the Patient Resources section of this website to find fact sheets for the different types of inhalers devices. Each fact sheet has "how to" instructions for proper device use.

Spirometry IS recommended for these patients:

• Patients with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms
• Patients with diagnosed lung disease to:
  • Determine their baseline lung function (lung capacity, health of the airways) and monitor changes in lung function over time 
  • Evaluate their lungs’ response to inhaled medications and determine which medications are most effective in treating their lung disease
  • Follow-up on changes made to their inhaled medications 
• COPD patients (smokers or ex-smokers 40 years of age and older)
• COPD patients who have: 
  • Persistent cough and sputum production
  • Frequent respiratory tract infections
  • Progressive activity-related shortness of breath

Spirometry IS NOT recommended for these patients:

• Children under 5 years of age
• People who have:
  • Recently suffered a heart attack (MI or myocardial infarction)
  • A collapsed lung (known as a pneumothorax)
  • Recently had eye surgery
  • Recently had a head injury or stroke
  • Recently undergone abdominal surgery
  • A blood clot(s) in their lungs (known as pulmonary emboli)

• All respiratory clients attending RANA’s one-on-one Educational Clinics
• Clients who think they need home oxygen
• Home oxygen clients who feel their oxygen therapy is not as effective as it used to be
• Oxygen clients requesting an oxygen conserving device for their portable oxygen cylinder or a portable oxygen concentrator (In these cases, the respiratory assessment includes a 6 minute walking test on room air and then one with oxygen to determine your ability to use such equipment and the oxygen flow rate you will need during exercise)

RANA also performs respiratory assessments for clients in these programs:

• First Nations Inuit Health
• Unemployment Insurance
• Income Protection

Roaring Adventures of Puff (RAP) programs are offered by health care providers to children ages 7 to 11 years and their families. This adaptable childhood-asthma education program helps children learn about asthma and how to manage it in a fun, hands-on way. They will feel better, be able to participate in more activities, visit the hospital and doctor less frequently and miss less school due to their asthma.

The RAP program is designed to run for six sessions of one hour in length and covers these topics:

• Introduction - Getting to know each other, goal setting (a wish list), monitoring and learning about the peak flow meter
• What Makes Asthma Worse - Identifying, controlling and avoiding triggers, how the airway works and what is wrong with an asthmatic airway
• Medications - Differences between control and relief medications, how to use inhalers and other medications, more on trigger avoidance
• Asthma Warning Signs - Recognizing symptoms and what an action plan is, understanding peak flow numbers and how to take action based on them
• Asthma and Lifestyle - Children describe how asthma affects them and then learn that controlling asthma helps them feel better. They also learn how to manage risky situations (e.g.: visiting friends’ homes, sports, or helping a friend who is having an attack)
• "RAP Up" - Review and give a performance for parents and/or teachers

Children may also receive prizes and a certificate upon completion.