Better Living with COPD - Australian Lung Foundation

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37 COPD Symptom Diary The common symptoms of COPD are shortness of breath, persistent cough, coughing up sputum, and wheezing. Use this diary to track your symptoms on a daily basis. Take this table when you go to visit your doctor. This will help to manage your COPD. Comments When? (day, night, at rest?) Better / worse / more frequent then normal? How often? (3 times a day) Symptoms (shortness of breath, persistent cough, coughing up sputum, wheezing) Date 21/03/12 Shortness of breath 4 times a day Worse than normal All of the above I am not usually breathless. Example Chapter 9: Preventing and managing a fl are up Better Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease A Patient Guide
Better Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease A Patient Guide Maintain good hand hygiene. Avoid people with colds and fl u. Take good care of yourself by eating healthy foods, exercising and getting enough sleep. Keep track of your daily symptoms so that you can recognise quickly when you are starting to become unwell (a sample symptom diary is provided on page 37). The sample symptom diary captures information about your symptoms such as cough, sputum and shortness of breath. Some people fi nd a diary like this one helps them to recognise when their symptoms change. What can you do when you become sick? When you start to become sick it is important that you act quickly. The quicker you act, the less likely it is that you will end up in hospital. Follow the instructions on your written COPD Action Plan (see page 39). Reduce your activity level. Clear sputum with the cough and huff technique (see page 59). Practice controlled breathing and relaxation techniques (see page 54). Eat small amounts of nourishing food. Drink extra fl uids. Use additional medication as planned by your doctor. Contact your doctor if fl are up becomes severe. How can you develop and use a written COPD Action Plan To be successful it is essential that you plan it together with your doctor. Nursing and allied health staff can start the development of the plan, however decisions about medication changes must be made by a doctor or an appropriately qualifi ed nurse practitioner. COPD Action Plans work best when they are checked, updated and reinforced regularly. This should occur each six months or after each fl are up. Step 1 Talk to your doctor about developing a COPD Action Plan. When developing the plan with your doctor, you will discuss what happened with previous fl are ups. You will need to identify the lead up signs and symptoms you experienced (consider the events that were both associated and not associated with an infection), the treatment and outcomes. Check your Symptom Diary for information. Step 2 You and your doctor will then agree on what actions you should take to manage your COPD whilst you are stable but also during a moderate fl are up and a severe fl are up. Your stable section will include your “usual daily medication” and may include other information about your care, i.e. contact details for your doctor, oxygen use and lung function readings. Step 3 Mild to moderate fl are up “What to do when unwell/ having a moderate attack”. You and your doctor agree on treatment directions for management of a moderate fl are up. This will include details about increasing your reliever dose, the frequency and the delivery method. You may also get directions on starting a course of steroid tablets and / or an antibiotic if signs of an infection are present. You and your doctor will then agree on the point that you will need to seek urgent medical treatment in the case your fl are up becomes severe. It will be extremely important to recognise when to seek urgent treatment and what you can do whilst waiting for help to arrive. Your Action Plan will provide you with these instructions. Step 4 Your doctor will need to provide or arrange for prescriptions for extra medications to use with the COPD Action Plan (eg. steroid tablets or antibiotics to keep at home with your COPD Action Plan). Step 5 Don’t forget to get your doctor to sign and date the plan to ensure it is up to date. Step 6 Ask your doctor, nurse or health care person to explain the COPD Action Plan to you and to your carer regularly including all the signs to watch for and actions to take. Step 7 Keep your plan somewhere visible at home (on the fridge). Remember to always bring your COPD Action Plan to your clinic, doctor appointments and admissions to hospital. ©The State of Queensland (Queensland Health) and The Australian Lung Foundation 2012 38
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Better Living with COPD - Australian Lung Foundation

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