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Week 3 Concept Process Assignment: Emphysema & Oxygenation Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 283: Pathophysiology
Week 3 Concep
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Week 3 Concept Process Assignment: Emphysema & Oxygenation Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 283: Pathophysiology
Week 3 Concept Process Assignment: Emphysema & Oxygenation Emphysema is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in which air
sacs called alveoli are damaged inside of the lungs. Because of which, the body does not receive the oxygen it requires. You can also experience persistent cough throughout
exercising and have shortness of breath. Emphysema can be attributed to genetic defect, air quality, and emitted fumes to cause irritation to the lungs. Smoking cigarettes is by far the most frequent reason.
The lung tissue that is active in exchanging gases is damaged in individuals with emphysema. The alveoli's elastic rebound loss occurs, which means the air cannot be extracted from the alveoli.
For several years, emphysema has gone overlooked with no signs or symptoms.
Symptoms include lack of catching breath; the nail beds and lips turning a dark color like blue or even gray, and severe coughing. Other signs that can be noticed include vertigo, trouble lying down, anxiety, tension, powerlessness, exhaustion, loss of focus and prolonged daytime sleep, troublesome night of sleep or sleeping.
It is not possible to treat emphysema, but medications can help mitigate symptoms and delay disease progression. To aid in alleviating cough and breathlessness, the bronchodilator is used as it calms compressed airways. Inhaled corticosteroid medications assist in reducing the feeling of being breathless. This medication can exhaust your bones and raise your chances of diabetes, vision problems, and hypertension if it is overused. To assist with pathogenic bacteria such as pneumonia or bronchitis that may occur, antibiotics are put to use.
Pulmonary healing, which is utilized for breathing techniques to alleviate breathlessness, requires therapies. People get recommendations on healthy diet from nutrition education; thus
people with early an emphysema stage need to reduce weight and later stages are to
increase weight. The top "treatment" is to quit smoking entirely and prevent toxic substances near you.
In order to avoid emphysema, it is important to not smoke and stay away from secondhand smoking from other people’s tobacco, cigars, and cannabis. However, if you are working in or near chemicals, smoke, fumes or dust, it is safer to wear a face mask in order to defend the lungs.
References
Hubert, R. & VanMeter, K. (2018). Gould's pathophysiology for the health professions: Study Guide (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
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