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Understanding and Managing COPD

   

Added on  2020-03-07

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Supporting chronic illness
Understanding and Managing COPD_1

IntroductionThe diseases lasting for three months or more is usually considered as chronic condition. Theseconditions are not preventable or curable in nature with the help of medications or vaccines. Theonly way to manage the condition is with the help of its continuous management. Certain chronicconditions are associated with co-morbidities, making the management of the condition furthercomplex. Considering the above discussed aspect, the essay would deal with provided case scenario 1,which deals with the chronic condition of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Inthe process of discussion, 2 potential health concerns, apt topic of client education, 2 apt clienteducation strategies will be discussed. Overview of Mr. George Polaris chronic condition Considering the case of Mr. Polaris it can be observed that due to symptoms like fever, shortnessof breath and productive cough. Followed by number of respiratory tests he was diagnosed withCOPD with a history of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Due to the condition it canbe observed that he has lost several kilograms and at present he weighs 65 Kg with a height of178cms. The scenario of Mr. Polaris also states that he is has been smoking 20 cigarettes everyday since he was the age of 14 years (Effing et al., 2012). This clearly indicates the fact that Mr.Polaris is a heavy smoker which acts a major contributing factor to the chronic conditionsuffered on his part. The current vitals of Mr. Polaris reflect that he is having a body temperatureof 36.7o which indicates an average body temperature. The vitals also reflects that his bloodpressure is 135/88 mmHG. It is mentionable here that a reading of blood pressure between120/80 and 139/89 indicates Pre-hypertension that states that Mr. George do not havehypertension but the present blood pressure is higher as considered optimal blood pressure. Thepresent vitals of Mr. Polaris also states that his Pulse 100 beats/min (Barnes, 2014).. A healthyadult heart beats, 60 to 100 beats/min. In case the heart rate of an individual is continuously over,100 beats/min it will indicate the individual is suffering from tachycardia. In case of Mr. Polarisit the pulse rate indicates a risk of occurrence of tachycardia. The respiratory rate of Mr. Polarisis 22 breaths/min, which is more than usual adult respiratory rate i.e. between 15-20 breaths/min.The respiratory rate of Mr. Polaris indicates tachypnea, which is associated with COPD (Barnes,1 | Page
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2014). In the process of providing care services to Mr. Polaris these complications are requiredto be addressed. Two actual and/or potential health concerns for Mr. George PolarisConsidering the present situation of Mr. Polaris there are various actual and potential healthconcerns which can be identified. It can be observed that he had lost several kilograms which atpresent stand to 65 kg with a height of 178 cms. On these facts it can be stated the actual healthconcerns in his case is emphysema. This particular form of chronic long term lung disease isassociated with COPD. Due to this complication he was losing weight drastically (Donner andCarone, 2007). This particular condition is considered to be obstructive, as it results in blockingthe natural air flow of the lungs. The occurrence of emphysema is due to the damage of thelinings of tiny air sacs in the lungs beyond to the extent that cannot be repaired which in case ofMr. Polaris, occurred due to heavy smoking. This acted as a contributing factor in his case for theoccurrence of COPD and the associated health concern of emphysema. In case of Mr. Polaris is heart complications is another concern. In case of patients of COPD,among the various conditions shortness of breath is among the common symptoms. The patientsof COPD face issues in taking required oxygen for the usual functioning of the body andeliminating carbon dioxide from the body. In case of Mr. Polaris his respiratory rate was 22breaths/ min which indicates he was facing trouble in respiration (Steinback et al., 2009). Due tosuch health risk, the health concern which may be developed on his part is low levels of oxygenin the blood that is referred as hypoxia along with high level of carbon dioxide referred to ashypercapnia. The combination of the above discussed issue in acute respiratory failure in thelong term. Due to the occurrence of hypoxia, the pulmonary arteries also get affected, whichresults in narrowing the arteries and leads to high blood pressure. In case of Mr. Polaris, it hasbeen noted that his blood pressure is 135/88 mmHg which indicates Pre-hypertension. It mayfurther develop to high blood pressure in the lungs or pulmonary hypertension (Minai et al.,2010) . Thus, in the process of providing care services in his case, the care providers like the GPand Registered Nurse are required to take these issues under consideration. Appropriate topics for Mr. George Polaris education 2 | Page
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