English 
简体中文 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 |
