are copd patients affected when flying
If you do not use supplemental oxygen to fly, you can do the following to help make the trip more pleasant: 1  Take your pulse oximeter with you, and measure your saturations frequently during flight.  If your saturations begin to drop below 90, begin pursed lips breathing. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease. Having COPD makes it hard to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD: 1  Chronic bronchitis, which involves a long-term cough with mucus.  Emphysema, which involves damage to the lungs over time. Altitude sickness can affect people without COPD, but it may be more severe in people who do have COPD or some other type of lung condition. People who are physically exerting themselves are also more likely to experience altitude sickness. COPD is a long-term (chronic) illness. The disease will get worse more quickly if you do not stop smoking. If you have severe COPD, you will be short of breath with most activities. You may be admitted to the hospital more often. Good luck and have a nice flight! -The COPD Coach. Ask the Expert is aimed at providing information for individuals with COPD to take to your doctor, and is not in any way intended to be medical advice. If you would like to submit a question to the Coaches Corner email us at coachescorner@copdfoundation.org. Breathing at higher altitudes might be especially difficult if you have COPD as well as another condition, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes. Being exposed to high-altitude conditions for more than several days can also affect the heart and kidneys. If the patient has resting saturations of less than 92% they require supplemental oxygen in-flight. If a patient’s 6-minute walk test results drop to an O2 Sat (oxygen saturation) in the low 80% range, that person will require supplemental oxygen. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a type of lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. The condition is typically caused by long-term exposure to lung irritants, such as cigarette smoke or air pollution. People with COPD usually experience shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing. If you have COPD and enjoy traveling, then you probably already know that high altitude can make COPD symptoms worse. In all commercial air travel, the planes are pressurized. How much they are pressurized depends on the size of the plane and the altitude it at which it flies. Most large planes flying above 30,000 feet would be pressurized to an altitude of up to 8,000 feet. To give you some perspective, the altitude of Denver is 5,300 feet and has about 17% less oxygen than cities at sea level. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease. Having COPD makes it hard to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD: Chronic bronchitis, which involves a long-term cough with mucus.
Yes, Breathing at higher altitudes might be especially difficult.