Minimizing the Perils of Appendicitis

Patients need to be taught how to use a pain intensity rating scale and encouraged to ask for medication before the pain becomes too intense. Nurses must also discuss non-drug pain management techniques such as repositioning and avoiding quick movements. Pain medication should be administered as ordered, and monitor for its effectiveness. Patient's vital signs should be monitored with special attention given to signs of perforation. I.V fluids and antibiotics should be administered as prescribed. Applying heat to the abdomen or administering cathartic medications or enemas, which could trigger perloration, should b e avoided. Patient's should be taught what the surgery entails and what to expect afterwards, such as early ambulation, coughing and deep breathing with wound splinting, and the use of incentive spirometry (occa, 2007).

During postoperative care patients should be assessed for complications and prepared for discharge. Nurses should monitor vital signs, pulse oximetry readings, and lab results,…… [Read More]

Patient Presenting With Suspected Appendicitis

The appendiceal carcinoid tumor is usually innocuous (Kulke & Mayer, 1999). A small tumor, it is often found by accident when the appendix is removed for some other reason. It can, however, contribute to acute appendicitis in rare cases, such as what took place in this case. It is diagnoses in females more frequently than males, but it is believed to be equally prevalent in both sexes (Kulke & Mayer, 1999).

These types of tumors typically invade the lymph system, muscular layers, and the peritoneal area, but they rarely metastasize (Sandor & Modlin, 1998). They can become malignant, but that is even more rare than metastasis. Generally, an appendectomy is the way to treat this tumor and since this is what took place in this case, there is no further cause for concern (Hemminki & Li, 2001). If the tumor becomes very large, however, a right hemicolectomy may be required…… [Read More]

Toilet Design in Modern Society Public Toilets

Toilet Design

In modern society, public toilets has become a fixture wherever human activities take place; shopping malls, restaurants and filling stations all provide these places of convenience for travelers, diners and shoppers. However, when considering the nature and function of public toilets, many question their cleanliness and safety for public use. In addition, cultural and gender issues have also played a role in these debates. Women, for example, are obliged to make physical contact with public toilets, while this is not necessarily the case for men. In terms of cultural issues and sanitary concern, critics such as Isbit (2001) have suggested a toilet design whereby the human skin does not need to make any contact with the abode, but where both men and women squat to relieve themselves. To take these concerns into account, the history, background, and design of the public toilet should be considered in detail.

Historical…… [Read More]

Acute Abdominal Pain -- Assessment Nurses Are

Acute Abdominal Pain -- Assessment

Nurses are very often the first medical aid providers that most patients see. In today's interprofessional healthcare set up, a nurse's approach in collecting a patient's history and diagnosing if the pain is acute or non-acute would assuredly help in providing the patient with appropriate treatment. It is therefore primary that nurses be fully equipped to diagnose the various ailments and start on the care to be provided. Nurses are also the first information gatherers and it is vital that they acquire the patient's past medical history. The importance of a structured approach in gathering this information is very vital as it forms the basis of analysis and also influences the care provided. Abdominal pain is one of the most common ailments that people complain of and seek medical care for. In most cases the pain's primary cause of pain may be ascertained almost immediately…… [Read More]

Rheumatic Fever

heumatic Fever

The Etiology, Incidence and Treatment of heumatic Fever Today

Like many diseases such as smallpox and polio, Zamula (1987) reports that until fairly recently, rheumatic fever was described by most public health officials as being a vanishing disease. "After World War II," Patlak (1991) reports, "the number of cases of rheumatic fever dramatically declined until, during the 20 years between 1965 and 1985 alone, the yearly number of cases of rheumatic fever among school-age children dropped by more than 90%" (p. 24). At the time, clinicians assumed that less crowded living conditions and the use of antibiotics were controlling the disease and some physicians called rheumatic fever a "vanishing disease in suburbia" (Patlak, p. 24). As a result, the children's hospitals that were previously dedicated to the care of rheumatic fever sufferers closed because of a lack of patients and disease registries that had been rigorously maintained by…… [Read More]

Colds and Its Common Causes Possible Complications and Management

diseases in the world are suffered by all children. Babies and adults alike have to endure them at some or other point of their life. Furthermore, those whose immune systems are poor or weak have a greater tendency to contract diseases such as the common cold, infant diaper rash, earaches, stomach aches and diarrhea (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2015)

Common cold

The common cold shows the following symptoms: a sore throat, runny nose, headache, and watery eyes. Up till now, no precise medication exists to 'cure' the common cold. Normally, this viral illness wanes by itself after a period of 5-6 days. However, in the event that symptoms continue for an unusually long time, the patient must stay alert, as severe cases of common cold may result in pneumonia, sinusitis, ear infection, asthma attack, and bronchitis (Justadd, 2015). A study indicates that several individuals suffer each winter from sinusitis, impacting…… [Read More]

Diagnosis in Mental Health Diagnosis

With medical terms, even though they explain little, we then have a reason to implement strong institutional controls such as the use of drugs and hospitalization.

The Medicalization of Deviant ehavior

Our discussion of DSM shows us clearly that the categories of deviant behavior voted on from time to time reflect social and political conventions. Depending on the disorder, the sociopolitical role played by diagnoses is either great or small, but the application of a diagnosis is always, to a greater or lesser degree, embracing political and social values. Diagnostic labels define what limits of difference society can tolerate.

Whenever a culture decides that it will define a set of behaviors as "sick" rather than "immoral" or unwitting, it is enacting a social value that favors illness over the view that such destructive or unusual behavior is volitional. Armed with this view of behavior as illness, we can justify forced…… [Read More]

Important Theme in Madeline

Madeline

The first book written by Ludwig Bemelmans in the series about Madeline, was first published in 1939. The hero in this book was different than all the princes in the children's stories: a little girl in a boarding school. Her main feature was her courage. In 1939, the world was swept by the Second World War and the heroine nothing alike those world saviors in stories and films alike. Madeline is a book that encompasses the essence of humanity in a few lines. One of the main themes in the book is the social feature of humanity, the ability to live in society, feel compassion, discover and develop solidarity etc.

Children who live in a boarding school are among the best sources to teach the rest of the world about compassion. "Twelve little girls in two straight lines. In two straight lines they broke their bread and brushed their…… [Read More]

Playwright as Rock Star Art

It was also during this time that he started keeping a diary. The entry for that day is very relevant as to our attempt to understand what drove Orton to join the theater in hopes of an acting career. During the time he spent with the amateur theater company, Orton decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting, and that his first step towards achieving this goal was to go to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art: "Last night sitting in the empty theatre watching the electricians flashing lights on and off, the empty stage waiting for rehearsal to begin, I suddenly knew that my ambition is, and always has been, to act." (Diary entry, April 13th, 1949: Joe Orton Online)

He quit the amateur acting company after his first role because he was not offered any other substantial roles. Although he got accepted into the Royal Academy…… [Read More]

Inappropriate Hospital Admission Raising Health

Therefore, a basis is formed on which to reduce the inappropriate admissions after the correct rates are determined (estuccia, Shwartz, Ash, and Payne, 1996).

The connection between hospitalization rates and the inappropriateness of the admissions cannot be confirmed. A study of adults revealed that there was no link between the rates of hospitalization and the inappropriateness of the admission while a similar study conducted with no age limits produced contrary results. Three procedures of coronary angiography, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and carotid endarterectomy were used in another study to find out the relationship between the varying admission rates and their appropriateness (estuccia, Shwartz, Ash, and Payne, 1996).

It was revealed that there was more inappropriateness in high-use areas. When this study was repeated for a small area, the outcomes were quite different. This showed that inappropriateness cannot be used as a basis to find out the cause for the differing hospitalization…… [Read More]

Woke Up Tuesday it Was

This dissociative process was so powerful that Julia was able to endure what her physician referred to as agony, in a state in which she was blissfully unaware of the excruciating suffering she was feeling. The ramifications of this incident, of course, illustrate what Stout was stating about the consciousness' human ability to adapt and survive. Because Julia had endured so much suffering during her childhood by tuning out or disassociating herself from it, that reflex became her automatic reaction to situations in which there was actual, real danger -- all of which merely underscores how little of her life Julia had been present for.

To say the least, Stout's essay demonstrates that it is extremely safe to say that one's memories of the past definitely shape one's perceptions of the present. Moreover, it would be a little more accurate to state that one's memories of the past have the…… [Read More]

Cholecystitis Biliary Colic and Cholecystitis Are in

Cholecystitis

Biliary colic and cholecystitis are in the spectrum of gallbladder disease, ranging from asymptomatic gallstones to biliary colic, cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, and cholangitis (Santen pp). hen gallstones temporarily obstruct the cystic duct or pass through into the common bile duct, gallstones become symptomatic and biliary colic develops, however, if the cystic duct or common bile duct becomes obstructed for hours or gallstones irritate the gallbladder, then cholecystitis develops, and when the stones become lodged in the common bile duct, choledocholithiasis occurs, resulting in possible cholangitis and ascending infections (Santen pp).

Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder caused by obstruction, usually a gallstone, of the cystic duct, and the inflammation may be sterile or bacterial and the obstruction may be acalculous or caused by sludge (Santen pp). Bacterial infection is believed to be a consequence, not a cause, of cholecystitis, approximately 75% of bile cultures are positive, with the most…… [Read More]

Sudanese Life in the United States

people of Sudan, commonly known as the Sudanese, bring with them numerous traditions and cultural mainstays when they enter the United States. Their history, culture, medical practices and traditions provide them with a sense of home, and allow them to continue to preserve their past while allowing them to lead better lives. However, while their traditions and culture are vital to this preservation, their new positions in the United States often lead to struggles and conflict. This paper will outline the culture of the Sudanese, and will examine how that culture has altered in response to life in the United States.

One of the main differences in culture and medical practices lies in the circumcision of females in Sudan and in the female perspective overall. Female circumcision is a common practice in Sudan, since it is believed to ensure the virginity of young Sudanese women. In Sudan, circumcision is required…… [Read More]

Dehydration Impacts on Human Metabolism In This

dehydration impacts on human metabolism. In this sense, a short introduction in the issue of deficient water input is followed by delimitating the notions of metabolism and dehydration in terms of definition and classification. Afterwards, focus falls on the possible degrees of dehydration and body mass loss, and their implications for a human body.

According to usan Kleiner, Ph.D., "water is the one essential element to life as we know it" (Rabkin, 2000). It makes up approximately 60% of an individual's body mass. Each human cell, tissue and organ needs it in specific amounts in order to function properly, and nearly every life-sustaining body process requires it, too. Water is present in human muscles, fat cells, blood and even bones, transporting nutrients and oxygen to cells, helping to discard waste products, moistening skin tissues, mouth, eyes and nose, and most importantly, keeping body temperature in check.

Thus, water is unspeakably…… [Read More]

Ybarra vs Spangard Case Study

According to the court's judgment in favor of the plaintiff, no further evidence as to the source of the muscle atrophy in his shoulder and arm, because "the thing itself speaks" when all three components of res ipsa loquitur are satisfied, as they were in the case of Ybarra vs. Spangard. The plaintiff's claim for negligence against his doctors was ultimately successful because (1) arm injuries do not ordinarily occur in an appendectomy operation absent negligent action by the physicians, surgeons, or nurses in attendance during the procedure, (2) the injuries were caused by an agency or instrumentality within the exclusive control of the defendant, as the plaintiff was rendered unconscious during the surgery's preparation period, and (3) the plaintiff never volunteered or submitted to the possibility of her arm being injured when they elected to undergo a surgery in their abdominal region. One of the most interesting aspects of…… [Read More]

Weimar Republic

Nervous Conditions

After World War I, the German nation and its people were devastated. The public was led to believe that Germany was going to win the war, and it looked forward to a much- improved socio-economic climate. Instead, the war was lost and the country was facing a very dreary future. As a result, the government established the Weimar epublic under the leadership of Friedrich Ebert, a past leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and a supporter of the war efforts. Some historians believe it was fate that Weimar Germany did not succeed. From the beginning the challenges were too great, the situation too grim and the individuals involved too unprepared. As a result, Weimar Germany had a short and bumpy ride that combined the best with the worst: Culturally, it remains one of Germany's most creative periods of time in art, literature and thought. Politically and economically,…… [Read More]

Treating Upper Abdominal Pain

Patient: 66-Year-Old Black / African-American Female With Complaint of Sudden Onset of Mid Upper Epigastric Pain

Pertinent PMH

During the initial medical exam, it is critical to gauge the severity of the pain. The healthcare practitioner should inquire as to the presence of previous medical conditions such as colitis, Crohn's disease, and IBS which could be the cause of the sudden onset. In the instance of abdominal pain, the provider should determine the precise location of pain as much as is possible even though referent pain is often an issue. Even though the pain is located in the upper abdominal quadrant, greater specificity is needed to eliminate possible causes. For example, "pain in the patient's right-upper abdomen can indicate gallstones or inflammation" or "duodenal ulcers, acute pancreatitis, acute cholecystitis, and acute hepatitis" (Lipman 2009; Karnath & Mileski, 2002, p. 46). In contrast, pain in the right mid-upper abdomen, may indicate…… [Read More]

Nursing Shadow Experience

As a student who had only just completed the first semester of the course, I had no experience with pediatric patients prior to the shadowing task. Thus, the nurse shadowing task was a rather exciting experience for me, exposing me to several new aspects of pediatric care (Burkitt et.al 2001). However, its most heart- rending element was congenital patient care – seeing babies being born with an illness was a rather touching experience.
While a few of my peers were fairly well- informed on the subject of pediatric care, I wasn’t. Most of the information I gleaned and things I saw in the course of my nurse shadowing assignment were new to me. The nurse practitioner I was tasked to shadow provided me with detailed information about appendicitis, which is apparently a widely- occurring pediatric issue and, at times, may take long to diagnose (Gaydos et.al 2005). Further, I gained…… [Read More]