Reducing breathlessness
with a handheld
Research has sho wn that a cool dra ught of air from a handheld fan ca n be very helpfu l in reducing the feeling of bre athlessness. Here ’s our guide to making the most of them.
H
vide andheld fans can pro u yo if ief short-term rel ur yo th wi are struggling in es go air l breathing. When coo eptors in your rec se, no ur yo gh throu your brain that nose send a signal to reduces the sensation of breathlessness. er you have They can be useful aft make you done activities which ing the stairs, breathless, such as climb tions where ua and provide relief in sit u to panic. yo being breathless causes ur breath yo The time you take to get can be ty ivi back after physical act fan ld he nd shorter if you use a ha t in 2017, ou d rie car In a 133-person study some nd fou ts an 72 per cent of particip ntial sta sub nd fou benefit and 11 per cent .* use fan benefit from handheld
Using the fan fan, it’s
a When looking to buy re it has three important to ma ke su se fans provide or more blades, as the they are more a stronger air flow, so effective. le position such • Get into a comfortab leaning on a as sitting in a chair or nding. sta en work surface wh
ximately six • Hold your fan appro m your face. inches (15cm) away fro towards the • Aim the draught of air e so that you central part of your fac d the sides of feel the draught aroun ur top lip. your nose and above yo the fan for Some people have to use feel their y the e just one minute befor
others it may breath lessness ease; for . There is no take up to ten minutes time you can of nt lim it to the amou d it can be used an , fan spend using the sal ox ygen. at the same time as na t using tha ted It should be no replace t no es a hand held fan do er techn iques oth or s breath ing exercise erapist taught by your physioth sness les ath bre to manage your tinue to con uld sho effectively. You that you so es iqu hn practise these tec t on the fan, don’t become too relian get to take it out for example if you for s run out. with you or the batterie sor of Nu rsing fes Pro ke, Dr Janelle Yor nchester, at The Un iversity of Ma ntage of a va ad he “T told Emphasis: u can take it handheld fan is that yo u go. It’s a very with you wherever yo d of getting a easy and cheap metho your face. cool flow of air across breathless they l fee nts “W hen patie window to get often want to open a but using a , air sh that instant fre that in any tes ula handheld fan sim environment.”
fan
dheld n a h ed brand ilable K U A a PH ow av n e r a t fans 9 ! Visi duct 9 . 3 £ t ro for jus .org /p k e u a h p call th r o www. e n i . er onl 761450 to ord 9 0 7 1 on 0 office ded.
*Contributions of a hand-held fan to self-management of chronic breathlessness. Tim Luckett, Jane Phillips, Miriam J. Johnson, Morag Farquhar, Flavia Swan, Teresa Assen, Priyanka Bhattarai and Sara Booth
ies Batter
lu are inc
SUMMER 2021 emphasis 41
