Chronic illness

the majority of the American population appears quite healthy, over 32 million children are currently suffering from a chronic illness. According to njhealth.org, chronic illness is “an illness that may last throughout a person’s life, although the frequency and severity of symptoms can change.” Nearly 43% of American children are currently afflicted with at least 1 of many chronic ailments ranging from diabetes to cancer. Many of these children may never return to their precedent state of well-being;

The phrase chronic illness is one that no one wants to hear when going to the doctor. We do not want to hear about a diagnosis that will be with us for the rest of our lives, but it is even worse when we learn that our child or our younger sibling is sick. For my family this happened about six years ago with my little sister. We learned that she had Chron’s Disease. At first we though to ourselves at least it is not cancer, at least we will not have to deal with chemotherapy and constant doctor visits

Sickle Cell Anemia Patricia A. Walton HCS 331 Psychosocial Impact of Chronic Illness on Person and Environment Professor Alayna Defalco June 14, 2015 “Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of blood cells caused by a genetic defect of the beta-globin chain of adult hemoglobin (HbA). The mutant forms of hemoglobin are sickle hemoglobin (HbS) because HbS polymerizes in deoxygenated blood, causing red blood cells to form a sickle shape. Normal hemoglobin has a biconcave disc

Higher rates of chronic illness in minority populations requires health care providers developing a plan of care to assess the dietary practices and traditions of a populace and gain the knowledge to assist these minorities with compliance, explain what behaviors can be modified amiably to be acceptable to culture and tradition. Risk behaviors also include lack of or late pre-natal care, the lack proper care, food and shelter and religious beliefs such as fasting. When assessing the health education

The Chronic Illness I fight for my health every day in ways most people do not understand I lay in bed struggling just to get up in the morning only to get faced with a new day of troubles. All I think about is the day that being a normal eighteen year old ended for me. I was responsible went to work every day, and was trying to figure out my first year of college until everything was flipped upside down. On September twenty seventh I was the only one in the house so I got up at noon like always

are several ways to cope with chronic illnesses; some are categorized as healthy or unhealthy, but ultimately, the coping mechanism that works best is the decision of the one affected by it, or the person living with a chronic illness. One kind of coping mechanism discussed by a radio interview of Michael Kinsley is denial, which to most people seems very unhealthy and non-beneficial. Denial in most forms is considered unwise, but Kinsley argues that denial of his illness gave him "eight years of privacy

Growing up with many chronic illnesses such as asthma, hypertension, eczema, etc.., has left me fascinated with chronic illnesses. It’s remarkable how long and painful certain chronic illnesses are. I remember thinking about how painful it was to wheeze throughout the time, struggling to breath as a child. It was at this time that I had first developed a desire to mitigate chronic pain. When I grew older, I became interested in clinics, and when volunteering at a community clinic, I realized the

Introduction Stress serves as a major risk and complicating factor for any illness, regardless of presenting symptoms (Elliott and Einsdorfer 1982; Hatfield and Lefley 2007; Nicholson and Neufeld 2002). For a chronic mental illness as complex as schizophrenia, the impact of environmental stress is particularly important to consider. The Stress-Diathesis Model (or Vulnerability Stress Model) places schizophrenia in the context of both biological and environmental (psychosocial) risk factors (Zubin

Patient M.B has been diagnosed with a progressive chronic illness, a severe form of Autonomic Dysfunction, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). “MSA is a sporadic, progressive, adult-onset disorder characterized by autonomic dysfunction, parkinsonism and ataxia (a failure of muscular coordination) in any combination” (Autonomic Disorder Consortium, n.d.). Since there is no cure, focus of care is solely on treatment of symptoms. Furthermore, “There is a progressive loss of physical functions until general

Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic illness, typically characterized by symptoms of auditory hallucinations and delusions causing immense impairment to all functions of an individual’s life. The disease is a multifactor risk disorder, with genes and family history posing a significant risk to development of the disorder (Picchioni & Murray, 2008). Picchioni & Murray (2008) note, “despite its relatively low incidence (15.2/100 000), the prevalence of schizophrenia (7.2/ 1000) is relatively