Nursing Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis Singapore

Nursing Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis Singapore

Overview

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which it harms or damages its own self of tissues such as the patient’s joint lining for example. This in turn will result to pain and deformity. This can also damage the other parts of the body not only the bony parts. This condition can also affect the blood vessels, skin, heart and a lot more and may cause destruction. In its most severe form, this health condition may result to disability in physical terms.

Symptoms and Causes

There are several sign and symptoms for Rheumatoid arthritis. Usually one can notice that there is a main inflammatory occurrence, warmth, pain upon touching, stiffness in the joints of the patient. This chronic condition will affect people for their lifetime and may affect the other bony part of the body such as the hips, knees, elbows to name a few. Almost 1/3 of other cases of Rheumatoid arthritis may involve the other organs.

The target ca use of Rheumatoid arthritis is basically the synovium. The synovium covers the joints for protection. However, due to this condition, it becomes inflamed and thickening occurs. In time, the thickened synovium destroys the bone that is encapsulates.

Nursing Care Plan for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Nursing care plan for rheumatoid arthritis is usually on the pain management side. For a patient suspected having this clinical autoimmune disease, regardless of men or women, several blood tests can be ordered such as ESR or C-reactive protein by a doctor specializing in rheumatology. Other tests involve medical imaging such as x-ray or MRI to help access or provide a clear view of the joints and its progression.

Once there’s a confirmatory diagnosis, management can begin. Several forms of drug will play a role for this illness such as NSAID’s (pain and inflammation reduction), steroids (reduce inflammation) and DMARD’s or use Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic drugs(this is to keep the pro gression of rheumatoid arthritis at a safe state).

The nurse can also refer the patient for rehabilitation such as physical or occupation therapy which can restore the strength of the joints. Lastly, another option is surgery. Health education includes supplements (such as fish oil) and activities at home (light weight-bearing exercises) that are beneficial to the patients.

Lastly, the patient can also be referred for surgery. Several procedures can help fix the joints affected. Examples are joint fusion, total join t replacement, synovectomy to name a few.

Conclusion

Rheumatoid arthritis is quite a debilitating disorder that can affect older people in due time. Thus, there should be an accurate and timely check-up in order to treat and manage this autoimmune disorder. For nurses handling this types of patient, they must know the necessary guidelines to give, do’s and don’t’s to be an effective health care worker.

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