Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not an easy disease to manage, as you may already know. The numerous symptoms that limit your ability to do things, the wide array of commonly linked diseases and illnesses, and thinking about life before your diagnosis all contribute to the difficulties you may have managing your disease.

Respironics, one of the leading manufacturers of oxygen concentrators, is at it again! This time with their brand new, 5 pound portable oxygen concentrator the Respironics SimplyGo Mini. As the latest innovation from Respironics, the SimplyGo Mini has been turning heads since it was debuted at Medtrade in the spring. In fact, it won best new portable oxygen concentrator at the HME 2015 conference this past October.

Daylight savings time has passed which means the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting colder. For some, the cold weather and shorter days are a refreshing change. However, if you suffer from COPD, chances are you dread winter.

Cold weather has the ability to negatively affect your COPD in a number of different ways. From causing you to experience shortness of breath to putting you at a higher risk of getting sick, there are several risk factors you have to account for. Not to mention, winter is the peak of cold and flu season.

COPD exacerbations and flare-ups are taxing on both you and the healthcare system. Not to mention, they are one of the terrifying aspects of dealing with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and for a good reason. COPD exacerbations result in more than 100,000 deaths and over 500,000 hospitalizations each year. Did you know that within 30 days of hospitalization 21% of COPD patients will be readmitted to the hospital?

The list of occupational hazards for active duty service members is seemingly endless, from post-traumatic stress disorder, to physical injuries, and even declining respiratory health.

While there has been a lot of media attention focusing on the mental and physical rehabilitation of suffering veterans there hasn’t been a lot of attention on the declining respiratory health active duty service members and veterans may already face or could face in the near future.

Traveling has a way of being one of the most exciting and stressful situations to be in, all at the same time.

On one hand you have the joys of traveling to a place you love or have never been and you get to experience it with your family or friends.

On the other hand you have the stresses of booking/paying for the flight, making your flight on time, dealing with security, and making sure you met all of the requirements of your airline to fly with oxygen.

Not to mention, traveling isn't always for leisure.

Traveling for business or traveling for a funeral can increase the amount of stress you are under.

While most of the time you can travel without a hitch, you will want to do everything you can to ensure you don't experience a situation like James and Mary Walker went through on a flight from Ohio to Orlando.

As of right now, the need for supplemental oxygen is on the rise and has never been greater. Over the past 9 years, portable oxygen concentrators have been evolving from being expensive, big, bulky, and unreliable machines to extremely lightweight, compact, more economic and far more reliable medical devices.

With the powerful uptrend portable oxygen concentrators have gained, it's a wonder why more HME companies do not carry them.

As for the HME companies that do carry portable oxygen concentrators, they tend to have a minimal amount in-stock, use them only for rentals, or have old outdated machines.

With HME companies having limited supplies and portables costing patients as much as $4,000 out of pocket, it's not that easy for patients to obtain one.

Just recently, Caleb Umstead, Director of Customer Education at 1st Class Medical, was interviewed on the talk show First Coast Living by the Emmy Award winning television host, Casey Black DeSantis. In this interview, which can be seen above, Casey DeSantis talks with Caleb Umstead about the LifeChoice Activox portable oxygen concentrator, our new program Helping Heroes with Operation Orion, and COPD. To learn more about our Helping Heroes program or to donate to the program, there is a link on the bottom of the page that you can click on. Below is a transcript of the interview. 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is just that: chronic.

There is no known cure for many respiratory diseases, from asthma to emphysema, but there are medications, whether oral or in aerosolized form, that your doctor may prescribe to slow down the progression of your disease and its symptoms.

The good news is that there are five non-medical treatments you can do on your own to keep your respiratory symptoms at bay and continue to enjoy quality of life with a chronic ailment.