Asthma: Swelling, Wheezing, & Shortness of Breath - Essay Sample

Introduction

Asthma is a condition that leads to the narrowing and swelling of the respiratory airways, thus producing extra mucus. The swelling and contraction of the airways cause challenges in breathing, which triggers wheezing, coughing, and shortness in breath. Asthma in some individuals interferes with their daily activities, and at times it becomes life-threatening. Individuals who have asthma are encouraged to work closely with medical practitioners since the signs and symptoms vary every time. The asthma symptoms change between individuals since some might get infrequent attacks that occur if one gets involved in exercises. Some of the asthma signs include chest pain, breath shortness, wheezing, and difficulties while sleeping. The asthmatic symptoms might increase when triggered by various irritants such as dust and chemicals, when exposed to the allergic substance and whenever the air is dry or cold. Individuals are encouraged to seek medical attention to allow monitoring of asthma after the diagnosis, and whenever the symptoms tend to worsen. Also, one can meet with the medical practitioner to review their treatment since the asthmatic symptoms vary over time. Asthma can be triggered by exposure to carbon fumes, second-hand smoke, overweight, and genetic factors. Medications used in asthma open up the respiratory airways, thus causing individuals to go back to their normal state (Wu, 2016). Therefore, due to the occurrence of asthmatic conditions among individuals in society, this paper will focus on a case study about Susan, who tends to be suffering from asthma.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

History

There are several signs portrayed by Susan that raises a concern about the status of her health. For instance, she is complaining of increased shortness of breath and increased chest tightness when she is exercising. This means that she might have a respiratory condition that becomes vibrant when her body is actively involved in physical exercises. To some extent, such complaints are expected during massive activities of the body. Another cause of the alarm is that she has a respiratory rate of 28, which is above the normal respiratory rate of a person. The average respiratory rate of a person should be 12 to 25 breaths per minute. Therefore, her respiratory rate has exceeded the normal rate by three breaths per minute. Such a sign indicates that there is a possibility that the patient might have or be ailing from an asthmatic condition. Also, she recorded a heart rate of 120 bpm, which is higher than the normal heart rate of a human being that is at a range of 60 to 80 beats (Pasteur, Bilton, and Hill, 2010). This fast rate indicates that her body is not functioning normally. This suggests that she might be having an infection, stress, anxiety, a thyroid disorder, or even dehydration. A faster heart rate that is more than the average rate by 40 bpm raises all sought of concern.

Consequently, it seems that she has a lower diastolic blood pressure than the average. The average diastolic blood pressure of an individual is 80-89mmHg; however, hers is lower by 10mmHg. It can be concluded that the arteries pressure when her heart is at rest is very low. Susan's peak flow reading is also worrying because it is far below the average, which is 400 to 700 litres per minute. Hers is at 300 to 370 M/S. Such a low peak flow reading indicates that there is a possibility of a patient experiencing an asthmatic attack. The fact that she is also experiencing widespread wheezing means that she has a chest or rather lungs complications that are preventing her from breathing normally. Sue also has a mild fever, which is at a temperature of 37.30 C. It is crucial to find the cause of the fever because the highest normal temperature of a human being is 37.20C (White et al., 2018, p295). The severe coughing after inhaling cigarette smoke as well as she is looking pale and tired are indications that she is likely to be unwell. Therefore, all the above-discussed signs and symptoms are enough reasons to raise concern hence calling for tests.

A physician can use several methods to investigate Sue's health condition. However, the primary method of investigating is trough carrying out chest related tests as well as respiratory disease tests. The chest-tests that ought to be conducted are chest X-ray and C.T. scan. One of the reasons behind this indicator is that there is a possibility that Sue might have asthma. Secondly, a chest test is necessary for the determination of widespread wheezing. The physician will need the test results to conclude whether or not the lungs and windpipe of the patient are blocked. Another reason for performing chest tests is to investigate the cause of a high respiratory rate that is exhibited by the patient. The second method of investigating the patient's health condition is through interviewing the patient. The medical practitioner should make enquire about the reason behind the patient taking the OTC meds for the Mild Hay fever. The interview will also reveal the reasons as to why the patient is on the brown inhaler. The physician should seek to understand the period that the patient has been on inhalers. Furthermore, the medic should ask the patient whether their other members of her family having similar symptoms like hers. This question is purposed to investigate whether the patient is suffering from a hereditary respiratory condition.

Other possible methods used for investigation should be the spirometry and the exhaled nitric oxide tests. These tests are typically used to test whether the patient has asthma. The spirometry test is essential to determine the level of airway obstruction of the patient. On the other hand, the nitric oxide test will show the amount of nitric oxide being produced from the patient's lungs. The medical practitioner's decision to recommend for this test was attributed to the patient's past medical history as well as she was always on the inhalers. There are about 235 million people globally who are patients of asthma, as stated by the WHO. This means that there is a higher chance of Sue being still diagnosed with asthma and or with other COPD conditions. Also, the doctor might use the physical examination method. During this method, he might exam the nose, throat, and mouth of the patient. The doctor might use the stethoscope to hear the sounds being produced by the heart. This decision is attributed to the fact that the patient is wheezing and coughing. Therefore, reviewing the patient's history will also be helpful.

Diagnosis

Investigation of Clients Condition

I will continue to conduct a physical examination to Sue while interviewing her about her medical background. The physical examination will help me to determine if she had been exposed to an antigen that could have stimulated her condition. Some of the allergens include smoke from pollutants, dust, and cold. Also, to help in diagnosis, I will ask questions that will help me in understanding the symptoms and causes of asthma. I will determine the family history, lifestyle, and medicine taken by the patient. The family background and allergies tend to increase the chances of an individual having asthma. The teenager can be asked if they have any exposure to pet dander, cigar smoke, dust mites, and pollen. Also, I will ask the patient if they experience chest pains whenever exposed to cold or dry air. As a medical practitioner, I will examine the patients' physical states such as the nose, ears, throat, skin, lungs, and chest. The tests will involve the lung function test that helps in detecting how the patient exhales air from their lungs. Also, conduction of chest x rays, complete blood count, arterial blood gas measurement, carrying out a C.T. scan of the chest and pulmonary function tests to assess the functioning of the lungs (Pasteur et al., 2010, p 27). Asthma can also be diagnosed through the presence of complications such as shortness of breath, and respiratory failure. As a doctor, I will use a stethoscope to assess the rattling sound of the lungs, which is synonymous with most asthmatic patients or advanced diagnosis by use of X-ray to examine the extent of lung damage. The pulmonary tests will help in assessing the functioning of the lungs and the level of oxygen in the blood by the use of a sensor.

What the Results Showed

After the physical examination, it was found out that the patient was exposed to different allergens, which heightened the presence of asthmatic conditions. The fur from the kitten and the smoke from cigars makes the patient wheeze. Whenever Sue is exposed to these allergens and cold, she faces challenges in breathing and an increase in the chest tightness. Allergic asthma is caused whenever a patients' immune system proteins identify an allergen such as fur or dust. Whenever the body tries to protect the patient from the allergen, the antibodies end up binding with the allergens. Therefore, the chemicals which are released by the patients' immune system lead to runny nose, skin reactions, nasal congestion, which affect the airways and lungs.

Consequently, the increased shortness of breath and chest tightness when she is exercising shows that she might have a respiratory condition that becomes vibrant when her body is actively involved in physical exercises. The exercises tend to increase Sue's breathing rate, thus making her experience pain. Also, Sue has a mild fever, which is at a temperature of 37.30 C. Since the body temperatures are above the standard body temperatures, it is evident that she is suffering from a chronic respiratory condition.

Pathophysiology of Asthma

Asthma involves a couple of factors such as the windpipe inflammation with the airway contraction and resistance leading to wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. The condition tends to affect the bronchioles, trachea, and bronchi. Sue was coughing and wheezing due to the effect of asthma. She experienced differences in breathing since there was resistance as she tried to breathe in and out, thus causing her to cough profusely. The airway contractions with spasms tend to be facilitated by excessive mucus, and muscle and epithelial damage. The bronchospasms lead to the narrowing of the airways, and edema from the microvascular leakages might also cause the contraction of the airways (Pasteur et al., 2010, p38). Also, the dilation and leakage of the airway capillaries increase secretions on the respiratory tract leading to impairment of the mucus clearance.

Additionally, Sue's epithelium had been damaged due to an increase in mucus secretion that allowed penetration of allergens into the respiratory tract. Asthma leads to the rise in the mucus-secreting cells that expand the mucus-secreting glands. The thick mucus plugs on the bronchus of asthma patients end up blocking the airway. The injury on the epithelium causes epithelial peeling that results in airway impairment. The damage on the epithelium allows antigens such as pollen, dust, smoke, and fur to penetrate, thus leading to hyperresponsiveness on the airways, which is a significant component of asthma. Therefore, since Sue was highly responsive to cold, smoke, and fur, the extents of epithelial inflammation were great.

Diagnostic Challenges of Asthma

Since asthma is a worldwide epidemic, it tends to increase medical care related costs among individuals. There is a continuous increase in the causes of asthma in the current society, thus making children and adults suffer. Some of the asthmatic causes include air pollution, tobacco smoke, change in diets, exposure to the microbial substances, and specific allergens. The widespread publicity of asthma has led to overdiagnosis of the condition. Also, the incorrect diagnosis of asthma causes over or under treatment,...