Natural Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Natural Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Answer: Introduction: Chronic diseases become more common with age. Our presentation focuses on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is a normally umbrella term that describes the progressive lung diseases, which includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, bronchitis. The main characteristics of this disease are increase in the breathlessness. The main part of the body that I affected in COPD is the lungs. It affects the various structural and the functional domains of the lungs. The alveoli of the lungs become damaged and the lung airways get stiffer and narrower. The lung alveoli break down and it becomes difficult for the inhalation and exhalation. There are multiple factors behind the development of the COPD. In most of the cases COPD is caused by the inhalation of the air pollutants, obnoxious factory fumes, and dust particles. Researchers have found that genetics also play a part in the development of COPD (Mackay and Hurst, 2012). One of the main irritant of the lung airway is the cigarette smoking. Studies have proved that older adults who were once smokers or are still smoking have the greater chance of developing COPD (Salvi, 2014). Prolonged exposure to the lung irritants like poisonous chemicals or secondary smoke may cause COPD in the older years. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) is the most common genetic risk factor for the occurrence of emphysema (Suissa, Dell'Aniello and Ernst, 2012). The general signs of COPD is increased breathlessness, coughing which can be with or without sputum, wheeziness, tightening of the throat and the chest (Mackay and Hurst, 2012). Most of the age people mistake the increased coughing and breathlessness with the normal signs of aging and therefore neglect the treatment. COPD often remains latent and takes years to express the symptoms. Progressive symptoms may include acute respiratory distress, chest pain, tachypnea, cyanosis, pneumonia, and bronchitis, use of accessory respiratory muscles, hyperinflation, peripheral edema, chronic wheezing, and raised jugular venous pulse (Mackay and Hurst, 2012). The stages of COPD progresses from I to IV. Stage IV is the worst stage of the COPD (Mackay and Hurst, 2012). Although the identification and the treatment of the physical illness connected to COPD has increased but the psychological burden of the disease in the older adults is always neglected. Person with COPD often have worst episodes of coughing a d respiratory distress, which might hamper their professional life. People working in factories and the construction sites often face work place problems if they have COPD (Yohannes and Alexopoulos, 2014). Prolonged exposure to their work place may also worsen their condition. Inability to contribute to the profession might generate anxiety and depression in the working older adults. This can lead to social withdrawal. COPD can involve progressive turn down in lung function which may give rise to dyspnoea and reduced ability to perform daily tasks. It can cause alterations in the persons social roles, relationships and self-perception (Yohannes and Alexopoulos, 2014). Pain associated with the illness Pain is a common problem in people with COPD. They mainly suffer from acute chest and back pain. Apart from this there are multiple sources of pain multiple sources of pain, which includes neuropathic pain, muscle pain, mechanical, compressive or inflammatory. Chest pain may occur due to excessive coughing. There is almost no known cure for this ailment. There are some precautions that can be taken for reducing the discomfort and some pain management therapies. The goals of treatment of this disease are giving up smoking, using bronchodilators, use of masks, avoiding the factors that might trigger respiratory distresses (Mackay and Hurst, 2012). Self care is important in managing the chronic illness. The patient should be imparted with the education regarding quitting of smoking habits, use of tools like humidators or bronchodilators and adherence to the medications (Mackay and Hurst, 2012). Other treatments that can be required are the oxygen therapy, if conditions become serious. People having acute pain can be managed by the administration of the opoids. The Icare model of care refers to the following parameters- Integrity, Compassion, Positive attitude, Respect, Exceptional quality of treatment (Bourbeau and Saad, 2013). These are some of the factors that an HCA should incorporate in herself or himself to get a positive outcome in patients. The following nursing interventions should be taken up by the HCA:- Administration of the prescribed medicines. Administration of the opoids for pain medication. To provide support to the patients to manage pain and respiratory distress. To administer oxygen therapy as and when required. To impart knowledge to the patient regarding the cessation of smoking, use of bronchodilators. To check infections, helping the patient to remain mobile. To help the registered nurses with monitoring of the vital signs. To provide a holistic approach of care to the patient to fight with the psychosocial issues faced during the clinical condition. In a nutshell it can be concluded that although COPD is a chronic disease it can be managed by the HCA by proper, monitoring, assessment and helping the patient to adhere to the medicine. References Bourbeau, J. and Saad, N., 2013. Integrated care model with self-management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: from family physicians to specialists.Chronic Respiratory Disease,10(2), pp.99-105. Mackay, A.J. and Hurst, J.R., 2012. COPD exacerbations: causes, prevention, and treatment.Medical Clinics of North America,96(4), pp.789-809. Salvi, S., 2014. Tobacco smoking and environmental risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Clinics in chest medicine,35(1), pp.17-27. Suissa, S., Dell'Aniello, S. and Ernst, P., 2012. Long-term natural history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: severe exacerbations and mortality.Thorax,67(11), pp.957-963. Yohannes, A.M. and Alexopoulos, G.S., 2014. Depression and anxiety in patients with COPD.European Respiratory Review,23(133), pp.345-349.