Asthma Self Care and Education - Term Paper Example

Asthma Self Care and Education Name Date Course Asthma Self Care and Education Introduction Asthma is a long term inflammatory disease that affects the airways of the lungs. The main symptoms include chest tightness, wheezing cough, shortness of breath as well as chest tightness. It affects people of different ages including adults and children. In most of the adults, the episodes may occur several times a day or during the week (Fanta, 2009). Among most of the adults, the symptoms usually worsens at night or while carrying out exercises. The frequency of the symptoms plays an important role in the classification process. Asthma does not have any known cure although treatment of worsening condition can be carried out through the use of an inhaled short acting beta 2 agonist (Stapleton, et al, 2011). The causes of asthma include a combination of genetic as well as environmental factors. The condition may worsen and this may require hospitalization. Among the adults, self cared and education is vital after the hospitalization. This is mainly for ensuring that they continue to progress to good health after being discharged. The paper thus discusses the self care and education for an adult after being discharged from hospital. Discussion Asthma does not have any known cure and the patient will continue to witness several episodes of asthma attack after being discharged. However with proper self care measures, a reduction in the number of episodes is possible and hence improving on the quality of health. The first step in improving on the health of the patient is provision of adequate information about the condition and the triggers (Von Mutius & Drazen, 2012). After the triggers have been identified, the patient has to be informed and avoid them. Some of the most common triggers include cigarette smoke, aspirin, low air quality, dust and animal dander. The patient has to reduce to totally avoid the exposure to the allergens. The education of the patient should focus on the specific allergen and how to manage the condition if they are exposed. Before the patient is discharged, education about the drugs and medication has to be provided. This is considering that they may be required to take specific medication after being discharged if the avoidance of triggers is not sufficient. The use of drugs after the patient has been discharged dependents on the severity of the condition. Information about the drugs that the patient must avoid after being discharged must be provided. Some of the commonly used drugs such as aspirin are known to trigger the asthma attacks and the patient should be fully aware (Bush & Menzies-Gow, 2010). In order to ensure that the patient is fully informed, a booklet may also be provided about the general information. After the patient has been discharged from the hospital, lifestyle modification is also an important aspect of self care. The patient has to avoid cigarette smoking or any form of second hand smoking. This is because it reduces the effectiveness of the medication used in the management process (Stapleton, et al, 2011). The air quality is one of the factors that have negative impacts on the conditions of the patient. It will be important for the patient to relocate to areas with good air quality. The patient should avoid living areas with high traffic or where pollution due to industrial activities is high. Traffic pollution is known to increase the severity of asthma. In the United States of America, a high number of Asthma cases have been reported in areas where air quality is below the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards (Blackhall, et al, 2012). The diet of the patient has to be modified in order to avoid triggering the condition. The patient has to avoid any food with sulfite contents. Although exercises are known to trigger asthma, it should not be totally avoided. Moderate exercises can be carried out by the patient after being discharged. Exercises are good for the people with stable asthma. In order to improve on the quality of life, the patient can also enroll in yoga. After the discharge from hospital, patient should also avoid dust as it is known for contributing to exacerbation. Strong perfumes are also common cause of acute attack among the adults (Von Mutius & Drazen, 2012). The patient must therefore stop the use of any strong perfume. The family members of the patient have to be provided with information regarding the use of strong perfume. General hygiene in the living environment is also required to ensure that the condition of the patient does not worsen. Allergen, mould and cockroaches are factors that contribute to exacerbation (Von Mutius & Drazen, 2012). The house has to be cleaned thoroughly in order to get rid of moulds, allergens and cockroaches. Psychological stress has the potential of worsening the symptoms among the adults. As such, the patient has to avoid psychological stress through various means that may include a visit to the counselor. Stress is known to alter the immune system leading to an increase in airway inflammatory response irritants and allergens (Helima, 2013). The Asthma action plan is important in enabling the patient to effectively manage their condition after being discharged from the hospital. It is however important to note that the provision of education alone is not enough to improve on the health outcome of the patient after being discharged. Unscheduled visits to the General Practitioner have to be carried out from time to time as part of the self care plan. The visits can be vital in ensuring more information is provided and any other problem solved (Castro, et al, 2010). A written Asthma action plan is useful to the adult in order to ensure all the routines as well as activities are carried out as required. Keeping track of the asthma symptoms is possible through the use of the peak flow meter and action plan. Asthma can be managed effectively in the presence of adequate information and action plan. The use of some forms of medication is a continuous process even when the patient has been discharged. Adequate information about the correct use of the medication as prescribed physician has to be provided. This is important to the patient as some of the symptoms require the use of medication. The anti-cholinergic medication has to be provided to the patient after being discharged (Miligkos, 2015). This type of medication can be used when the symptoms are moderate or severe. The patient therefore needs to know the correct type of medication and when to use it based on the symptoms. The medication for asthma is usually provided as metered-dose inhalers. It is thus important to ensure that the patients are aware of the process of self medicating. This is vital in ensuring that they take the correct dosage on their own when required to do so. Information about the long term control medication should be provided to the patient in order to ensure their health improves as they use the other self management methods. The quick relief medication should be provided to the patient after being discharged. This is useful in enabling them to deal with some of the acute symptoms (Castro, et al, 2010). The patient has to avoid antibiotics in case they notice any of the symptoms. Antibiotics are known to worsen the condition and hence impacting negatively on the condition of the patient. In case the adult is living with other people or family members, they should be provided with general information about the triggers and allergies. This is mainly for ensuring that the actions of the family members do not affect the self care plan of the patient. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that asthma can be managed by an adult patient after being discharged from the hospital. Learning the triggers is important to the patient in the management process. Adequate information about the triggers and allergies has to be provided to the patient in order to enhance the self management process. The self-care can be enhanced in the presence of an Asthma action plan. Education to the patients about the proper use of the medication is required in order to assist the patient in managing the condition. Self management measures are important since Asthma has no cure and the patient requires detail information about it. Bibliography Fanta, C. H., 2009. Asthma. New England Journal of Medicine. 360(10), pp. 1002-1014. Stapleton, M., et al., 2011. Smoking and Asthma. J AM Board Fam Med 24(3), pp. 313-322. Von Mutius, E., & Drazen, J. M., 2012. A patient with Asthma seeks medical advice in 1828, 1928 and 2012. New England Journal of Medicine. 336(9), pp. 827-834. Bush, A., & Menzies-Gow, A., 2010. Phenotypic differences between pediatric and adult asthma. Proc Am Thorac Soc, 6(8), pp. 712-719. Blackhall, K., et al., 2012. Ionizers for chronic Asthma. Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews. 9: CD002986. Helima, H., 2013. Vitamin C may alleviate exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: a meta-analysis. BMJ Open 3(6): e002416. Castro, M., et al., 2010. Bronchial thermoplasty: a novel technique in the treatment of severe asthma. Therapeutic advances in respiratory disease, 4(2), pp. 101-116. Miligkos, M., 2015. Leukotriene-Receptor Antagonists Versus Placebo in the Treatment of Asthma in Adults and Adolescents. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163(10), pp. 756-767. Read More