There is a lot you can do to reduce the effect COPD has on you. If you take steps to control your COPD symptoms, you can help ensure your daily life stays enjoyable and fulfilling.

• Stop smoking
• Join pulmonary rehabilitation or exercise regularly
• Protect against flare-ups (exacerbations)
• Eat healthily
• Take your medications as instructed
• Understand COPD medications

STOP smoking

If you smoke, stopping smoking is the single most important thing you can do. It will improve your lung health and help to slow down worsening of COPD. If you continue smoking, your lungs are likely to get worse far more quickly than if you quit. The sooner you quit smoking the better.

Do not feel guilty about having smoked – just think about how giving up now will improve the rest of your life. If you have given up smoking or are trying to quit, well done! This is a positive step towards improving your health.

Do everything you can to give up smoking for good.

Your immediate and long-term health depends on it.

Finding help to quit

Many people need help to quit smoking. Your doctor or pharmacist can provide help and advice. Nicotine replacement therapy or prescription anti-smoking medications may help you quit.

The National Smoking Quitline provides assistance if you wish to quit smoking .You can contact Quitline by phoning 131 848 or logging on to www.quitnow.info.au

Join a pulmonary rehabilitation class or exercise regularly

Join a COPD exercise and education program, often called pulmonary rehabilitation.  This one of the best treatments for COPD.  The Australian Lung Foundation can help you find the program nearest you.  Call 1800 654 301

People with COPD who exercise regularly have better breathing, fewer COPD symptoms and maintain a better quality of life. Ideally the activity that you do should make you a little out of breath. Aim for at least 30 minutes, five times a week. You do not have to do all 30 minutes at once. Check with your doctor whether this amount of activity is recommended for you.

Do not avoid exercise or activity because you fear breathlessness. In the long run, staying inactive actually makes shortness of breath worse. 

Protect against flare-ups or exaccerbations

Those with COPD may be more likely to get chest infections.  To protect yourself against getting an infection that might result in hospitalisation, make sure you have your flu and pneumococcal vaccines regularly.

It is also a good idea to have an Action Plan worked out with your doctor. 

Eat healthily

Food group Recommended number of serves per day*    Breads and cereals 4 to 9   Vegetables and legumes 5 or more   Fruit 2 to 3   Milk and dairy products 2 to 3   Meat, poultry, fish, eggs and nuts 1 to 2   * Number of serves depends on age, gender and activity level. For more information visit www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/content/eating

Keeping a healthy weight – not overweight but not underweight either – is good for your overall health. Eating a healthy diet will help you to stay strong and have more energy. Make sure you are eating enough healthy foods each day to get good nutrition.

Take your medication as instructed

It is essential that you take your medication as instructed by your doctor, even when you feel well. Medications always work best when taken as instructed and can help prevent your COPD symptoms from getting worse in the long term. Do not be tempted to decide when and how much medication you will take, as this may result in you not getting the most benefit from your medication.

Learn how your medications work. This will help you to understand why and when you need to take them.

Understanding COPD medications

About COPD medications

Your doctor may have prescribed you medications to help control your COPD. The COPD medications you have been prescribed are tailored to you and your symptoms. Because everyone is different, other people with COPD may have different medications and/or different medication dosages.

Although medications cannot cure COPD, when used as instructed they can go a long way towards reducing your symptoms and preventing flare-ups.

Make sure that you understand the following about each medication that you are prescribed:

• what the medication is for
• how the medication works
• how to take the medication
• when the best time to take it is
• how long the dose is effective
• what the possible side-effects of the medication
• are and how you can avoid or reduce them
• whether the medication will cause problems with any other medication you are taking

Types of medication

Because COPD medications need to act on the airways and the lungs, most COPD medication is inhaled (breathed in) using a special inhaler device. That way, medication is delivered directly into the lungs, where it is needed.

There are three main types of inhaler medication:

• reliever medication – for instant relief of sudden increased breathlessness
• maintenance medications – for long-term regular use to control your symptoms over the long term and to help prevent flare-ups
• preventer medication – for long-term regular use to help prevent flare-ups in more severe COPD.

Your doctor may also prescribe you medication that you swallow, sometimes for longer periods of time, sometimes only when you experience a flare-up.

Inhalers

Reliever medication

Reliever inhalers should be used in a situation where you experience a sudden increase in your breathlessness. They are called short-acting bronchodilators (pronounced bronk-oh-dye-lay-tors) and work by relaxing the muscles around the airways. This helps to open up the airways and allows air to flow more easily out of and into the lungs when you breathe – easing your feeling of breathlessness. Relievers often work within minutes of inhalation and their effects last for several hours. Reliever medication includes inhalers such as Ventolin^® , Asmol^®, Airomir^® and Butamol^® (salbutamol) and Bricanyl^® (terbutaline).

Relievers should be used when you experience a sudden increase in breathlessness. Always make sure you carry a reliever inhaler with you, just in case.

If you are using your reliever more often than prescribed, discuss this with your doctor as it may mean that your COPD is getting worse. Talk to your doctor about using your reliever inhaler before you exercise.

For more detailed information on living with COPD, see Better Living with COPD.  A copy of this publication can be purchased by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 1800 654 301.

Content updated October 22, 2010