Air con and humidifier for COPD

Thanks Georgo for in depth advice much appreciated.

Hi Janice,

I agree with georgyo, It's a question of concentrating on the essentials and doing things a different way to make life easier for your husband. Everyday tasks take longer but it doesn't matter, you only have yourselves to please. There's no rush and RUSH is out of the question with COPD. Just do what you can when you can and change your mindset. Nothing else is that important. It doesn't matter what other people think, it's your life so enjoy it to suit you.

I'm sure all of us wish you the very best and we are here for you.

Forgot to say Georgo Mick doesnt need to take time out he has me to do all chores lol! Not his fault he is stage 4. He manages to prepare meals and drives. He was going to exercise class on a Friday but much too hot these last two weeks. The humidity leaves him just sitting there and struggles to get upstairs. So really don't know what to buy him. He gas been relying on a fan and doesn't go to bed at the mo. he is on oxygen 24/7 and supposed to use BIPAP at night x but been too hot. Am wondering if the smaller units are any good!

Thank you for your kind words Deanne. i know we all have our problems. Ours is we have family all over the country lol!

Larry thank you so much for your advice was very helpful to me.

Hi Larry what is a HVAC? I really want to get something as quickly as possible. He really is suffering with the humidity. As I said to Georgo Mick is stage 4 and oxygen 24/7 and is not using us BiPaP nask at the mo .

btw LARRY what does a window ibe look like ?

I believe that some call an HVAC system a heat pump. It serves both as a AC and a Heating unit. HVACs are electrically powered and are widely used here in America.

A window ibe? Never heard of such a thing. However Air Conditioning units that fit/operate from a window have been sold for decades everywhere.

Additionally, does Mick have an ongoing problem with mucus? If so I recommend an over the counter medicine sold in America called Mucinex. It acts to loosen the mucus and reduce it's production. A generic brand is available called Guaifenesin and can be found online and at retail outlets.

Also, Air Quality is most important, be sure to change / clean air filters on a regular basis. That and the use of non or low scented cleaners in the home help also.

I too struggle each day with my health. I feel your challenges as well, for I also contend with many of the same problems myself.

All the Best

HVAC is a central heating/cooling device that covers a whole house or building. Window units in the States are mostly a rectangle that fits few windows precisely so it has accordioned "wings" that you pull out and screw into the window frame. They often require a prop to stay in place. You must pay close attention to the square footage-to-btu ratio, and to whether you have an electrical outlet that matches the unit's plug, and to how much electricity they pull as even the smallest can overload the electrics for a given room. They are expensive to operate but sometimes in the States you just have to have them. But: Fans, people! Buy some electric fans or install a ceiling fan. I prefer oscillating fans as i can't stand one blowing continuously, especially at my face. I have ceiling fans where possible -- even in the garage, lol -- & oscillating fans in kitchen & living room. They cist so much less than air conditioners, both in purchase and running costs.

I live in Texas and have lived in the Arizona desert, also. It's humid where i am tho less so than where i grew up on the coast and other places i've lived such as New Orleans. I spent 20+ years with Himself, who did home weatherization & everything to do with that. The ONLY time a humidifier helps in hot weather is out in the desert or when you have low humidity. That is also the only place where certain kinds of air conditioners work, i.e., the kind that cools a room a little but by, hey presto, spitting out water! So if you find something called an air conditioner to buy, make sure it doesn't need water fir operation.

Three of the best ways to cool down are

1. take a tepid-to-cool shower/bath (or just a rinse) and drip dry. Even better if you can drip dry under or in front of a fan on low. Or just go rinse your head off in not-hot water & let that drip dry. Toweling off wastes most of the effect.

2. Sponge a bit of rubbing alcohol here & there. This has long-term bad effects if you're doing the whole body so try to resist. Strategic points: behind ears, back of neck, inside elbows , underneath breasts, across tummy. white vinegar has the same effect but the fumes are hard to take.

3. Soak your feet in cool water

There are a few more tricks from my un-airconditioned childhood:

1. wear as little clothing as possible. At home in the South in the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s, entire families would come home from church, take off their finery and hang out indoors in their undies. I returned to this a few years ago as i cannot afford to set my A.C. any cooler.

2.Stop drinking hot drinks. Seriously. Chill your tea and coffee, just til the weather breaks.

3.Cook indoors as little as possible except in a microwave. Eat yogurt, popsicles and ice cream, and hold the cold stuff in your mouth as long as possible.

4. Wear only loose natural fibers when you must cover up. Get high count cotton sheets, or satin ones. Sleep nude.

5. Dusting powder helps keep one comfortable when you must get dressed. This was the southern woman's secret to survival before A.C. Sad to say, all our talc in the States seems to have asbestos so i'm trying not to use it. We used to lightly dust everything that would be covered by clothes before we got dressed, then dress carefully so not to smear away onto the outside of your clothes.

6. Leave the house & go to a refrigerated building as much as possible. Of course I don't know how many of those there are in the UK, but grocery stores & movie theaters are usually cooler than the streets.

Larry, guafenisen has been around as formulated drug in the States since the '30s, FDA approved in '52. It was a cheap, effective OTC med looooong before pure mean greed came up with a new name -- Mucinex -- and a very expensive price. If you think my words harsh, you should hear one of my pharmacists. Big tough college football player, he tears up at how capitalism figures out ways to make cheap non-RX meds expensive here, on top of the criminal mess that is our prescription drug boondoggle.

Please do not refer to guafenisen as a generic of Mucinex as that is 100% incorrect. "Mucinex" is not the name of the drug; it is guafenisen. It's also an insult to the Native Americans who used the natural ingredients from a tree before Europeans arrived here.

Altarg.

Your knowledge is most informative, but like the chicken or the egg and what came first, getting out the information to help others is far more important than which came first. I bow to your knowledge on the subject, but getting out a message that can benefit others is more important to me than being perfectly correct.

This discussion is centered upon Air Conditioners and Humidifiers. I'm far from being an expert, but if my experience or limited knowledge can help another, then that someone else benefited is reward enough. For me controlling my environments heat/cooling has a direct impact upon how my breathing is. Too hot or too cold and my breathing suffers. As for humidity it is more of a problem in the winter months when levels are lower. I have been saving my coins though and may be ready to shop for a home humidifier by November.

All the Best

Thsnks Larry