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VA Maryland Health Care System Offers Tips for Breathing Easy in Summer

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) July 07, 2011

Summer heat, spikes in pollution, fires, smoke and other events causing poor air quality makes breathing a challenge for people with compromised lungs, such as those suffering from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Summer temperatures can increase the risk of hospitalizations for people with lung diseases, particularly those over age 75. During the hottest summer months, temperatures and poor air quality stress the body and people with lung diseases can become “air starved.” The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 1979 and 2003, more than 8,000 people died from heat than from hurricanes, lightening, floods, and earthquakes combined.

Dr. Martin Garcia-Bunuel, deputy director of the Managed Care Clinical Center at the VA Maryland Health Care System, offers some tips for people with lung disease to breathe easier in summer. “COPD sufferers have inflamed and irritated airways, and breathing hot air can worsen this, causing a bronchospasm, or the smooth airway muscles to contract, further decreasing the size of the airways, making it more difficult to get air into or out of the lungs, of course, making it harder to breathe. Shortness of breath is no joke for someone with lung disease and we at the VA Maryland Health Care System would like to inform people of what they can do to prevent being hospitalize,” said Garcia-Bunuel. According to Garcia-Bunuel, not all lung disease sufferers have been smokers. For some Veterans, environmental exposures to fires and chemicals have caused lung disease, and still other non-smokers with lung disease may not know how their lungs became damaged.

Tips for breathing easy in summer:     Use the buddy system: During hot months, make sure to have friends or family members call at least twice per day to make sure you are okay. If you don’t have a phone, be sure to ask neighbors to stop by your home each day.

    Plan Activities: If possible, stay indoors. If you must go outside, do so early in the morning or after the sun sets. When driving, park in shady areas and choose places that are air conditioned. Use sun protectors in your car.

    Drink plenty of fluids: During hot months, increase fluid intake, regardless of activity level or thirst. Drinks such as water, fruit and vegetable juices are best. Avoid drinks with caffeine and alcohol.

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