Exercising your airways

Its hard to avoid Christmas jingles and Christmas carols as everyone up and down the country gets swept along in the preparation for the festive season. So why try? Even if you have no great Dickensian holiday plans singing and humming are good for your health.

We have been singing Christmas Carols since Roman times and everyone has their favourite. Choirs and singing groups are increasingly popular and research is proving it can be beneficial for those of you struggling with many different medical conditions, and for those of you with respiratory problems it may help you learn to breathe more easily as singing warms the muscles up just as athletes warm up theirs.

A choir for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has been set up by the The Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health in Canterbury with the aim of improving the breathlessness associated with this condition and for the past couple of years Asthma UK has organised The Big Sing Song to raise funds and awareness. Breathe Easy and other groups up and down the country organise singing for breathing workshops and stories from the Cystic Fibrosis community should surely inspire us all.

It would appear from a survey  conducted by Asthma UK that we aren’t easily embarrassed to have a sing-a-long but for those of you who are why not hum a long? Even humming could possibly be beneficial to anyone who suffers from sinus problems and at this time of year when we are surrounded by coughs and colds and the winter blues why not add exercising your airways to your daily routine and join in with the celebrations?

COPD Day

COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is a term used for a number of conditions including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. COPD leads to damaged airways in your lungs, causing them to become narrower and making it harder for you to take air in and out. Symptoms range from a cough, phlegm or shortness of breath. Some people may only notice their symptoms in winter, or they might put them down to bronchitis or 'smoker’s cough'. 

The most common cause is smoking and by giving up you can reduce the chances of getting COPD or slow down its progress. Occupational factors, such as coal dust, and some inherited problems can also cause COPD. 

Although COPD cannot be ‘cured’ there are many treatments available to help ease your symptoms as well as ways to help yourself such as keeping an eye on your weight, eating a balanced diet and being as mobile as possible. 

The earlier you seek help the better and November 16th is World COPD Day. 

Organised by The World Heath Organisation, World COPD Day is a global effort to expand understanding raise awareness and advocate for better care for patients with COPD. In 2004 64 million people had the illness and WHO predicts that COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

But its not just global awareness. There are an estimated 3.7 million people in the UK with COPD yet only 900,000 people diagnosed with the disease and each year The British Lung Foundation focuses it campaigning around World COPD day. You can find out what events are happening in your local area HERE along with much more detailed information. You can even take a Breath Test on line. So if you have any concerns at all why not get in touch with them to find out more. You can also check out our other kindred spirits.

Treatment doesn’t always involve needing a nebuliser in fact there are many other treatments to explore first. But if and when that time comes then one size doesn't necessarily suit all. If we can be of assistance then please feel free to contact us. 

Portable Nebulisers.

Following a recent conversation, we would like to highlight to everyone that some hand held portable nebulisers may not prove to be always as robust as a mains only or a compressor type nebuliser. Hand held portable nebulisers can last and maintain optimum performance if kept for when you are out and about. For those of you with a busy lifestyle something slightly larger may be more suitable. To view our range of portable nebulisers click HERE

With winter approaching, even after taking all the usual precautions, details of which you can find HERE, some of you will be more at risk of catching seasonal coughs and colds etc. and you may find that you need to nebulise more often than perhaps you have in the past.

Now may be a good time to invest in a mains only nebuliser and this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend all the money you have set aside for that Christmas treat. There are several robust, great value,mains only models available which have proved very popular and reliable which can be found by clicking HERE

Who knows what lies ahead and a back up plan is always useful and don't forget to give your nebuliser its annual M.O.T. 
As ever if you wish to chat or need further information you can call us on 01942 701210, email or pop a comment below.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our customer for their evaluation and feedback. We always appreciate your comments and acknowledge and recognise their value.