Hello, I a newcomer to this supportive site, and I have newly been diagnosed with severe stage 3 COPD..

[megannell]

"My question is, as anyone else been told that COPD shows in the fingernails.? I am still trying so hard to understand this condition and I am still recovering from my first exacerbation and living alone it as really scared me. I would be so grateful for any advise with how others deal with this horrible scary disease. thanking you in anticipation...Megan!

[RibvanRey]

My blood oxygen levels show through my finger nails It is not easy living alone with any breathing condition. There are things that make it easier. Have a phone with you which ever room you are in. Just in case you need help. Have a pulse oximeter so you can see if your breathlessness is getting worse. Keep a daily health diary. Keep in touch here. Exercise to keep your lungs as fit as possible. Regards Rib

[megannell in reply to RibvanRey]

"Hello RibvanRey

Thank you so much for your reassuring letter, I have taken on board your very welcomed advise. and with feeling so much better I am now gong to take my self of to my bed, have a good night yourself, Ni Ni's. Megan"

[RibvanRey in reply to megannell]

Good night. Rib

[lily26]

You are not alone we all have times like that I have only just found out about the finger nails but don't know what they see

[O2Trees in reply to lily26]

A purplish tinge indicates low oxygen. But pulse oximeter more accurate

[RobbyDrum]

Hello Meg ,you are not alone in being scared . I imagine all of us has been at different times. I am fairly new to all this too. My latest thing is since this COPD has cropped up I cant sleep very well so thats an added ball and chain.....its hard but try to stay as positive as possible ..

[Hidden]

Hi megannell welcome to the site I joined not long ago aswel and love it on here, people are so friendly, supportive and offer great advice and tips. In answer to ur question doctors always look at my fingers for clubbing it's an apparent sign not sure why. Hope u have a good day, and in know u live alone but now u've joined on here ur never alone. Take care xsoniax

[Suzy6]

Hi Megan welcome. It is lovely here, cosy, friendly and warm. I felt like you 18 or more months ago, after diagnoses. I am severe. I felt isolated, scared and waiting for I didn't know what. Now I have gained back the stone I lost and still very active. There are many here like you and me but coping well. Exercise diet and try to keep a positive mind. I have just started Rehab. my second time yesterday and in only two visits the number of exercises I can achieve has gone up. Keep popping in. xx

[Puffthemagicdragon]

Hi and welcome Megan I have very severe emphysema and I find the best thing is to keep active. Try to push yourself a little bit but only to the point where you get a little puffed out, not to the point of gasping for breathe, then have a rest while you get back to normal. This is what they do in pulmonary rehab and I find it helps improve your well-being.

Another thing is try to get rid of any mucus from your lungs as it's a good breeding ground for bacteria.

Try not to worry !

[peege]

Hi, warm welcome to the site. Great advice above. You'll learn loads here to improve your lot. Lots of lovely people. Knowledge, good medical support, healthy diet, healthy weight, exercise and above all, if you smoke, just quit, ASAP.

Very best wishes to you, P

[sassy59]

Welcome Megan, I do feel for you as things are even more scary if you live alone, especially health problems. I care for hubby Pete who has had copd for 4 years now and along with sarcoidosis (23 years) and other problems, seems to be doing ok. You are in the right place for help, advice and reassurance so hope to see you from time to time. You have already had some great advice so I just want to wish you well. Take care. xxxx

[nannyb]

Hi megan, Welcome to the forum, I see that you have had some good advice. Try not to feel scared, I know it's hard, but there are a lot of good members on here who will help you through the good and the bad days. Sending Hugs nannyb xxx

[Hidden]

Hi Megan......welcome to the group.....There are several things the medics look for when making a diagnosis. , fingers nail shape are just one of them..

Please don't fret about them.......its your breathing that matters

and living a normal a life as you can with as much exercise as you can manage. It took me ages to get used to the idea of having this condition. You are not alone.

J.

[FarmerD]

Hello Megan,the most scary feeling I got at the start was the panic attack as I,d never had one before.I thought " I can,t breath,I,m going to die".Then after calming myself down with slow deep breaths,in through the nose and out through the mouth I realised I could control this.If you smoke you really need to stop,now!Ask you gp about pulmonary rehab,a exercise class that also gives great information about our condition.Some places have long waiting lists so best find out soon.I have severe emphysema but still do most things,just a lot slower.Keep yourself fit and eat healthy food and you will be ok.Try not to worry we,re here for you,ask anything you want,if we don,t know we,ll point you in the right direction,take care and good luck!D.

[emmo]

Welcome Megan, you have already had great advice from everyone so will just say good luck.

Emmo

[mwalker23]

Welcome to the site I am a newcomer also. I have had COPD for about 8 years now and it is very frightening when you have an attack. I had one recently and I thought I was going to die so I know how you feel. The most important thing if this happens it to try and breath, open up your lungs. As previously advised make sure you have a telephone with you at all times and also your inhaler. The people here are a tremendous support so you are not alone. Stay positive and learn to manage your condition. With winter approaching we have to take extra care with the damp and wind. Take care.

[Ohtwo]

Welcome Megan

Ask your doctor to get you on a P R (pulmonary rehab) course. They run for 6 week, the first hour is for exercise, for the second hour a different speaker came in. Breathing, diet, stress, medication, are some of the things covered. On the BLF website you should be able to see if there are any breath easy groups. Many people on this site attend they would be able to tell you more. I have found this site invaluable.

Kindest Regards

GJ

[megannell]

"I want to thank everyone for your wonderful caring advise, and support to my question. I think my worry was why and how do these exacerbations appear. as I (if I can say the word lucky) I have been lucky in the fact I was diagnosed and had a Spiriva test and a course in pulmeranry rehab all with in a less than a month, I also have the rapid response team monitoring my health and my wellbeing. "Once again thank you so much for your help advice and caring thoughts". I feel so much more confidant and positive. Oh! one other thing. I WAS!! a smoker, and the moment I was told I had severe COPD I have not put a cigarette anywhere near my mouth. have a lovely weekend. Megan"

[Hidden]

Hi Megan and welcome to the site, yes it is a bit scary living on your own with any respiratory condition this often shows in the fingers knuckles and nail beds as purple hue, best way to check your oxygen levels is by using a oxiometer (surprising low cost now on Amazon) I always carry my mobile phone with me from room to room and have it on charge overnight in a place I can reach it the cell phone I have is one for practicality not a fashion statement the two main things I like about mine it has a ICE section where I can fill in details about myself my conditions and most important any allergies the second thing I love about the phone is that it has a emergency button on the outside of the case when pressed this turns on the loud speaker and also enhances speech (great if your speech is low during an attack). And of course you have done a great thing a big step forward by joining a great site as this is.

[skinnylizzy59]

Well done Megan on giving up smoking, if you can stop just like that it shows you really didn't need to smoke. Try not to worry, I'm sure you're getting all the help you need in the way of medication but try to get on a PR course and see if there is a Breathe Easy Group in your area. I know you must be scared with living opn your own but just be sure you have someone you can call on in an emergency apart from 111 and 999. Take care and look after yourself. Love Lizzy xx

[Offcut]

Pretty much all of what has been said is all you need to worry about. The nails as said can have a blueish tinge but often when you are not well you may notice a slight groove in the nail going across not finger length but width. It is also worth looking at your lips as they can go slight blue if you are low on O2. The best advice I can give is do not panic, if you are really short of breath try and sit and lean slightly forward and control your breathing away from short gasps to deliberate long breaths.

Welcome btw

Be Well

[jackdup]

I have read that the half moon shaped area at the base of the fingernail will be red instead of white in some people with COPD but it can also be red from other diseases.

[andycap]

Hi RibvanRey, I have curved finger nails from front to back, some doctors say it's a sign of copd and some say it's not, but they do find them very interesting and are quite fascinated by them. I have severe emyphsema too.

[Scars1]

Also, clubbing of the fingernails, the shape of them. I have it.

[Daffodil51 in reply to Scars1]

Hi Scars1. Can you please explain what clubbing of fingernails is? Thanks

[Scars1 in reply to Daffodil51]

healthunlocked.com/blf/post...

from another post

[Daffodil51 in reply to Scars1]

Hi Scars1many thanks for that.

[puppylover in reply to Scars1]

Thank you, that was really interesting. I have had copd for 10 years now and did not know until today that there was any connection to the health of your nails.

[onamission]

I have COPD and my old man works all over the world I'm on my own for weeks at a time and some time months it is nice to have the bed to myself but can be very lonely.

This site is fantastic we are all in the same boat and everyone hear will help you if they can this site has been a life line for me.

I also go swimming as part of my exercise which is very important when you have COPD and you get to meet people but when the swimming pool is close health unlocked is open 24/7.

[Petar28]

I also have copd stage one it is awful l also just got the news l am on my third different inhale and had a flare up l got medication l feel for you l never smoked l am 44 years old put my father smoked 4packs of smokes a day in the house all my life thanks dad l never new about the fingers nails l hope you feel better .

[kenseven]

You are a star for giving up on the ciggies Megan, please don't go back over to the dark side. Wonderful friendly peoples with personal advice, not what is read from a paper.

Well done and keep it up xx Ken xx

[megannell]

"I want to say once again, and again and again to say a massive big thank you all for replying to my question,s and my fear's, I truly do feel so much better and definitely NOT!!! alone, knowing that there are so many caring people sharing there own experiences, along with your own fears. thank you so much and please have a wonderful and safe week. Megan."

[Fanacapan9]

Hi meggannell, I'm fairly new too , it's a wonderful site, but sometimes can't type (ra). I too live alone with end stage and feel really scared, can't get out at all now (spinal stenosis) feeling trapped is so stressfull, don't know if you're housebound or not, but feel I can relate to you a lot, take care Ax

[megannell in reply to Fanacapan9]

"Hello Fanacap9. Thank you for your loving and so supportive post to me, I don't feel nearly as scared as I did before I met such warm caring people, thank you for being one of those people. Keep safe. Megan"

[megannell]

"Hello I left a post in here a few days ago as I was trying hard to understand COPD, as I had been just diagnosed with 3rd stage COPD, and I was very scared about this disease, I also asked if anyone had been told that it showed in your finger nails, I know understand what that means as I asked my pulmonary nurse who explained it to me using my own fingers to demonstrate. Let me try to tell you how...place two fingers opposite each other. Kinda nail to nail flat on, press them together and they should show a distinct gap between them, try to imagine someone with bow legs and, Hehe! "to me it resembles that image". as you look. You can use any finger nail so long as it is the opposite same. ie thumb nail flat on to your other thumb nail. I am sure my description is a poor example but you never know it may make sense to you. I do hope so. Once again, I thank everyone for giving me so much support. Have a lovely evening. Megan."

[Sokrackers]

Hi Megan, i'm a single mum (48) to 15 yr old daughter, chronic asthma stage 3 COPD, so if I can help in anyway feel free to message me.

With regard to the finger nails I believe it is to show 'clubbing' a sign of long term low oxygen see the attached link for more information

copd.about.com/od/copdgloss...

Kindness always

[megannell in reply to Sokrackers]

"Thank you so much for your post Sokracker and the very helpful link. And yes I would love to call you a a friend. Thank you for your support. have a lovely weekend. Megan"

[carmwoman]

Hello Magannell I live in Australia and I have COPD and live alone yes it is very depressing, I know ho you feel.

Just message me when you feel like it.

Carmwoman