Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory conditions that affect millions of people worldwide. The disease typically manifests as inflammation and constriction within the airways, thus causing breathing, cough, and wheeze problems. Due to this prevalence of asthma and the potential severity of the disease condition, an effective approach to managing asthma is required.
That’s why a comprehensive nursing care plan for asthma plays a vital role to help patients in a better way. No doubt, it requires a multidisciplinary approach and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. In addition to this, educating patients and their families also brings positive outcomes.
Asthma is a potentially life-threatening, chronic inflammatory disease process affecting the respiratory tract. It is characterized by the inflammation of the airways and results in periodic or constant reversible constriction. Therefore, it makes the process of breathing hard. Moreover, the difficulty in breathing may range from acute to chronic and may be easily provoked by some factors, such as allergens, exercise, and respiratory infection.
We can say that asthma is a bronchial inflammatory disease characterized by exaggerated mucus production and bronchoconstriction with the resultant symptoms of wheeze, cough, and shortness of breath. Indeed, it is a chronic condition that requires long-term management in order to reduce symptoms.
A person can suffer from asthma at any age. Though most people get it in their early years of childhood. A family history of asthma is one of the factors likely to have a person getting the condition. Also, a person can suffer from respiratory infections even at the early years of childhood due to smoke exposure and allergic reactions.
Diagnosis of Asthma
Diagnosis is done by complete medical history and physical examination alongside diagnostic lung function tests for inflammation and hyperreactivity of the airways.
- Medical History and Physical Examination
Practitioners use the shown symptoms, triggers, and past medical events to diagnose asthma. Furthermore, the physical examinations may bring to light wheezing, chest tightness, and low-functioning levels in lungs.
- Confirmation of Asthma
Confirming asthma is carried out with such tests as spirometry, measuring peak flow, and tests to elicit allergic responses. Indeed, such tests check the functioning of the lungs, responsiveness of the airways, and higher risk factors in terms of allergic reactions.
Elements of a Nursing Care Plan for Asthma
Nursing care plan for asthma must handle the asthma in the best possible way. Moreover, nurses should try their best to bring comfort to their patients. Nursing diagnosis intervention for asthma should be developed. Furthermore, the nurses should design the achievable goals and customized strategies in the nursing care plans to manage the symptoms of asthma and to bring improvement in the quality of life.
- Realistic Setting of Goals & Outcome
Nurses should establish goals to enhance symptom control, decrease exacerbations, improve lung function, and educate the patient about self-management in the therapy of asthma.
- Individualized Plan Development
The nurse works collaboratively with each individual patient on an individualized care plan that contains elements to include triggers, medication management, monitoring symptoms, and actions to be taken if there is a need for medical provider help.
- Asthma: Pharmacologic Therapy
Pharmacological asthma interventions are for treatment and control purposes. No doubt, they play a vital role in the management of asthma in daily life and before any event of acute episodes. Moreover, the characteristics, features, and methods of administration of the available pharmacological therapy must be well-understood and correctly explained to the patient.
- Asthma Drugs
The common medications within nursing care plan for asthma are bronchodilators. In asthma, both long-acting and short-acting—inhaled corticosteroids, leukotriene modifiers, and biologics are used. The purpose of each of these medicines is to control inflammation or bronchoconstriction.
Nurses should inform the patient about proper inhaler technique, dosage schedules, and side effects of the medications. Furthermore, the calculation of medicine effectiveness and patient adherence is all important during the course of dealing with asthma in the best way possible to get better outcomes.
Non-Pharmacological Interventions & Patient Education
All of us know that only medicine can’t do everything. We must bring changes in our lifestyle to live an active and healthy life. Similarly asthmatic patients must follow the guidelines related to their lifestyle modification.
Lifestyle management is key in controlling asthma. No doubt, it can eliminate factors that may trigger asthma, such as smoke, dust, and pollen, and thus promoting good health and normal weight through exercise, with proper cleaning of the house. There should also be good indoor air quality through good aeration.
On the other hand , the general management of asthma is done through patient education. In this aspect, the process of education entails the technique of the inhaler, demonstration, and return demonstration. Indeed, it recognizes the early manifestations of deteriorating conditions and the formulation of an asthma action plan in times of an emergency.
Modify Care Plan if Necessary
Another important thing is the assessment of the nursing care plan for asthma. No doubt, it is significant to check the effectiveness of the care plan and assess it in relation to the patient’s condition. Consequently, health workers can make decisions on adjustments to treatment and care that take account of presented symptoms, medication use, and peak flow readings.
Furthermore, a dynamic plan of care for asthma allows flexibility and may be altered after changes in the patient’s state. In cases of poor control of symptoms, the therapeutic regimen may become ineffective, and the health care provider may need to change dosages of drugs, medications, or lifestyle recommendations for optimization of asthma.
Thus, the nursing care plan for asthma forms such a critical component that needs to be reviewed. Nurses should update it as per the situation. Therefore, nurses should ensure it still meets the person’s needs appropriately and remains current with any changes that have occurred in its condition.
In addition to this, the patient needs emotional support from the family and other caregivers. They also need help in handling many drugs. Moreover they need help and proper education in identifying and avoiding triggers that can make the situation worse.
FAQs
- What is an asthma care plan?
An action plan to manage asthma is known as asthma care plan. It is an individualized, written worksheet that includes steps to stop your asthma from becoming worse.
- What is the 444 asthma plan?
It involves providing patients with 4 separate puffs to take 4 breaths for each puff after every 4 minutes.
- What is type 4 asthma?
It is a severe form of asthma. In this case, the patient suffers from asthmatic attack on a daily basis nearly seven times within a week.
