When Does a Senior Loved One with COPD Need Additional Help?

By Marlene Diaz | August 11, 2016 |

Senior Care Gig Harbor WA

For a family caregiver, knowing when a loved one with COPD needs extra help can be extremely anxiety-inducing. You don’t want to overreact, but you definitely don’t want to wait to get the help your loved one needs.

Signs of an Emergency

When you’re new to dealing with COPD, anything that is out of the ordinary can feel like an emergency situation. Your loved one’s doctor can give you specific information about what constitutes an emergency for your loved one, but these are some general guidelines. Signs that you should call 911 include:

Severe shortness of breath that comes on suddenly
Sudden confusion
Severe chest pains
A blue tinge to lips or fingers
Coughing up a teaspoon or more of blood
Extreme sudden fatigue

Contact 911 if you’re in any doubt at all about your loved one’s condition. It’s far better to call 911 and not actually need more than mild assistance than to have a true emergency and not call at all.

Signs to Call Your Loved One’s Doctor

Calling your loved one’s doctor is a much easier decision to make for most people because it’s not as frightening as an ambulance arriving. If your loved one is actually in an emergency situation, his doctor will let you know to contact 911 right away. If you see any of these signs, it’s a good idea to contact your loved one’s doctor right away:

Coughing up even a little blood
Changes in the color of your loved one’s mucus
Coughs that start out mild and become worse in frequency or severity
Increasing shortness of breath or wheezing
A fever
Flu-like symptoms
Swelling in the legs and ankles

Any one of these symptoms could be a sign of a lung infection or a more severe problem for your loved one.

Formulating an Emergency Plan

One of the most important things that you and your loved one’s doctor can do for your loved one with COPD is to develop an emergency plan that you can refer to when your loved one is having symptoms that are unusual. With an emergency plan, you or anyone who is caring for your loved one can know right away what the right solution is.

Make sure that anyone who helps with your loved one’s care has access to the emergency plan as well as information about the signs of an emergency.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care Services in Gig Harbor WA, contact the caring staff at Hospitality Home Care today. Call us at (206) 966-6552.

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Marlene Diaz

Care Supervisor at Hospitality Home Care

Marlene brings to Hospitality Home Care's Care Supervisor Team an unprecedented level of passion for caring for others and a wealth of knowledge and understanding in the care services field. Marlene has worked in the healthcare field for more than 15 years in a variety of settings including, adult family home administration, home care HR supervising and working with specialty populations including dementia, mental health and developmental disabilities. Throughout this time Marlene has also maintained her caregiver credentials that she obtained as a teenager because, while her knowledge is best served helping to train caregivers and assist families to get the care they need, her heart is most fulfilled when she is providing care to others. When she is not in the office, you will most likely find Marlene caring for her family, or spending time with her friends.