Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Its Effects of Health - Assignment Example

Introduction My learning throughout the year assisted me in unerring sanguinity in the appreciation and value of nursing that each and every daily interaction enhances my experience. In order practice the enthusiasm, all the students were asked to develop their role as a professional nurse in a clinical placement. A nearby clinic was suitable as it would save travelling time. In this regard, ABC clinic was appropriate and I was immediately permitted to serve the needs of patients as a nurse. A group of patients that was assigned to me included 6 patients. Since it was the first nursing experience therefore, the relevant patients were not the ones suffering from severe disease. The health problems that the patients were facing occurred due to excessive alcohol usage, excessive smoking, as well as obesity. A couple of patients underwent lung failure due to smoking whereas others were suffering from liver inflammation due to excessive alcohol usage and obesity. Fortunately, all the patients were in normal mental state therefore communication was easier. The patients primarily required counseling and amendments in daily habits. Background Information While entering a clinical placement, everything seems to take a completely different meaning. Life of patients depends upon the interventions and actions provided by healthcare professionals. During my interaction with all my patients, they began to express their experiences and medical history with me. The patients seemed to have fear of physical dependence and such fears must be addressed through communication, counseling, and compassion. Hope and moral support was vital in order to deal with such cases. When it comes to placement setting, if learners do not feel supported in the environment then it becomes difficult to participate in necessary communication for patients care and learning objective of students. The placement setting of ABC Nursing Home was more organized and the staff was very cooperative. The staff assigned wards and patients to us. Furthermore, they ensured that all learners receive handover sheets and tea breaks with other team members. Staff assigned responsibilities such as setting up the environment and trolley, comforting and positioning the patients, reviewing the policy and order etc. These two factors proved to be positive contributors in personal learning. Smoking is known to have severe effects on individuals. In UK, nearly 100,000 deaths are caused by smoking. The major health effects of smoking include coronary heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, as well as emphysema. Obesity is another contributing factor to severe health conditions including stroke, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cancers, type 2 diabetes, high level of triglycerides, high cholesterol, gall bladder and liver dieses. When it comes to alcohol, severe effects of excessive alcohol consumption have been observed such as liver cirrhosis, high blood pressure, obesity, pancreatitis, coronary heart diseases and mental health problems like alcohol dependence and depression. Moreover, alcohol increases the risk of causing certain types of cancers such as oesophagus, mouth, liver, breast and pharynx, colorectal and bowel cancer. Discussion Excessive Alcohol Consumption Even though alcohol has remained part of our culture for thousands of years and many people use it in a sensible manner, its misuse has become severe and is deteriorating public health in the UK. The misuse of alcohol whether it is taken for binge-drinking, heavy-drinking, or moderate drinking, is unsuitable conditions such as medication, driving, or handling machinery, not only pose serious threat to wellbeing and health of the drinker but also the friends, family, community and society as a whole. It leads to problems such as violence, loss of production, anti-social behavior and crime. Effects on Health Alcohol is psychoactive and potentially addictive substance. It immediately absorbs into bloodstreams and affects brain functions such as loss of inhibition and slowed reaction times. The human body is designed in a way that it does not store alcohol and transfers it to the liver. Association between Patients and Health Promotion Issue Young people usually use alcohol for fun and socialization while elders use alcohol primarily for reducing strain and during anxiety. In our case, 3 of the patients were heavy drinkers of alcohol and sabotaged their liver in using it. The main reasons that were mentioned by them included stress, tension, anxiety, increased workload, and maintaining social networks. All these activities caused them to rely on alcohol making them more and more addictive day by day. It is quite evident that chronic heavy drinking is directly associated to cause long term health issues, which was observed in the cases of these three patients. One of the patients out of three was able to experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms as he suddenly stopped drinking. The symptoms included sweating, hand tremors, nausea, visual hallucination, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. The patient was informed that it will between 4 months to a year in order to fully recover from the alcohol withdrawal effects however the brain will remain peculiarly sensitive to alcohol. Due to high tolerance to alcohol, the symptoms may come back soon therefore the patient was advised not to start drinking again, even moderately. Literature Extensive research has been conducted in order to show adverse effects of alcohol on socioeconomic condition. Lifestyle factors such as dietary habits, alcohol consumption, and smoking, are likely to play a vital role. Thus, information regarding risky factors of lifestyle in the general population is of immense significance. It has been suggested by research that individuals having different attitude towards self-efficacy and risky behavior come from difference socioeconomic groups. Individuals coming from higher socioeconomic status are more concerned about the consequences of their actions and make healthier choices (Kenkel 1991). Other findings conclude that alcohol consumption may cause lower educational level and lower income (Ruhm 1995; Cook and Moore, 1993). Smoking A range of smoking amount for use is prevalent including daily smoking, occasional smoking and non-daily smoking. Since 1998 the rate of smoking in adults has fallen from 28% to 22% in England. People aged under 40 have higher chances of developing risk for heart attack through smoking as it causes nearly 17% from heart disease. Effects on Health The risk of stroke and COPD is also doubled for smokers. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) affects respiratory system and lungs. Along with that, smoking also a contributing factor for developing cancer as nearly one third of cancer deaths are caused by smoking. People smoking 1 to 10 cigarettes daily have eight times higher risk of suffering from lung cancer. Along with lung cancer, smoking is particularly associated with cancers of larynx, esophagus, kidney, bladder, cervix, stomach, and pancreas. Through addiction to nicotine, a smoker can develop an uncontrollable, psychological dependence on tobacco. Association between Patients and Health Promotion Issue The smoking habits of the patients have remained quite variable. Only two patients were experiencing health problems due to excessive smoking. One of the patients that have been a heavy smoker cut down his consumption while the other one was a moderate smoker and he augmented his consumptions. Both the patients mentioned that the habit of smoking was developed by friends and soon they got habitual of it. They revealed that smoking helps them in fighting with stress and it releases strain. However, the adverse effects of smoking were observed through their declining health condition. Patient A was suffering from mouth cancer while patient B was experiencing cardiovascular disease due to smoking. Patient A had no other option than to quit smoking since mouth cancer was not allowing smoking any longer. While despite such acute condition, patient B was not ready to quit smoking. Patient B was experiencing wheezing, coughing, and trouble breathing and was advised to stop smoking. However, the patient has become so much dependent on smoking that it seems almost impossible for him to live cigarettes. For dealing with such cases, the doctors advised to take compelling action and to keep him out of reach of cigarettes otherwise the health condition will get worse and it will become difficult to save his life. Patient A was serious about improving his health and therefore, gave consent that he will cooperate in whatever steps the physicians take while the other patient has not provided his consent yet and physicians are still waiting for his response. Literature Pederson (1982) conducted a study in order to determine the role of physician in dealing with smoker’s behavior. The results of the study of Pederson (1982) revealed that the more acute an illness is and the more imminent are the hazards of continuing smoking, the more patient will comply with physician’s advice. In this case we can see that the person who is suffering from mouth cancer is agreed with the advice of physician to quit smoking while the other patient who is just suffering from minor symptoms of diseases is not so concerned about quitting smoking and following physician’s advice. Obesity Effects on health Obesity is a growing health issue worldwide. Alone in the United States, nearly 300,000 deaths occur due to obesity. Obesity develops a number of diseases including type II diabetes, coronary heart diseases, blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint problems, sleep apnea, colon cancer, cerebrovascular disease, gall stones, gout etc. Obesity is referred to as excessive amount of fat in body. The normal amount fat in body is 20 to 30% in women and 18 to 25% in men. BMI is another mathematical index for calculating obesity. Association between Patients and Health Promotion Issue Out of the 6 patients that were under my surveillance, 3 patients were experiencing severe health problems due to obesity. Among these patients, obesity appeared to have stronger relationship with reduced health related life quality, occurrence of chronic medical condition, increased medication spending and health care. As compared to smoking and alcohol consumption, a large proportion of the population is suffering from obesity. Even though, the effects of overweight are not as acute as of smoking and alcohol, but they apply to a large group of population. A couple of patients were experiencing high cholesterol and blood pressure due to obesity and therefore were advised to alter their diet plans and workout routines. The nutritionist formulated a diet and workout plan for each of the patients and asked them to follow for that at least 3 months. After 3 months, the results will be checked. Literature Loureiro and Nayga (2006) conducted a study in order to determine the relationship between individual’s responsiveness to physician’s advice on reducing weight and their tendency to take fewer calories. The results of the study discovered that the advice of physicians to lose weight proved to have positive effects on both, eating fewer calories and weight loss exercise plan. Legal, Ethical, and Policy Context The most important legislation governing the service and sale of alcohol is British Columbia’s Liquor Control and Licensing Act. The act is designed to maintain the responsible and orderly operation of licensed establishment that deals in fees, licensing requirements, application processes, conditions and operating terms etc. When it comes to obesity, WCRF considers that broad implementation of policy is require in order to prevent non communicable diseases and cancer. It is a grim reality that very few countries have become successful in reducing the burden of obesity while for others there is very limited practice for reducing levels of obesity at the level of population. Moreover, the practice of unhealthy diets has substantially increased in the past few years and continues to augment. In recent years, new smoking policies have emerged that intend to make workplace smoke free. These policies are instituted by workers but are usually promoted by tobacco control and public health organization. In many cases, candidates are refused for employment if they are smokers in order to mortify the act. Conclusion The experience of dealing with certain types of patients has taught enormous lessons. It not only teaches how to behave as a nurse practitioner but also guides in contributing to the society in a positive manner. Some of the patients showed really good improvement while others did not improve so well. 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