Health Expert Kathi MacNaughton shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/96870/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/96870/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/96870/index http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/137871/traditional-methods Thu, 05 May 2011 20:54:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton COPD/Emphysema often goes undiagnosed, sometimes for years, after it actually starts to cause damage to the airways and lungs. As the third leading cause of death in the United States, this is problematic.   When COPD is not diagnosed and treated, damage to the lungs can occur that could have been prevented or at least slowed down. And that can affect the quality of life for both the person who has COPD, as well as their family... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/137871/traditional-methods http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/127841/perspectives-year Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:27:00 -0500 Kathi MacNaughton What are your New Year's resolutions for 2011?Well, it's New Year's Eve and caregivers, like everyone else, are probably thinking about things they can do to improve their lives over the coming year. Making changes isn't always easy, though, especially when it comes to caring for someone with a progressive terminal illness like COPD. Believe me, I KNOW.   Still, it's always worth putting some effort into setting down goals and... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/127841/perspectives-year http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/127840/resolutions-quality Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:12:10 -0500 Kathi MacNaughton A new year is about to dawn and that's the time when people seem driven to reviewing where they went wrong in the past and setting new goals to help them improve in the year to come. Of course, it can be really challenging to stick to those goals and great intentions once the holidays are over and you're back to your old routines and habits!   Still, it's always worth putting some effort into. So, this week, I thought I'd put down some... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/127840/resolutions-quality http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/126322/optimize-breathing Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:33:30 -0500 Kathi MacNaughton Our winter holidays are a wonderful time of year, with joy in the air, perhaps soft snow falling, people exchanging gifts and gathering with families and friends for holiday cheer... and lots of good food.   Unfortunately, being overweight when you have COPD can make it harder to breathe, not to mention causing a number of other health risks and problems. I talked at length about this subject in another article.   I'm sure you'll... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/126322/optimize-breathing http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/115307/perspectives-loved Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:39:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton Let's face it... it's not always easy to navigate today's complex healthcare systems. I was contacted the other day by a daughter who is trying to care for her father, who has severe COPD, by long-distance -- from a whole different country. And she's doing so in an apparently somewhat hostile healthcare environment.   Seems this lady's father is being told at the hospital where he received emergency care for an oxygen level in the 50s... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/115307/perspectives-loved http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/113235/perspectives-male Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:12:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton Here's something you may not have known: men account for 40 percent of the caregiver population, and the number is probably increasing each year, although men don't always admit openly to being caregivers.   Caregiving is a role that may have seemed to come more "naturally" to women than men in the past. But with our rapidly aging population, decreasing access to caregiving support services, women working outside the home, and smaller... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/113235/perspectives-male http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/110677/copd-end-approaching Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:08:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton My mother has end-stage COPD and recently, she was worrying herself sick wondering how she would know the end was approaching and what it would feel like. Just last week, I answered a similar question here on HealthCentral from someone wondering much the same. It's a scary thought, dying from a respiratory disease that is already making you short of breath with the smallest effort. Are you going to slowly suffocate to death?   One of our... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/110677/copd-end-approaching http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/110694/women-copd Mon, 24 May 2010 04:10:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton COPD doesn't discriminate: both men and women get it, you can be young or old and develop COPD, and both smokers and non-smokers may be diagnosed with this disease. However, that being said, the numbers are not equal. Smokers ARE more likely to get COPD than non-smokers. (85 percent of people with COPD smoked at some point in their lives.) People over the age of 45 are more likely to get COPD than younger people. And as far as... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/110694/women-copd http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/110693/perspectives-support Mon, 03 May 2010 04:03:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton Being a caregiver for someone with COPD can be a long, hard road. Although COPD is an incurable illness, it doesn't claim its victims quickly. People with COPD, even end-stage COPD, often live for years in a gradually deteriorating condition. While enduring a chronic illness is certainly roughest on the patient, it's no cake walk for the caregiver either.   As we've discussed in previous posts in this series, it's tough to watch someone... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/110693/perspectives-support http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/108118/active-steps-fitness Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:12:00 -0400 Kathi MacNaughton You might think that trying to stay fit and active once you have a diagnosis of COPD makes no sense. After all, if you're struggling to breathe just from getting dressed or eating a meal, how can you even think about exercising?   I hear you, and I see this struggle in my mother every single day. But the truth is, if you can stay as active as possible, you will feel better and you will breathe easier for a longer time, especially if... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/96870/108118/active-steps-fitness