Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - adults - discharge

In the hospital you received oxygen to help you breathe better. You may also need to use oxygen at home. Your health care provider may have changed some of your COPD medicines during your hospital stay.

Exercise doesn't make lung disease go away, but it helps to maintain endurance. To build your strength:

• Walk until it is a little hard to breathe.
• Slowly increase how far you walk.
• Try not to talk when you walk.
• Ask your provider how far to walk.
• Ride a stationary bike. Ask your provider how long and how hard to ride.

Build your strength even when you are sitting by:

• Using small weights or an exercise band to strengthen your arms and shoulders.
• Standing up and sitting down several times.
• Holding your legs straight out in front of you, then putting them down. Repeat this movement several times.

Ask your provider whether you need to use oxygen during your activities, and if so, how much. You may be told to keep your oxygen above 90%. You can measure this with an oximeter. This is a small device that measures your body's oxygen level. Talk with your provider about how much oxygen is safe to use and what oxygen saturation to aim for.

Talk to your provider about whether you should do an exercise and conditioning program such as pulmonary rehabilitation.

Know how and when to take your COPD medicines.

• Take your quick-relief inhaler when you feel short of breath and need help fast, but always according to your provider's instructions so you don't take too much.
• Take your long-term medicines every day.

Eat smaller meals more often, such as 6 smaller meals a day. It might be easier to breathe when your stomach is not full. Do not drink a lot of liquid before eating, or with your meals.

Ask your provider what foods to eat to get more energy.

Keep your lungs from becoming more damaged by:

• Quitting smoking, if you're a smoker.
• Staying away from smokers when you are out, and do not allow smoking in your home.
• Staying away from strong odors and fumes.
• Doing breathing exercises.

Talk to your provider if you feel depressed or anxious.

Having COPD makes it easier for you to get infections. Get a flu shot every year. Ask your provider if you should get a pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccine, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine, a Zoster vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine.

Wash your hands often. Always wash your hands after you go to the bathroom and when you are around people who are sick.

Stay away from crowds. Ask visitors who have colds to wear masks or to visit when they're all better.

Place items you use often in spots where you do not have to reach or bend over to get them.

Use a cart with wheels to move things around the house and kitchen. Use an electric can opener, dishwasher, and other things that will make your chores easier to do. Use cooking tools (knives, peelers, and pans) that are not heavy.

To save energy:

• Use slow, steady motions when you are doing things.
• Sit down if you can when you are cooking, eating, dressing, and bathing.
• Minimize going up and down the stairs.
• Get help for harder tasks.
• Do not try to do too much in one day.
• Keep your phone with you or near you.
• After bathing, wrap yourself in a towel rather than drying off.
• Try to reduce stress in your life.

If you were sent home from the hospital with oxygen, make sure you understand when you are supposed to use it. Also make sure you understand how the equipment works and who to contact if there is a problem.

Never change how much oxygen is flowing in your oxygen setup without asking your provider.

Always have a back-up supply of oxygen in the home or with you when you go out. Keep the phone number of your oxygen supplier with you at all times. Learn how to use oxygen safely at home.

Your hospital provider may ask you to make a follow-up visit with:

• Your primary care provider
• A respiratory therapist, who can teach you breathing exercises and how to use your oxygen
• Your lung doctor (pulmonologist)
• Someone who can help you stop smoking, if you smoke
• A physical therapist, if you join a pulmonary rehabilitation program

Contact your provider if your breathing is:

• Getting harder
• Faster than before
• Shallow, and you cannot get a deep breath

Also contact your provider if:

• You need to lean forward when sitting in order to breathe easily
• It is difficult to speak even a few words without being short of breath
• You are using muscles around your ribs to help you breathe
• You are having headaches more often
• You feel sleepy or confused
• You have a fever
• You are coughing up dark mucus
• Your fingertips or the skin around your fingernails are blue

COPD - adults - discharge; Chronic obstructive airways disease - adults - discharge; Chronic obstructive lung disease - adults - discharge; Chronic bronchitis - adults - discharge; Emphysema - adults - discharge; Bronchitis - chronic - adults - discharge; Chronic respiratory failure - adults - discharge

Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) website. Global strategy for prevention, diagnosis and management of COPD: 2026 report. goldcopd.org/2026-gold-report-and-pocket-guide/. Accessed June 12, 2026.

Han MK, Lazarus SC. COPD: diagnosis and management. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 64.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. What is COPD? www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/copd. Updated November 8, 2024. Accessed June 12, 2026.

Reilly J. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 76.

Salvi S, Ghorpade D, Nair S, et al. A 7-point evidence-based care discharge protocol for patients hospitalized for exacerbation of COPD: consensus strategy and expert recommendation. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2024;34(1):44. PMID: 39706845 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39706845/.

US Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA/DoD Clinical practice guidelines: Management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (2021). www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/CD/copd/. Accessed June 12, 2026.

Updated by: Andrew Schriber, MD, FCCP, Specialist in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly, New Jersey. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.