Patient Education Plan Essay

This is a Patient Education Plan for a patient suffering from a gastrointestinal disease called liver cirrhosis. Gastrointestinal infection is said to be any communicable disease which involves the gastrointestinal tract making it as its portal of entry of affecting it by any means. The organisms which produce toxins cause this kind of infectious intestinal disease all by themselves. Thus, cirrhosis is an irreversible type of liver damage described as a dense scarring (fibrosis) of the hepatic tissues. In the United States, the major causes are excessive alcohol consumption and viral Hepatitis C. Other known causes include chronic hepatitis B and D, iron overload, autoimmune/inherited diseases, chronic bile duct obstruction, and drugs, toxins and other infections as well. The patient in this specific case is a 38-year old male who has been working as a gardener and janitor in one of the prestigious learning institutions in the United States. Even if he is only 38, he looks like he is 50 years old already. Let us call him â€Å"Dave† for purposes of confidentiality and patient protection. Dave is the breadwinner of a family of five. He has three children and his wife is working as a clerk for an agency within the neighborhood. Being a gardener and a janitor at the same time, he is often on duty the whole day under the intense heat of the sun with little rest or no rest at all. He also works daily without any rest days and frequently engages in over time to get extra pay to sustain life’s needs. Patient 2 Because of too much toiling done, Dave believes he deserves to relax after work so he always drinks alcohol to relax his muscles. This has become a regular habit of his for the past 15 years. It all began as a relaxing strategy until it has become a daily habit. Drinking has become his idea of socialization. Though he knows the dilemmas of habitual drinking, he is finding a hard time to get himself to minimize or stop drinking. Even at work, he keeps a bottle secretly kept so he can take sips or gulps from time to time while keeping himself busy. It has become as sort-of water to him. It should be noted that before Dave became an alcoholic, he has a large frame weighing 180 lbs. and standing at 5 feet and 11 inches. After he became an alcoholic, he now weighs only 150 lbs. which is way below his ideal weight. His skin wrinkled and darkened but with tinges of yellowish areas all throughout his body. His body bulged since his liver has inflamed already and edema has occurred inside him. Physically, one will know right then that he is sick. As to his family history, it is important to be aware that his father was also a habitual drinker but lucky enough for him that he did not develop liver cirrhosis. However, two brothers of his father had liver cirrhosis and one of them died of the disease. Therefore, said gastrointestinal disease runs in their family. Dave had a chance of going to college but because of attitude problems he fell short and finished only high school. So he ended up with a menial job as a school gardener and janitor. Based on his scholastic records, he was a good student. He gained good grades, not academically rewarding but decent enough to pass college scholarships. His alleged stubborn traits had won him over. Patient 3 The patient, Dave, preferred to engage in one-to-one learning technique rather than learning by group method. Dave has several sensitive, private and critical issues which he opts to share only with the learning provider, in this case, the nurse. In fact, Dave did not even approved of the idea of â€Å"learning† at first because of his stubbornness. He wants to do things alone but with thorough explanation, he was able to understand his condition little by little and began cooperating to work on his sick state. So what is liver cirrhosis all about? The disease has been defined earlier as a form of liver damage which affects the gastrointestinal system. Among the early signs include weakness/fatigue, anorexia, stomatitis, tea-colored urine, clay-colored stool, amenorrhea, decreased sexual urge, loss of pubic and axilla hair, hepatomegaly, jaundice, and pruritus or urticaria. Late signs involve hematological, endocrine, GIT and neurological changes. Further, it can complicate into more serious illnesses such as edema and ascites (fluid buildup), bruising and bleeding, jaundice, itching, gallstones, toxins in the blood or brain leading to impaired brain function, kidney failure, sensitivity to medication, portal hypertension, varices, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, liver cancer and problems with other organs. In Dave’s case, it began as a severe case of alcoholism combined with malnutrition which led Laennec’s cirrhosis. This went on to the destruction of hepatic cells or hepatocytes then fibrosis or scarring. Following thereafter is an obstruction of blood flow which increases pressure in the venous and sinusoidal channels then fatty infiltration leading to further fibrosis or scarring. Finally, portal hypertension or high blood pressure (hypertension) in the portal veins and its branches resulted. Patient 4 The prevalence of liver cirrhosis can come across all ages starting at the age of 21 but as the age increases, the rate of scarring progression increases as well. This means that liver cirrhosis cases are more serious with higher age. In Dave’s case, his age may directly affect the severity of his condition. Development of his illness was hastened in that it has been at least 15 years since he became a habitual drinker. It was accumulated through time and in his case, progression is faster compared to others. Because of his liver disease, he cannot work as a gardener and janitor anymore as these are jobs which require much strength and energy. He cannot fulfill his responsibilities at home and his family as well since his health is generally impaired. Further, he cannot participate in community activities too. Patient needs to be educated regarding his nutritional needs. He must monitor his calorie intake and the amounts and kinds of food that he takes to avoid obesity. If possible, he must be given a schedule of diet so he can eat the right kinds of food at the right time and place. Moreover, he must be taught how to improve his depreciating self-esteem due to inability to fulfill his usual duties. He must develop healthy lifestyle practices and new behaviors which will help him regain his confidence. From this moment on, Dave must be able to recover from his health and personality deficiencies. Instead of feeling down and troubled, he must mature by seeing the brighter side of life. The key is acceptance of his present condition and avoid feeling regretful and confused as much as possible. This can be done more competently with the support of the nurse and the significant others who are connected to him.