Very professional diagnosis

Hello everyone! This is my final Action Project for my class Cure! This class was a part of a 3-class series focused on people and the many diseases they have and how we can cure them or stop them in the first place. In class, we went over things like probability, risk assessment, and what preventative care is. We had some doctors like Dr. Karen Johnson and Chris Riley, who both talked about what they do and how they do it. This all led into our Action Project for this unit. We were to choose a person and make a patient profile on them, detailing things like what health problems they have had in the past. We then were to make a preventative care plan, which they would follow in order to not have any complications in the future. This is my project, so I hope you enjoy!

 The person who I wanted to do my profile on is an African American teen in Chicago. The disorder they wish to prevent is heart complications, mainly asthma. Common symptoms of  asthma include things like breathing through the mouth, dry coughs, rapid breathing, and many others. My patient is 16, is around 5’8”, exercises a fair bit, and is African American. They live in a part of Chicago where smoking is pretty common. They also have Atrial Septal Defect, which is how their asthma formed. 

According to their family history, no one in their family had any heart complications before, so they’re the first in their family to have this. Of the immediate family, there’s only 8% or so of someone having heart issues, which is my patient in this case. When discussing the risk assessment for my patient, it’s found that the risk of an asthma attack is very high. They don’t take things like medication unless necessary, are in an environment where smoking happens often, and don’t have their inhalers on them in case something happens. They do exercise, so that helps with the risks, but they still are at higher risk than they should be.

Test took by my patient, screenshot by AR

In order to make sure my patient has a good and healthy life, they need to make the right changes to what they do. A good place to start is with nutrition. Having more foods with vitamin A and D (such as salmon, eggs, sweet potatoes and leafy green vegetables), magnesium (which helps diverse reactions in the body and are found in spinach or dark chocolate), some caffeine here and there, and other foods and help with your bronchial tubes/lungs are good for you. Of course, with portions, eat as much as you regularly would, and not to the point where you get too full.

For medications, there’s two big types of medications that are used to help asthma: long term medicine and rescue medicine. Long term medications are used to stop chronic symptoms of asthma. Things like Fluticasone can help stop asthma attacks from happening. Sides may include things like nausea, headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and some others. 

The other form of medicine is short-term/rescue medicine, which exists to help during situations where an attack could happen or has happened. One example is Ipratropium, which helps open up airways in the lungs. The side effects are similar to Fluticasone. 

To deal with asthma, my patient can also start making more lifestyle changes to help with asthma. Things like sleep, keeping weight in check and exercising a bit each day definitely helps. Sleep allows you to control your immune system, allowing your overall health to stay consistent. Things like napping and avoiding tech an hour or 2 before sleeping should generally be avoided. Keeping yourself in a healthy weight range puts less stress on your lungs. Exercise can help with keeping inflammation under control. Things like 10-15 minutes of walking is a good way to get some low impact exercise in. 

If my patient wants to take a less traditional approach to asthma control, there are more alternative therapies to explore. One therapy is breathing exercises. Things like yoga, where you’re focusing on your breathing, can help you control your breathing and expand your lungs. Another remedy is caffeine or caffeine-like chemicals. Caffeine is a natural bronchodilator, meaning it can help. 

For my patient, a good plan to help them lower their risks of any asthma attacks would be as follows:

• Incorporate greens into your meals, effective next week

• Use your preventative inhaler every day, effective immediately 

• Practice yoga/breathing exercises for at least 3 days per week, effective next week

With these, I can assure that my patient will help themselves and make sure they are as healthy as they can be in their situation. 

This AP definitely made me dig a bit deeper. I wasn't sure what I wanted to really do, but I decided on asthma because it's something that I find interesting and something that can definitely be helped. It was also pretty cool to relate family history to how you are now.

Works Cited

https://www.facebook.com/WebMD. “Asthma and Diet.” WebMD, WebMD, 24 Sept. 2007, www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/asthma-diet-what-you-should-know.

Lloyd, William C. “Meal Planning with Asthma.” Healthgrades, 1 Dec. 2015, www.healthgrades.com/right-care/asthma/meal-planning-with-asthma. Accessed 3 June 2022.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Do Complementary and Alternative Approaches Work?” Mayo Clinic, 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/in-depth/asthma-treatment/art-20044554.

Sampson, Stacey. “Asthma Treatment-Alternative Therapies.” Healthline, 11 Sept. 2014, www.healthline.com/health/natural-asthma-treatment-and-alternative-therapies#mindbody.