Fire Safety

Our fireman gave us some really useful tips on fire safety and showed us a video which showed just how alarmingly rapidly a fire can spread.

He had an easily remembered message if confronted by a fire - The Three Outs

1. Never try to put it OUT.
2. Get OUT.
3. Call the fire service OUT.

Then we talked about the many things we can do to help prevent fires in our own homes. These are all quite simple things we can all do

• Don't leave appliances on, just running, when you don't need to. Switch off when not in use, to prevent overheating.
• Test fire alarms regularly, at least once a week.
• If you don't have fire alarms, call the fire service near you and they will come and fit them free of charge.
• When you go to bed at night close all internal doors. This slows down the speed the fire will spread should one happen during the night.
• Always have a planned escape route.
• Keep the keys in, or very close to the external door. A key could be very difficult to locate, or easily dropped and lost in a smoke filled room.
• If you have an electric blanket, take it along to a local health and wellbeing roadshow, and the fire service will check it and replace it free of charge, if it is faulty. If you don't know of one happening near you, call your local fire service and they will advise you where to go, or maybe arrange a home safety check for you.

And remember, these are simple things to do, just common sense really, and house fires are pretty rare - MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO YOU !!!

Then we touched on safety of fire near oxygen - the message is it's not safe.

• Dever use oxygen while smoking
• Don't let others smoke near you when using oxygen
• Don't use oxygen near an open flame such as a gas cooker, gas fire or open fire.

Fundraising Abseil

It's that time of year again, when we launch our annual fundraiser - Abseil at Dinas Rock !

Every year about thirty people abseil , have a great experience, raise sponsor money for British Lung Foundation to use to back research projects into various aspects of lung health, prevention, cures, better care - the list goes on.

Over the years we have raised just over £40,000 for this great cause. call of the Wild, St John's Ambulance and Natural Resources Wales have all waived their fees, so thanks to their generosity we can raise more money for this research. If you would like to support us, just hit the link below to donate on justgiving.

thank you

https://www.justgiving.com/BE-Neath-abseil

 

Inhalers and a holistic approach

Ali Sparkes and Maria, from the Medicine Centre in Neath, talked at length about lung health both the traditional and a more holistic approach.
Ali spoke mostly about all the different inhalers available and the different jobs they do, whether they are short acting or long acting. Also she made sure we all knew how to inhale the medications properly - as we all know, different ways foe different inhalers.
Maria's interest is in Chinese medicine. She brought along various seeds for us to try which could supplement our diets.
We learned that all dairy foods (milk, yoghurt, chocolate etc) are bad for mucus, whilepumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, quinoa, black kale and pot barley are so full of nutrients, we only need sprinkle a little into our food, especially when appetite is poor due to general ill health.
If you don't have a health food shop close by, most of these things are avialable now in your local supermarkets. So, why not give it a go and give yourself a boost ?

Meeting the new man

This is my first entry for 2015.

A very Happy New Year to all our readers.

 

 

We were very pleased to be able to meet and welcome our new head of BLF Wales, Joseph Carter. We had a nice long chat over coffee and biscuits, about his plans and ideas and we brought him up to date with all the things we have been doing and campaigns we have become involved in.

 

 



Christmas Celebration

Once again, a great time was had by all. It was lovely to be able to welcome members of Breathe Easy Swansea Bay and Carmarthen to our annual bash as well as Chris Mulholland and Matthew Collins from British Lung Foundation. The ladies from Briton Ferry Health and Wellbeing Group joined us for some fun chair exercises.

First of all the "professionals" showed us how to do it properly - then we had a go and managed to tie our arms and legs in knots.

 

 No matter how many times the team leader demonstrated, arms and legs went off in the wrong directions.

Now what are we supposed to do - stress balls are being handed out. This seems to be a recipe for tangled thumbs and fingers.

Yes !! I was right, it was.

 

 

It was an opportunity for us all to be able to say goodbye to Chris, as she is leaving British Lung Foundation to move on to pastures new, so it was great to be able to present her with a cheque for £4,261.00, which is the sum Breathe Easy Neath raised this year for BLF. Then we gave Chris a more modest leaving gift in appreciation of all her hard work on behalf of people living with lung conditions here in Wales, and for her frienship over the years. We are also sorry to be losing Matthew early in the New Year. He is moving to the midlands to work. It's all change in the Welsh BLF office in Swansea.

Ystradgynlais Christmas Fair

Once again the Miner's Welfare was host to the Ysradgynlais Christmas Fair. We took along our dolls and other novelties and joined the other stall holders in a very pleasant day. A slow start soon became a bustle and we made £75 for our Breathe Easy group.

 It certainly reminded me that Christmas is just around the corner and I need to get my skates on if I am to get myself organised this year.

EPP - Expert Patients Program

Lawrence Thomas, and his wife Sandra, very kindly came to visit us on Friday. Lawrence spoke about his very positive experiences with EPP and how he has gone on to become a tutor. It was very interesting to hear how the program helps people to gain control of their chronic condition and learn how to live with it. People with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) have joined an EPP course depressed, scared to try walking or going out, and they finish the course changed people. It gives them confidence to manage symptoms, pace themselves. Often they make new friends, isolation can become a thing of the past.

What's not to like about it ? We are concerned about chronic lung conditions such as COPD, but all people with a chronic condition should enrol on one of these courses and change their lives, maybe become a tutor themselves. All you need to do is ask your GP or respiratory nurse about your nearest course and enrol. It's a seven week course and just three hours a week. You will cover breathing exercises, life management, relaxation, sleep, medication and understanding and dealing with depression and anxiety. You will be supported by qualified medical professionals and your patient tutor - after all, who knows better how you feel than someone who is living with the same condition ?

Thank you Lawrence and Sandra for taking the time to share your experiences with us.