Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder - Essay Example

"Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder" is an excellent example of a paper on the respiratory system.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hampers normal breathing and, it being progressive, could really worsen within a certain period especially when it goes not medicated. The illnesses, which brought along with it mass mucus emission, can cause tightening of the chest and may cause untimely death. COPD, therefore, affects the normal function of the lungs as airways and sacs lose their elastic quality; its walls are destroyed; airways are inflamed and thick, and the incessant production of mucus clogs the air passage.

Medical professionals expressed in research done that COPD’s pathophysiology is indicated with such “systemic disease linked to oxidative stress in its pathogenesis (Wada, Hagiwara, Saitoh, Ieki, Okamura, Ota, Iguchi, Yuasa, Kodaka, Koishi, Yamamoto & Goto, 2006, p. 29).” This study where plasma %CoQ-10 levels of COPD patients were evaluated also indicated that the effect of oxygen supplementation on plasma %CoQ-10 was required and that smoking does strongly increased oxidative stress in patients (Wada et al., 2006, p. 29).

COPD’s etiology bared the leading cause of this illness is smoking and constant exposure to pollutants or chemical fumes (BMJ Group, 2013). Chronic inflammation of the lungs “affects all airways, lung parenchyma and alveoli, and pulmonary vasculature (BMJ Group, 2013, p. 1).” Evidence proved that COPD also scales up the number of goblet cells, destroys the mucus-secreting glands of central airways, and causes pulmonary hypertension (BMJ Group, 2013, p. 1).”

COPD is easy to detect with its symptoms demonstrated by “cough, short breathing, wheezing, chest tightening, erratic heartbeat, and feeling of lethargy or exhaustion and lip or fingernails turn gray (NIH, 2013a, p. 1).”

Treating COPD require not the only provision of medication to relieve the symptoms and its complication but also a need for a holistic lifestyle change. Some medicines may include bronchodilators, inhaled glococoocisteroids, vaccines, pneumococcal vaccine, oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation, lung transplant, bullectomy, lung volume reduction surgery, and managing complications (NIH, 2013b, p. 1).”

The lifestyle change requires the need to change lifestyles by quitting smoking and by eating healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, and those energy-giving vitamins. Depending on the stage of infection, professional medical diagnoses should be sought from the lung-expert institution (NIH, 2013b, p. 1).

Nurses could only support patients following diagnoses made by medical experts. Such interventions include recording, documenting, and providing advice to patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle and exercise (NIH, 2013b, p. 1). Patients within hospital confines should be monitored to ensure that medicines prescribed are taken regularly.

The patient’s progression of condition should be subject to regular medical evaluation too to help prevent recurrence and to add more support for self-manage healthcare (NIH, 2013b, p. 1).