Asthma Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that impacts a person’s and their family’s quality of life. In people with asthma, their airway becomes constricted with swelling and excessive mucous. This constriction or narrowing of the airway makes it difficult for the person with asthma to breath (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2009). If asthma is left uncontrolled, it leads to further wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, tiredness, and stress. (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2009).

Asthma is a long-term lung disease. Those with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs which triggers a flare up. When this flare up happens the muscle around the airways squeeze tight and the airways swell, become narrows and produce more mucus. (Anon., 2016) All these things make it harder for a person to breathe. Asthma effects the human body’s respiratory system. Asthma causes a spasm and constriction of the bronchial passages and the swelling and the inflammation of the mucous lining. The body responds by defence cells from the immune system, which causes the airways to swell and the muscles surrounding the airways to contract. Which is what cuts off the airflow. While a person is in asthma attack, the asthmatic cannot breathe which

Asthma is a very common circumstance where the airways happen to irritated and inflamed, this causes the airway to become more narrower than normal and

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease also known as COPD, is one of the third leading cause of death in the United States (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute [NHLBI], 2013a). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2015) approximately 15 million Americans are affected by COPD, with a morbidity rate of 6.8 million. Data from the CDC from 2011 states that 6.3% of the U.S population suffer from this disease; Florida has the COPD prevalence rate of 7.1% with the highest percentage going to Kentucky with a rate 9.3% as summarized by the COPD foundation (2015). CDC calculated the cost of having COPD as $32.1 billion in 2010 and they expect it to rise to $49 billion by 2020, all for a disease that could be prevented. Additionally CDC has stated the mortality rate has decreased in men in the United States from 57.0 per 100,000 to 47.6 per 100,000 from 1999 to 2010. However, regarding the rate for women, there has not been much change during the same time period. The rate shifted from 35.3 per 100,000 to 36.4 per 100,000 (CDC, 2014).

R.W. appears with progressive difficulty getting his breath while doing simple tasks, and also having difficulty doing any manual work, complains of a cough, fatigue, and weight loss, and has been treated for three respiratory infections a year for the past 3 years. On physical examination, CNP notice clubbing of his fingers, use accessory muscles for respiration, wheezing in the lungs, and hyperresonance on percussion of the lungs, and also pulmonary function studies show an FEV1 of 58%. These all symptoms and history represented here most strongly indicate the probability of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a respiratory disease categorized by chronic airway inflammation, a decrease in lung function over time, and gradual damage in quality of life (Booker, 2014).

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD, is a relatively common chronic illness that is treatable, however there is currently has no cure. COPD is an illness that encompasses two major illnesses these illnesses are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Both of these illnesses wreak havoc on the lungs of the affected person by causing mucus to build up in the bronchioles henceforth reducing the effectiveness of the alveoli which impairs gas exchange. According to the American Lung Association, “COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States. More than 11 million people have been diagnosed with COPD, but an estimated 24 million may have the disease without even knowing it” (American Lung Association [ALA], n.d.). As this data from the American Lung Association shows, in the United States alone we may have a total of 35 million people (almost one tenth of the American population) living with COPD. QSEN, which stands for Quality and Safety Education for Nurses, has developed six competencies related to nursing care. These competencies are Patient-Centered Care, Teamwork and Collaboration, Evidence-Based Practice, Quality Improvement, Safety, and Informatics. These aforementioned QSEN competencies break down how nurses should be treating patients and working with the health care team.

Have you ever known a person who smokes and has a hard time doing every day activities, due to difficulty of breath, or constantly coughing. He or she may have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. COPD is a progressive and treatable lung disease that causes shortness of breath due to obstruction of air way (COPD, 2013). Progressive means that is gradually gets worse over time. It is a combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema (Causes,2014). Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchioles, which causes mucus build up (Davis,2016). Emphysema is when the air sacs get enlarged (Smoking, 2016). Since the disease does not have a cure yet it is important to know pathology (path of disease), epidemiology (who is effected in a population), ethology (who is effected genetically), manifestation (symptoms), treatment, and outcome.

During the second week of my clinical rotation, I had the privilege of being with the respiratory department, as a result of that my research of the Continuity of Care topic will be based on the topic of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). COPD patients are usually readmitted due to acute exacerbations also known as (AECOPD). (Laverty et al., 2015). In this paper, we explore the COPD discharge care bundles which have been developed by different authors. The care bundle consists of a short list of certain evidence-based practices to be utilized or implemented before discharge for all patients who have been admitted with COPD, based on reviewing national guidelines, evidenced based practices, expert opinion, other relevant literature, peer-reviewed journals and patient consultation. (Hopkinson et al., 2012).

Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack. You must also remove the triggers in your environment that can make your asthma worse.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects the airways, which is comprised of tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. People who experience difficulties breathing have inflamed airways. The inflammation causes the tubes to swell and become sensitive, especially when inhaling strong substances. As a result, the airways tighten and the muscles around the tubes become swollen and narrower. In addition, cells in the airways might produce more mucus. This sticky and thick mucus makes it even more difficult for air to pass into the lungs.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an umbrella term used to portray dynamic lung sicknesses including emphysema, constant bronchitis, unmanageable (non-reversible) asthma, and a few types of bronchiectasis. This malady is described by expanding shortness of breath (What is COPD?). Many individuals botch their expanded shortness of breath and hacking as an ordinary piece of maturing. In the early phases of the infection, you may not see the side effects (What is COPD?).

I work as a respiratory therapist and treat patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking is a leading cause associated with developing COPD. As a professional working in the healthcare field, I have been fortunate and educated about the dangers and consequences linked to cigarette smoking. I have treated and have experience with individuals who have smoked and developed COPD. Also, as an educator, I have tried to help individuals quit smoking to improve overall health. As an educator, I view smoking as an addiction to the drug nicotine and managing cravings will help individuals quit smoking.

Eve Ensler said “I wake up every day and I think, 'I 'm breathing! It 's a good day.” Breathing is extremely important activity it allows us to take in and release vital elements to keep us alive, but there are diseases that can hinder us from breathing properly. A disease on the rise and one of the top three leading causes of death in America is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) it is the third leading cause of death in America, claiming the lives of 134,676 Americans in 2010 alone. In 2011, an estimated 10.1 million Americans reported a physician diagnosis of chronic bronchitis. (COPD Statistics across America, 2015). COPD is a very serious disease that is claiming the lives of people every day. COPD is a preventable disease, only if people were better informed and educated on COPD there would be less cases and less deaths of the disease. How can we put an end to the suffering and deaths of those that contract the disease? The first thing that people can do is educate ourselves and other about the disease so the awareness will be on the minds of the people that may make the right choice to avoid certain pitfalls to contract the disease.

All over the world, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a very significant and prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality, and it is increasing with time (Hurd, 2000; Pauwels, 2000; Petty, 2000). Due to the factor of COPD being an underdiagnosed and undertreated disease, the epidemiology (Pauwels, Rabe, 2004) is about 60 to 85 % with mild or moderate COPD remaining undiagnosed (Miravitlles et al., 2009; Hvidsten et al., 2010).

The pathophysiology of Asthma includes inflammation of the airway. The way in which this works is from an irritant which can include dust, pollen, cedar, or cat hair. When a reaction occurs, the airways become inflamed and narrow. The narrowing occurs because once the inflammatory response is triggered by an irritant, histamines, immunoglobulin E antibodies, and leukotrienes are released. Because of this, mucous production occurs. Since the bronchioles are inflamed and narrow, breathing becomes difficult. Wheezing sounds can be heard due to the lack of air being able to easily move in and out of the narrowed bronchioles.