Airway Clearance Management and Exercise Program for Cystic Fibrosis - Essay Example

"Airway Clearance Management and Exercise Program for Cystic Fibrosis" is an incredible example of a paper on symptoms. 
Cystic fibrosis is a condition associated with retention of sputum, reduced ability to exercise and lack of breath. Ridding the sputum and mucus from the lungs is the sure way of managing the effects of the condition. This should be done regularly and on a day to day basis. This is because a buildup of the mucous might lead to lung infections, lower the working of the lung and cause shortness of breath.  It can also lead to an inability to carry out some activities as well as frequent visits to hospitals. To get through the main problem of sputum retention in the lungs, many techniques of air clearance can be employed. Some of the methods that may improve air clearance include postural drainage with percussion, frequent exercising, PEP and the Flutter. Others may include therapies such as high-frequency chest wall oscillation and the Frequencies.

            Postural drainage with percussion is a conventional air clearance method. According to Your Health, the method requires placing the patient in a downward position which allows gravity to help move the mucous from the small airways to larger airways. With the patient still lying in the same position percussion is done on the chest wall for three to ten minutes. This would help dislodge the mucous from the wall of the airways. The patient should then sit and do huffing exercises to move the mucous further into the larger airways. The huffing should be accompanied with effective coughing which helps clear the loosened mucous. The patient should carry out the procedure either two or three times a day. For the kids, an adult should be available to help in the procedure.

The patient can also opt for Autogenic drainage method. The method uses controlled breathing to move the mucous out of the lungs. The advantage of this is that it does not need any equipment and one can do it alone. It involves slowly dislodging the mucous with slow breaths, gathering them and finally expelling using high lung volume.

Active cycle of breathing is another effective way of doing airway clearance. It combines three breathing methods that help move the mucous out of the lungs. It involves a gentle relaxed breathing, thoracic expansion exercise and the forced expiration method. The second procedure requires deep breaths, with three-second breath-hold and quiet unforced breath out. The steps should be done in sequence to loosen and expel the mucous. The procedure should be repeated until when the patient feels that they cannot cough any more mucous.

Finally exercising is essential for patients with the CF condition. It can improve the clearance of mucous, maintain or improve lung functioning as well give someone a sense of wellness. Patients should, therefore, try to make it part of their daily routine. The patient should know that postural exercise and education should also be incorporated as part of the program since it would help prevent the back pain associated with CF.

In conclusion, Air clearance and exercise should, therefore, be carried out on a daily routine for better and faster results. However, the methods require proper instructor and motivation from the part of the patient. These methods can be combined with others like the flutter and PEP. This is because one method may fail to work for one person and work successfully for another.