Managing Breathlessness

Objectives:

At the end of the session, the participant will have:

  • Familiarity with ways to describe and talk with health professionals about their breathlessness severity, sensations and impact.
  • Increased understanding of the causes of breathlessness.
  • Awareness of the relationship between anxiety and breathlessness
  • Increased skills in managing breathlessness, including during exercise.

Facilitator:

This session may be facilitated by a respiratory nurse or physiotherapist.

Topic Content Resources
The experience of breathlessness Ways to describe and talk with health professionals about breathlessness severity, sensations and impact. Modified Borg Dyspnoea Scale. Better Living with COPD (Ch 12).
Possible causes of breathlessness Include pathophysiological mechanisms relevant to chronic lung disease and comorbidities; muscular origins of work of breathing; not always correlated 1:1 with oxygen levels or structural lung/heart damage; role of emotions, thoughts and past experiences in chronic breathlessness. Aspects of Topic 3 from the Better Living with your Lung Disease DVD ‘Managing Your Breathlessness’;

Causes of breathlessness (Cambridge BIS)

Causes of breathlessness webinar LFA
Ways to manage breathlessness: breathing strategies Why breathing strategies may help: Changes to breathing pattern and impact of breathlessness (diaphragm/accessory muscles; patterns if relevant eg hyperinflation, stiffness for COPD/ILD)

Examples of breathing strategies: Body positions. Relaxed controlled breathing techniques. Hand-held fan; facial cooling
Aspects of Better Living with COPD (Ch 2). Diagrams; demonstrations and practice; positions, Breathing Control Techniques.

Managing breathlessness: breathing in the 4-video suite from St Christophers hospice

Topic 3 from the Better Living with your Lung Disease DVD ‘ Managing Your Breathlessness’;

Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model
Ways to manage breathlessness: thinking strategies Why thinking strategies may help

Examples: Tips for managing anxiety and panic associated with breathing; having an action plan for managing breathlessness; challenging common misperceptions
Aspects of Topic 7 from the Better Living with your Lung Disease DVD ‘ Managing Your Fatigue and Energy Conservation’

Managing Breathlessness: Thinking Webinar

Cutting through complexity: the Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model is an educational tool that facilitates chronic breathlessness management from npj
Ways to manage breathlessness: keeping active Managing breathlessness during physical and daily activities and exercise/pulmonary rehabilitation; warning signs/what to do if breathlessness increases to a higher level than usual Diagram of cycle of inactivity and dyspnoea

Better Living with COPD (Ch 12).

Aspects of Topic 7 from the Better Living with your Lung Disease DVD ‘ Managing Your Fatigue and Energy Conservation’
Summary and discussion. Cancer Council Living with Advanced cancer: ways to manage symptoms: shortness of breath

Resources

Breathing control techniques
Diagram of cycle of inactivity and breathlessness

The Toolkit

Getting Started
Getting Started
Patient Assessment
Patient Assessment
Exercise Training
Exercise Training
Patient Education
Patient Education
Patient Re-assessment
Patient Re-Assessment
Additional Resources
Additional Resources

Endorsed by the following organisations according to their respective approved criteria: