PH NSW Tips and tricks

Handy hints for living well with Pulmonary Hypertension

In the kitchen

• Re arrange your kitchen, have those items that you use the most a waist height so that you are not reaching up or bending down as often. This can also be done if redesigning a kitchen – think of a bench top dishwasher and other appliances such as microwave at bench top too.
• When you cook – try and cook extra amounts and freeze the excess- this is very handy for the days that you just are not up to preparing a full meal.
• Sit down to prepare meals – such as when you are chopping vegetables ECT.
• A great trick to save on the hard washing up use either aluminum foil or baking paper to line cooking dishes – works a treat.
• Have saucepans with two lids so that the weight is more evenly distributed.
• If you find that cooking is a challenge then you may want to consider a meal service, like meals on wheels – there are also other private companies that can offer a good range of meals too.

Showering and dressing

• Showering – sit down on a shower chair and conserve energy, open a window / door so that the humidity does not build up and make it harder to breathe and if you use oxygen at home then used it while you are showering too. You will use more oxygen when you shower so using your oxygen will help. It does not matter if the tubing gets wet.
• Drying yourself once showered. Get a Terri-toweling robe and use that to help dry off. Go and sit down (not in a cold place), and take your time.
• Sit down to put your make up on or have a shave
• Try to avoid tighter fitting clothes – loose clothes are easier to put on and take of and are less likely to restrict your breathing.
• Use a long handled shoe horn to help put shoes on – this avoids bending down and getting dizzy and breathless.

Shopping

• Get in contact with your local council and see if they have a shopping bus service. A lot of local councils have a community bus that will pick you up and drop you of and help you with your bags, even taking them into your house for you.
• Or get home delivered groceries
• Or order online – you don’t even have to leave the house
• Plan your daily weekly activities, if you are having a busy morning then have an early nights sleep and plan for a restful afternoon.
• If you have a really busy day planned then plan for a restful day tomorrow. This is especially important when planning a holiday – you need to factor in rest days so you can really enjoy all of your activities.
• Plan to go shopping with family or friends who understand your condition and can help out.

In the bedroom

• Sleeping with the head of your bed raised can help to reduce shortness of breath at night. There are a number of ways that you can do this. For example put a foam wedge under your mattress at the head end to allow the mattress to be propped up. If you are thinking of upgrading your bed then you may want to look at beds that you can adjust to have the head raised. You can even have someone else put one or two bricks under the legs of your bed at the head to allow some tilting. Avoid using extra pillows as they tend to shift through the night and they do not support your back well. Often once asleep you can end up in a worse position for breathing as you sink into an awkward position.
• Think about using a Doona / quilt rather than adding extra blankets – this is easier to breath as there is less weight on your chest.
• When making the bed start by sitting in it, arrange the pillows and blankets as much as you can before getting up.
• For those who have oxygen, consider having the machine in another room and have the tubing travel to your bedroom. This cuts down on the noise for a more restful sleep. But please remember when using extra oxygen tubing you may need to compensate by increasing the oxygen supplied.

In the garden

• Have alterations done to out side taps. Such as an extension to taps so that they are waist high from the ground so that you do not need to bend down.
• Consider having raised flower beds once again so you do not have to bend down but still can enjoy gardening. Or have flower pots that are positioned waist high.
• Use long handled gardening equipment.

Phones

• Have a cordless phone that you can carry around with you in the house – this way you do not have to hurry to the phone to answer it and you also have it in case you need to call for help.
• Also worth considering having a mobile phone for just in case emergencies. Particularly when going out by your self. This can give you a little more confidence going our by yourself - help is just a phone call away.
• Have an answering machine at home or an answering service. This allows people to leave messages and not get too worried if you do not answer. Also it may be impolite but if you are tired and resting and you hear the phone ring you can know that the person can leave a message so there is no need to race to the phone. If you are resting you can often hear on answering machines the message that is being left so you can decide if you need to call them back soon or if they can wait.
• Pre program phone numbers into your home phone or mobile phone so that they are easy to find, very useful in case of an emergency or if you are anxious.

Around the house

• Try and do any chores that you have sitting down, some people find stools very useful for example when ironing. Folding clothes etc
• Try and have appliances at waist level e.g. clothes dryers and washing machines.
• Invest in light weight appliances such as irons and vacuums
• Have lower cupboards changed to draws that pull out rather than cupboards that you have to bend down to. Or even better if you can avoid them then do not use low cupboards.
• Use long handled cleaning equipment such as mops and feather dusters to help avoid bending and reaching.
• Use a dryer for clothes this saves on you carrying wet washing and all the exercise that is involved with hanging and collecting clothes from the line. This may be a little more expensive but it is also a good short cut when it comes to ironing.
• Be careful when using cleaning fluids the fumes that come from them can sometimes is restrictive. So for example cleaning the bathroom is often a good job to allocate to someone else.
• Do not be afraid to accept help from others – often they are just looking for something to help with – let them.

Medications

• Have a calendar or diary to track your medications so you know in advance when new scripts are due.
• It is good to have a good relationship with your pharmacist so they know all the medications you are on and they can advise you how best to take them and any possible interactions. It is also good to check any over the counter medications of with them in case they interact with other medications that you are on.
• Keep a list of all your current medications with you at all time so they can be referred to at doctors’ visits and in case of an emergency. Remember that over the counter medications and all vitamins should be included on this list.

Work

• Consider breaking up your working week so that you have time to rest in your week. You could do this by having a rest day of in the middle of the week to help you get through. Or working shorter days.
• You do not have to divulge your medical details at work, but sometimes it is useful for your colleagues to understand your condition – often a work place will also help to adapt your working week so that you can work within your abilities. For example giving you a stool to sit at if you spend a lot of time on your feet, giving you the option to work from home and being more flexible with working hours. For example shorter working days so you have time in the day to rest. Or work every second day so that you have a rest day so that your week is not too much for you and you do not get too tired over the week.
• If you are considering returning to work you may want to consider starting with a bit of charity work, to test yourself and see how you go.

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