Priorities: Breathing Versus Eating

Yesterday we talked about priorities. Today I would like to continue that conversation. You could actually play a game with this called: "This or That." Or, I suppose, you could call it "Would you rather." 

Would you rather: 

Breathe or pee? 

What? Silly question you ask? Well, that is what you might think. But, if you are an asthmatic, or if you are having a heart failure flare-up or a COPD flare-up, you might face this situation. It happens a lot in the hospital setting. 

A patient is lying on the bed. T/hey are in severe heart failure. And they are sitting high up on the bed, shoulders up, gasping for breath. A/nd they grunt the phrase, "I have to pee." 

And, of course, this may be after the diuretic is given. 

The nurse, or, in my case, respiratory therapist, says, "You can just pee in the bed. We'll clean it up." 

And the patient , already bug eyed due to severe shortness of breath, feels at odds about JUST PEEING IN BED. As humans, we are trained as infants not to do this. Buyt, when it all comes down to it, breathing is far more important than peeing. 

As a young asthmatic, I once rushed into the house feeling extremely short of breath and with an urgent need to pee. Navigating the hallway, I faced a critical decision: should I turn left to use my nebulizer or right to get to the bathroom?

What did I decide? The bathroom won. I just had to hold my breath for a few extra minutes while I relieved myself. Then I crossed the hallway to my bedroom where my nebulizer and Albuterol awaited. 

Breathe or eat? 

You have a breathing treatment due on a COPD patient. The patinet is in the hospital due to a COPD exacerbation. But, there are Q4 hour breathing treatments scheduled. You walk in to the patient's room at 8 a.m. and she is eating breakfast. She says, "Can I wait and do the treatment when I'm done eating?" 

Aha. So, eating is more important than breathing. This happens more often than you'd think.