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Living With Chronic Lung Disorders
Index
Physical Needs +
Social Needs +
Financial Needs +
Mental Health Needs and Emotional Feelings +
Spiritual Needs +
Effects of Medications +
Effects of your illness +
Transport +
Insurance +
Internal and External Environment
Physical Needs:
- Appearance : make yourself look better than you feel.
- Develop knowledge in medical management
- Develop knowledge of signs and symptoms of chest infections.
- Diet : consult dietician
- Fitness Level: this may be very low, must exercise every day
- Good Night's Sleep
- Know when to stop for a breather when dietician after doing something
- Hygiene: some medications create skin odours, shower daily
- Medication: use a weekly pill organiser
- Mobility: walking frame, wheelchair with carer or electric chair / scooter
- Oxygen supply: portable cylinder, storage cylinder, concentrator
- Oxygen dose : from 2 litres per minute pulsed to continuous 5 litres per minute
- Oxygen Duration: from 'on demand', up to 18 hrs per day
- Posture: walk tall, pick the right chair for relaxing whilst back supported
Social Needs
- All those with whom we spend quality time
- Goals for your respiratory support group
- Goals to improve our own social life
- Hobbies
- Interests
- Socialisation needs improving
- Telephone conversations with friends
Financial Needs
- Education
- Having to pay for medication not fully on National Health Service
- Health insurance extra's
- Making ends meet on a pension
- Oxygen equipment, except if on hospital-funded schemes
- Transport to hospital
Mental Health Needs and Emotional Feelings
- Anger [why me?]
- Depression [feeling gloomy]
- Equipment handling [find it hard to operate and understand medical equipment]
- Fear [terror of being breathless]
- Frustration [mind overactive, body seems useless]
- Loneliness [miss my friends: these days I can't go out and play active sports, dance, etc. and most days not well enough to go anywhere!]
- Many thinking skills needed, especially in regard to oxygen safety rules.
- Oxygen therapy and technology
- Panic [panic attacks are devestating, learn to control them]
Spiritual Needs
- So that we can be in a state of mental and spiritual balance.
- Strong religious beliefs are a great help, but there are other spiritual needs:
- To be appreciated.
- To be cared for
- To be wanted
- To be loved
- Panic [panic attacks are devestating, learn to control them]
Effects of Medications
- Being supplied the wrong medication by the chemist
- Reading books on medication side-affects
- Running out of medication [be on good terms with your 'open long hours' pharmacy]
- Understanding that optimal medication taking is important
- Worry when new medication upsets the system
Effects of your illness
- Acceptance of your illness
- Family acceptance and expectations of you in your condition
- Grief
- Sexual desires and frustrations
Transport
- Adequate supply of oxygen at destination, and for return travel home.
- Problems with rail, air-conditioned coach, aeroplane and boat travel.
- Transport from your home to hospital
- Transport of your oxygen equipment
- Transport to social functions
Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Medicare
- Medibank
- Private
- Health risks
- Oxygen equipment hazards
Internal and External Environment
- Aerosol pressure-packs
- Birds
- Car-exhaust.
- Cats,
- Clean house
- Dogs
- Dust free
- Pollutants free
- Flowers : strong perfumes may upset your breathing or trigger respiratory arrest
- Fumes: stay indoors on bad EPA days
- Petro-chemical liquids
- Smoking cigarettes
- Perfumes, Perfumed Products
- Pets
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Huff and Puff Victoria Inc.
Melbourne, Australia.
Secretary [Webmaster] Max. S. Beach
Phone: 0011 61 3 9435 5731
FAX : 0011 61 3 9444 7540
Email :huffpuffvic@optusnet.com.au
Previous update: 20 October 2002
Last updated: 15 March 2003
© All Rights Reserved :
Max.S. Beach 1999 : 2003
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