5 Tips To Help You Get Through Summer

Summer is almost here, and I don't know about you, but I have a lot going on this summer: grandkids' sleepovers and sports, the Alpha-1 National Conference, babysitting the grandkids, and much more. Hopefully, we will add a trip to the zoo and maybe to the museum this year.

Some other things that I like to do over the summer are go to yard sales and shop with my daughter and granddaughters. My daughter works for our local school, so we only get a few shopping opportunities throughout the school year, but in the summer, we get more time to enjoy shopping.

Summer can exacerbate COPD symptoms, and it has taken me years to find ways to cope with the challenges this season brings. I thought I would share a few tips that might help you with the summer heat.

Five summertime strategies for managing COPD symptoms

Here are five things that might ease your COPD symptoms this summer:

• Do your shopping or errands in the morning or later in the evening to avoid the hottest part of the day.
• Put extra water and supplies in your vehicle in case it breaks down. Some people think of doing this in the winter but forget about it in the summer. On these hot, humid days in the Midwest, it is nice to be prepared in case of a breakdown.
• Always carry a COPD to-go bag with me when I go anywhere. If you would like to know more about what I keep in this bag, you can read about it here.
• Always have a portable fan on hand. The first time I saw someone using one of those hand-rechargeable fans, I almost chuckled, thinking what good that little fan could be doing. Let me tell you, they can sure make the difference when you are overheated or trying to catch your breath and can't get any air in.

I think having one with me at all times helps to calm me down a bit, too, because I feel like the hotter I get, the more panicked I get, which then leads to being more short of breath. The one I have now, I got free from a conference last year, and all you do is charge it like you do a cell phone. It's nice and handy to carry around anywhere with you.

I have seen some bigger and better ones at a hardware store that use rechargeable batteries, like the ones in drill guns, etc. My husband's charger and batteries would work with one, and I am thinking about getting one of those in the future.

• Use your AC to keep cool and pull humidity out of the air in your home. We all know how hard humidity can be on the lungs. Make sure to keep your AC clean and serviced. You don't want mold or dust buildup. Everything that blows out of the AC goes into our lungs, so we want to be sure to keep it properly maintained.
• Lastly, have fun! Get out and enjoy the bearable days, even if it's just to sit out in the yard a bit to get some vitamin D that our bodies need. Staying cooped up inside all the time isn't good for us, but getting out, even if it's just once a week, is better than not getting out at all.

If you can't get outside, open the drapes, sit beside a window, and enjoy the rays. I bet you will feel better after doing so. Remember to wear that sunscreen!

I hope you all have a great summer. Please share with us in the comments below what you plan to do this summer.