Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, impacts millions of people within the United States. If you are responsible for taking care of someone who has the disease, it is important that you take steps to ensure his or her comfort. Here are some tips for caring for a loved one with COPD.

Be Patient

COPD can cause a significant amount of pain for sufferers. As a result, your loved one might take his or her frustrations and feelings of pain out on you. When this happens, it is important to give him or her space until your loved one feels better. 

Stepping away from your loved one for 20 to 25 minutes when he or she expresses anger also gives you time to check your emotions. It is very easy to get caught up in the anger that your loved one is feeling. Simply stepping out of the room gives both of you time to clear your heads and calm down.

Encourage Rehabilitation

Pulmonary rehabilitation can help to ease some of the suffering that your loved one is experiencing. COPD is a progressive disease that can seriously impact the quality of life of a sufferer. Rehabilitation can help slow the progress of the disease, reduce symptoms, and improve his or her quality of life. 

You can even attend the sessions to offer encouragement. You also can learn exercises and things you can do at home that will help with your loved one's health.

Recognize the Need for Help

At some point, you might need to rely on help from a home health agency to take care of your loved one. If you find yourself exhausted all the time or feel overwhelmed with your duties, contact your doctor. He or she can help you get the ball rolling on signing up for home health care. 

You have the option of choosing the aide that helps your loved one. You can also help set the expectations for what he or she should do while in the home to help ease your workload. Remember, you need to take care of yourself. Your loved one needs you.

Taking care of a loved one who is suffering from COPD can be emotionally and physically taxing. Fortunately, taking steps, such as signing up for home health care (as well as checking out who the aide will be), can help you and your loved one deal with the disease and the symptoms that it causes.