Breathe Out: Living Life to the Fullest, with Emphysema, COPD, or Smoker's Lung (Paperback)

by Mary Callahan (Author)
Key Phrases: restrictive component, inhaled medications, air sacs, Mary Callahan, Breathe Out, Accessory Muscles

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
BREATHE OUT THROUGH PURSED LIPS! Those words are golden for persons with chronic lung disease. Once mastered, the technique can help with everything from going up stairs to picking up a grandchild, all without shortness of breath. That advice and so many more practical tips for getting through the day and getting through life are contained in the pages of this book. Understanding how lungs work in good health and bad is the key to avoiding symptoms, preventing complications and staying independent. The book is based on the very successful series of classes, called the Respiratory Disease Self-Care Classes, provided for many years by the New Mexico Lung Association.

About the Author
Mary Callahan is a registered nurse and a registry-eligible respiratory therapist living and working in Maine. She spent most of her 35 year nursing career focusing on patients with chronic lung disease, in hospital and out, teaching the Respiratory Disease Self-Care Classes, and making home visits. She is the author of numerous magazine articles and newspaper pieces, as well as two other books. Fighting for Tony is about raising a child with special needs. Memoirs of a Babystealer is an expos¿ of the foster care system. She is a mother of four, Tony, Renee, Michael and Bridget, as well as the grandmother of one extraordinary cover model, Melissa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse; 1 edition (November 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434348555
• ISBN-13: 978-1434348555
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,884 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Aging > Lung Disease
  #17 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases > Respiratory

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Anyone Living With Chronic Lung Disease, September 4, 2008

By	Jane Avery "The Wellness Lady" (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

I have been living with a combination of cardiac-pulmonary disease all of my life. My situation is unique but I found in this little book information that helped me to better understand my particular situation. I sat here reading this morning and found myself saying `Yes' that explains why that happens; and 'Yes' now I understand what my doctor meant when he talked to me about my accessory muscles and how these affect my breathing.

I would recommend this book to anyone who lives with any type of chronic lung disease, or anyone who needs a tool to explain to family or friends about their lung disease. The explanations are clear and very easy to understand.

Jane Avery, The Wellness Lady
http://wellnesslady.blogspot.com/

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From ADVANCE for NURSES magazine, January 22, 2008

By	M. Callahan (Maine) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author of BREATHE OUT is a nurse and a respiratory therapist with 35 years experience teaching patients with respiratory disease. She wrote this book as self-help and a supportive guide for this population.

She writes in a conversational style using easy to understand language and offers practical tips. She supports patients who smoke who might not feel they deserve help by saying that most patients in the hospital got there because of bad habits so read on anyway. She encourages people to be as independent as possible and gives them hope that life can be lived fully despite their disease.

The beginning of the book describes the anatomy and physiology of normal lungs in clear and simplistic terms and then defines abnormal conditions.

The pursed lip breathing technique, diaphragmatic breathing and increasing exercise tolerance are explained and emphasized as the best coping strategies. Tactics to prevent the complications of pneumonia, heart failure and COPD exacerbation are explored.

Information about medications is presented as a brief overview and divided into categories: breathing problems, secretion problems and heart failure. Equipment such as oxygen, airway agitators, inhalers and oxygen saturation monitors are addressed.

The book is a practical resource guide for patients with COPD. Nurses and respiratory therapists will also find this book a helpful resource for teaching patients.

Amy Luckowiski, MSN, RN, CCRN, Widener University, Chester, PA