Epidemiology is a medical science discipline that arranges the structure for studying the distribution and determinants of health, communicable disease, and circumstances related to health status. The epidemiology research help to understand in what means a person catch diseases, the changes, and how the disease affect the population. The nurses that work with these communities to help identify the onset of communicable diseases determine new victims, the patterns it spread, the causes or preventive methods are known as community or public health nursing (Maurer, Smith, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to explain on the concepts of a communicable disease “Chickenpox” with its own unique epidemiology and nursing research to this …show more content…
Once there is a dry scabs formation, the virus is unlikely to spread.
Chickenpox disease can cause serious complications on infants, adults, adolescents, pregnant women and those with weakened immune system like HIV/Aids or cancer patients, people with organ transplants, on chemotherapy, immunosuppressive medications or long-term use of steroids. Complications includes pneumonia, dehydration, sepsis, bleeding problems, children having bacterial infection like group A streptococcal on the skin and soft tissues, and death to unvaccinated person. If a pregnant woman is infected with Chickenpox at her first trimester, the diseases can cause rare congenital symptoms on the fetal which presents as congenital varicella syndrome, low birth weight, atrophy, neurological abnormalities, or scarring of the skin and eyes (Maurer & Smith 2013).
Chickenpox can best be prevented by given the dose of varicella vaccine to children, adolescents, adults and the herpes zoster vaccine for people age 60 and above (Maurer & Smith 2013). Generally, people who get the vaccine will not get chickenpox, however, if the vaccinated person get chickenpox, the symptoms is usually mild fever or no fever, fewer red spots or blisters.
The treatment of acute infection of chickenpox includes isolating the infected
If a woman is exposed to shingles during her pregnancy, and acquires shingles, her pregnancy may be complicated. The mother may get very sick, and the baby may get chicken pox right away or within a few days of birth. If the pregnant woman has shingles within a few days before birth this can be very bad for the baby. The newborn baby might not be able to handle all the stress on the body of the virus attacking the nerves so young. It is not very common for this to happen although it can.
Community health nurses face many concerns that can create environmental and global health issues. In history, humans have battled many health epidemics, from as early as the black plague, to polio, and more recent issues of measles, small pox, and HIV/AIDS. Many vaccines have been created and billions of lives have been saved, but there is still many unimmunized. Communities worldwide are at risk for many communicable diseases and should be prepared and knowledgeable about their community’s risks, protocols, and how to keep their community members safe.
The various diseases for the cure for vaccinations are vastly differentiated. Many of the diseases have proven to be mild and in most cases deemed harmless, except in situational cases. It is difficult to substantiate taking the risk with any vaccinations when the risks are minimized. Alternatively some of these diseases today are just about extinct or declared rare by researchers. If your children are at a risk to being exposed to any of these diseases the chances are possibly 0%, that a vaccine can offer any additional protections. (Belkin 1999)
It’s a simple fact that your immune system can weaken with age. And as a result, your chances of developing the Shingles rash increase as you get older. Vaccination is not recommended for people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in ZOSTAVAX, and people
The person should avoid scratching or rubbing the itchy areas and keep their fingernails short to avoid damaging the skin. The infected person should avoid prolonged exposure to excessive heat and humidity. The use of over- the counter antihistamines or hydrocortisone creams may be recommended for itch relief. Some doctors may prescribe antivirals if the rash began within 24 hours. Antiviral medication is not usually prescribed to otherwise healthy children who do not have severe symptoms. Antivirals are usually prescribed to high-risk groups whom are prone to severe symptoms such as eczema, lung conditions, or who immunocompromised individuals. The infected person should also be advised to avoid aspirin due to association with a serious condition called Reyes syndrome or Ibuprofen due to the association of more severe secondary infections. Tylenol is recommended for fever relief. Some complications that can occur are bacterial infections secondary to scratching, encephalitis, pneumonia and death. The preventions of chickenpox are acquired by vaccination with the varicella vaccine in children, adolescents, and adults, and the herpes zoster vaccine for persons of 60 and older (Maurer&Smith). The Centers for Disease and controls estimates that 95% of Americans will have chickenpox by the time they reach adulthood. The CDC also estimates that there are 4 million cases with a100 deaths and 9300 hospitalizations a
On examination, the patient exemplified diminished breathing sounds along with mild scattered cracks.Diagnosis of Varicella pneumonia was made on the basis of the rash, pulmonary symptoms, and the contact with a patient with chickenpox. Additionally, chest x-ray (16.3%) showed interstitial and/or nodular infiltrates which indicates the presence of pneumonia. Varicella Pneumonia is known to occur in approximately 1/400 cases with adults with chickenpox. Likewise, the risk factors of Varicella Pneumonia is smoking which provides substantial evidence in order to form the diagnosis. The patient had then undergone seven days of intravenous acyclovir associated with Varicella. The treatment was successful which might hint that if the patient were to be given early RX, then it may modify the natural course of this complication.
Epidemiology is what advises people of new world epidemics and new health standards worldwide. Epidemiologist are well known for their ideal way to handle and control epidemics of the everyday modern world by conducting research and going through various experiments. Epidemiology was first well known in the mid-1800´s (1854) but is know to have existed for about 2,500 years
It is recommended and even required for travel to areas with high risk of infection. Despite this, there are possible side effects associated with receiving the vaccine. Typical responses to the vaccine include headaches, mild rashes, pain around injection site, and mild fevers. In rare cases people have developed allergic reactions which can be life threatening, reactions of the nervous system, or organ failure (“Yellow Fever Vaccine”). These side effects are only known to occur in those with previously weakened immune systems due to previous disease, HIV/AIDS, or in babies under nine months of age (Center for Disease Control and
As per CDC (2012), varicella vaccine is well-known in USA since 1995 regarding the high prevalence and the excessive number of hospitalized people every year because of chicken pox; so the vaccine is recommended for children and adults to avoid the infection and reduce the disease severity. The US committee on immunization practices added the varicella vaccine to be a part of the regular vaccination schedule by giving one dose at the age of one year and the other dose will be given at the age of 4-6 years to reduce the infection risk among children (CDC, 2007).
For people over 10 years old, one dose could raise the antibodies to a sufficient amount. While vaccination is recommended nationwide, there were risks for those who are allergic to chicken eggs, who have had a severe reaction to a flu vaccination before, who got Guillain-Barré syndrome within 6 weeks of having a flu vaccine before. They have to consult a physician first. Infants that are under the age of 6 months should not get any flu vaccine since the vaccines are not approved for this aged group. Also, people who are sick with a fever should wait until they recover to get H1N1 vaccine. The side effects of H1N1 vaccines are similar to those of seasonal flu shots and nasal spray vaccines. People who take the flu shot might get low graded fever, aches, or nausea. Besides, there might be pain, redness and swelling occurring at the position where the shot is given. If taking the nasal spray, the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) could produce side effects similar to mild influenza
The chickenpox rash is easily recognisable. However, before it appears child may experience some symptoms
The following paper provides a detailed description of Chickenpox and the determinants of health contributing to the development of the disease. The
This paper defines and explains the six core functions of epidemiology: Public health surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluations, linkages, and policy development. The core functions of epidemiology lay down a foundation on which epidemiologists can begin to work from. This paper will look at the benefits of incorporating all six of these functions into a working plan when health officials, medical personnel, first responders, etc., encounter a disease or illness that needs to be identified, treated and contained.
In population health, registered nurses can assist in epidemic preventions through screening and surveillance. Surveillance is a continuous process which involves data collection and data analysis. Surveillance is constantly practised because it is used as a prevention method to identify possible outbreaks (Oleske, 2009). Once an outbreak is identified, screening is a process of looking for early signs of disease manifestation in individuals, so nurses can identify the health issue early and ensure better chances of successful treatments and slow down the outbreak development (Oleske, 2009). Although nurses are required to safeguard personal information and support confidentiality (ANMC, 2008b), their duty is to notify the
Infections disease prevention and control and communicable and infectious disease risks are important topics that every student nurse should be exposed to during the nursing program. The impact and threats that these infectious diseases cause an effect on society and global level should be studied. Also, the economic principles to nursing and health care that public health contributes to.