StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
Asthma has been rampant in various societies around the world. Therefore, understanding symptoms at various stages are crucial to knowing how to control the condition. Asthma has been characterized by various…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.4% of users find it useful
ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING"

ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING Asthma: Symptoms and Staging Asthma is a condition that affects both young and older generation. Asthma has been rampant in various societies around the world. Therefore, understanding symptoms at various stages are crucial to knowing how to control the condition. Asthma has been characterized by various stages. These stages include intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent stage. Each stage is characterized by various symptoms. In intermittent asthma, the symptoms are wheezing and coughing and occurs in two days a week utmost (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).

The symptoms do not go beyond the two days in a week. The other symptom is a lack of sleep for a maximum of two days in a month. The individual in this stage usually appears normal. The other type is mild persistent asthma. In this stage, coughing and sneezing occurs in more than two days in a week, but at a reduced rate in a day (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011). The symptoms in affected individuals are a challenge as they affect normal daily activities. In addition, lung function is reduced for about 20 percent of the standard rate (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).

In moderate persistent asthma, symptoms are viewed in the affected individual daily (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011). The interruption of sleep usually occurs in several days. There is a disruption of the normal activities due to persistent coughing and wheezing, and this makes it a challenge for one to sleep normal. Moreover, the lung function is reduced significantly, and it is registered between 60% and 80% of the average rate (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011). At this level, the condition requires medication.

The last stage is severe persistent asthma. At this stage, the symptoms are frequent and occur daily. The activities are also disrupted as well as sleep. Additionally, there is reduced function of the lung and is said to be less than 60% of the usual rate in the absence of treatment (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011). The breathing tests are mostly considered in the diagnosis of asthma. The main ones are pulmonary function tests (PFTs). There is standardization to ensure there is uniformity in the interpretation of pulmonary function tests (Asthma Initiative of Michigan, 2011).

The first test is spirometry. The test is used to measure lung function and is a most valuable tool for diagnosis in adults. The measures used in this are forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC (Khachi, Meynell & Murphy, 2014). The ratio of FEV1 and FVC is used to identify whether there is air obstruction. A ratio below 0.7 is taken as an indication of the presence of obstruction in the air route (Khachi, Meynell & Murphy, 2014). The other test is known as assessment of airwave responsiveness.

The test entails the use of inhaled drugs to show the response. Such drugs include inhaled mannitol or metacholine. The drugs stimulate the development of spasm in the bronchioles (Khachi, Meynell & Murphy, 2014). The presence of asthma in the patient using the test is shown by a reduction of FEV1 of more than 15% (Khachi, Meynell & Murphy, 2014). The other test is known as treatment trial. The patient is subjected to a period of trial for about one and a half to two months (Khachi, Meynell & Murphy, 2014).

At this time, the patient is supposed to take a certain type of drug twice in a day such as beclometasone. The improvement on FEV1 after the trial is taken as a clear diagnosis of asthma. ReferencesAmerican Academy of Pediatrics. (2011). Mild, Moderate, Severe Asthma: What Do Grades Mean? Retrieved from http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/allergies-asthma/Pages/Mild-Moderate-Severe-Asthma-What-Do-Grades-Mean.aspx.Asthma Initiative of Michigan. (2011). Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs).

Retrieved from http://getasthmahelp.org/pft.aspx.Khachi, H., Meynell, H & Murphy, A. (2014). Asthma: Pathophysiology, Causes, and Diagnosis. Clinical Pharmacist. Retrieved from http://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/publications/previous-issues/cp-november-2014/asthma-pathophysiology-causes-and-diagnosis/20066997.cpdarticle.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/nursing/1690859-asthma-symptoms-and-staging
(ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/nursing/1690859-asthma-symptoms-and-staging.
“ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/nursing/1690859-asthma-symptoms-and-staging.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF ASTHMA: SYMPTOMS AND STAGING

The Differential Diagnosis Underlying Pathologies

Associated symptoms with dyspnoea help in finding the underlying pathology, for instance, fever and cough point towards pulmonary infections like pneumonia and TB (McPhee et al 2012).... Associations with any gastrointestinal symptoms, dietary habits, increase or decrease in appetite and social/psychiatric history are important for an accurate diagnostic approach.... Weight loss associated with respiratory symptoms points towards an underlying cause of tuberculosis or carcinoma of lung (Freidman, 2001)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Teaching Plan for Patients with Pediatric Conjunctivitis

The goal will be achieved by: Seeking medical attention To relieve symptoms and ensure treatment of the infection Ensure that the infant is not at risk of more serious infections Preventing spread of the disease to other people Preventing the complications associated with conjunctivitis Home remedies Compress the eyelids with cool or warm water for 15 minutes Maintain body hygiene through washing hands and avoiding the sharing face cloths and towels Pharmacological interventions Ensure that drugs are administered effectively depending on the age of the child Advise the parents not to use steroid eye drops because they may cause permanent damage of the infant Bacterial conjunctivitis is treated through topical antibiotic ointment Viral conjunctivitis symptoms can be relieved through saline washes Allergic irritating symptoms can be relieved through saline washes and cool compresses If the symptoms are persistent and severe, oral antihistamines can be administered to the infant Population demography A study to compare the prevalence of conjunctivitis between Asian and White patients was carried out from pediatric records from a health center in the city of Bradford....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Analysis of Emphysema Disease

Cough, sometimes caused by the production of mucus resulting in heavy saliva, and wheezing may also be symptoms of emphysema.... ABC's of Human Body Page number 210) So whenever these symptoms come into notice, one should immediately go and see a doctor for treatment without any further delay.... (COPD, 2009) It is commonest among middle-aged and older men, those who suffer from bronchitis or asthma or live in air-polluted areas and heavy smokers....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

The Treatment of Asthma

Currently there are numerous patients whose asthma symptoms are eased by the use of inhaled corticosteroids alone.... Unfortunately, in some cases, symptoms persist.... For persistent symptoms, they choose to introduce LABA.... This study is focused because it clearly states its target population of concern which is patients with persistent asthma.... Secondly it addresses the issue of what physicians turn to when asthma is persistent....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Interdisciplinary Team Approach for Asthma

Prior to the onset of these symptoms he suffered from running nose for a couple of days.... Since the symptoms were not severe, James did not see a doctor then for those symptoms.... In this discussion, the researcher will elaborate a multidisciplinary team management of an adult with moderate acute asthma attack admitted to an adult ward to ascertain the importance of team approach to managing adult respiratory disorders.... His father is a known patient with asthma....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Research Critique

The research carried out shows that there are different responsibilities that parents and their children suffering from asthma have about the care of the asthmatic condition.... The research suggests that living with asthma needs the sharing of a series of responsibilities amid… Earlier studies have acknowledged different aspects connected with shifting of responsibilities but knowledge improvement is mandatory in understanding the implications of It also provides a basis on how two parties can negotiate their responsibilities....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

Enterovirus D68

The virus has been associated to cause serious respiratory symptoms, and it can be particularly serious for children with asthma or other illnesses that make breathing difficult.... Children less than five years old and those with asthma appear to be the most a risk of enterovirus D68 illness.... In addition, adults with asthma and those immunosuppressed have a risk of the illness.... The most prevalent affected persons are asthma...
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Self-Esteem in Children with Well-Controlled Asthma

The paper "Self-Esteem in Children with Well-Controlled asthma" highlights that poorer asthma control was associated with higher depression and anxiety scores.... The previously reported an increased prevalence of anxiety and depression in children with asthma is explained by poor asthma control.... There was no analysis substantial differences amongst active asthmatic children and those declining participation in age, gender, duration of asthma or use of other medication than ICS (all p values >0....
9 Pages (2250 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us