The Effect of Heroin on Pregnant women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Effect of Heroin on Pregnant women - Essay Example eroin, Marijuana, Brown sugar and others have adverse and harmful side affects and it is doubly harmful for any pregnant mother as it spoils her health. Once addicted to a drug, a person finds it extremely difficult to get over it and even if he or she Many pregnant, addicted, substance abusing mothers suffer tremendously when they go through withdrawal symptoms during later pregnancy and child birth. Initially when the drug is taken by a person, it makes them feel heavy and drowsy. They are hardly conscious of their surroundings and very often go into delirium. (Bauer, C.R., et al. September, 2005) Heroin affects the nervous system, making the person’s mental responses slow and clouded. Their breathing becomes heavy and slow and the Cardiac function slows down very much, sometimes to the point of death. Withdrawal symptoms are extremely difficult to go through. During this period, the mother experiences, extreme craving for the drug, and if left alone, can use it once again. The mother undergoing these symptoms is irrational and exhibits irritability. She becomes moody and throws a lot of frustration around. She has sleep abnormalities and The addicted pregnant mother experiences all this, in addition to severe hormonal imbalance which adversely affects the growing fetus in the mother’s womb. The results of such an experience, is fatal to the unborn child and may damage the fetus for life. Though it is quite a difficult task to treat addiction, yet there are ways and means that a person can get over his or her addiction. Treatment can be done in two ways. The person can be treated as an out – patient or in the very severe cases it is better to treat the addiction if she is an in- patient. For pregnant mothers addicted to heroin, it is better for them to be treated as in – patients because they can be always under the watchful eyes of the physician or nurse who could help immediately if things did not go quite right. Illicit drugs such as Heroin,

Musculoskeletal System Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Musculoskeletal System - Article Example Since this system is comprised of bone and muscle, it is also responsible for giving mass or shape to our body and protecting our internal organs. This system is also responsible for storing calcium in bones and producing red and white blood cells as well as corpuscles (Judge, 2007). There are four common conditions that affect this system and these are osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and injuries relating to muscles from strenuous activities such as with sports. Some of the conditions are more related to age and the general degeneration of tendons and ligaments, such as with osteoarthritis that damages tendons and ligaments due to the bearing down of weight on the joints (Judge, 2007). Before diagnosing musculoskeletal conditions, it is important to make a patient assessment first. Taking note of the patients' past medical history, family history and social history need to be taken in consideration because these play an important factor in some musculoskeletal conditions. The medication or drug history of the patient should also be assessed because some drugs cause muscular degeneration. Certain ethnic groups are also predisposed to conditions that affect this system due to their diet, an example of which are Asians who lack Vitamin D in their diets and are at high risk for osteoporosis (Judge, 2007). Next is the pain assessment where the mnemonic PQRST is used. The mnemonic stands for Provoke, Quality, Region, Severity and Timing. These keywords are used in order for the patient to describe the pain, for example if the pain is provoked by sudden movement, or where the pain is localized. Once the description of the pain is noted, physical examination can be done on the affected region where pain is reported. General inspection of the affected region requires the patient and the nurse to assess how much pain or swelling there is and if the patient can move or mobilize the affected part without adding more injury. This inspection may also require assistance especially for those who may find it difficult to move because of the pain or swelling. One of the common methods in managing sprains that affect the musculoskeletal system is to cold or hot compress the affected area. Resting and elevating the affected region is also one of the common methods of management in order to alleviate the pain and swelling. This is for minor conditions that help alleviate the pain and swelling. Monitoring the affected region for possible complication is the next step in the management process if the pain aggravates or the swelling gets worse. In monitoring the pain or swelling, checking the temperature of the swelling is important so that it can be checked for further infections. Taking pain killers like analgesics can help in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. The prescribing of analgesics depend on the gravity of the pain and if it will not counteract with any medication currently taken by the patient. There are non-medication types of pain management such as positioning of the body, distractions or massage of the affected area. Another part of management is immobilization and mobilization. The affected part may need to be rested or immobilized for a few days in order for the swelling to