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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffBeing involved in your own treatment and staying as healthy as possible are essential to living with interstitial lung disease. Take these steps to benefit your health:
- Stop smoking. There is an association between smoking and some types of idiopathic interstitial lung disease, the most severe and potentially lethal form of the disorder. Talk to your doctor about options for quitting, including smoking cessation programs, which use a variety of proven techniques to help people quit.
- Enroll in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. These programs vary widely, but in general they focus on improving your ability to exercise and carry out normal activities, managing shortness of breath with breathing techniques, improving your appetite and nutritional status, dealing with the difficult psychological aspects of living with lung disease, and improving overall quality of life.
- Exercise regularly, as prescribed by your doctor. Exercise is a double-edged sword for people with lung disease; it requires an increased intake of oxygen, and it makes symptoms worse. At the same time, exercise is essential for maintaining lung function, reducing stress and depression, and maintaining overall health and well-being. Ask your doctor for a referral to a pulmonary rehabilitation program before you start or resume exercising.
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Eat well. People with lung disease may lose weight both because it's uncomfortable to eat and because of the extra energy it takes to breathe. Yet a nutritionally rich diet that contains adequate calories is essential. The type of food you eat, the time of day you eat and the size of portions can all play a role in getting the nourishment you need.
Because it's often easier to breathe when your stomach isn't completely full, you may want to eat smaller meals throughout the day rather than two or three large ones. You might also try choosing lighter fare, such as fruit and salads, rather than rich or fatty foods, which take more energy to digest. A dietitian can give you further guidelines for healthy eating.
If you're overweight, losing weight to achieve a healthy body mass index (BMI) can have dramatic effect on your ability to breathe and your exercise tolerance.
- King TE, et al. Approach to diagnosis and management of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: W.B. Saunders; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/138709448-3/0/1288/473.html?tocnode=51472932&fromURL=473.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-0327-0..50056-2_2996. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Raghu G. Interstitial lung disease. In: Goldman L, et al., eds. Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/138709448-4/843693028/1492/374.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50097-5--cesec72_3869. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- King TE. Approach to the adult with interstitial lung disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Interstitial lung diseases. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch055/ch055a.html. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Aggarwal N, et al. Interstitial lung disease. In: Nilsson K, et al. The Osler Medical Handbook. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/142440259-3/850406526/1387/103.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-03748-8..50092-0_1514. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Possible side effects of radiation therapy. American Cancer Society. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- King TE. Treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 31, 2009.
