235 Nursing Assessment, Management and Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases
Nurses should emphasize the importance of adhering to the prescribed regimen and how to recognize and report side ef- fects (Comerford & Durkin, 2021). Providing emotional support is critical. Patients’ mental health should be moni- tored and appropriate interventions and referrals to mental health professionals made. Family members/caregivers should also be monitored for mental health issues since they, too, are under emotional stress (Rebar et al., 2017): ● Educate and support patients and family with the following recommendations (Mayo Clinic, 2021b). ● Encourage patients to maintain normal daily activities as able. ● Encourage patients to interact and maintain contact with family and friends, but to avoid those with infections or contagious diseases while taking immunosuppressing medications ● Encourage patients to pursue hobbies that they enjoy and are able to do. ● Facilitate connections with support groups. ● Encourage patients and families to discuss feelings and concerns regarding living with MS. ● Explain that it is important for patients and families to monitor signs and symptoms, what causes them to become worse, and what, if anything, helps to reduce the symptoms. ● Explain that patients and families should write down questions and concerns to ask the healthcare team in order to avoid forgetting important issues. ● Encourage patients to bring a family member or friend with them
when they have appointments with healthcare team members. Psoriasis Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin disease characterized by an acceleration of the growth cycle of skin cells. Although psoriasis can be treated, there is no cure. A dermatologist is often the best health- care provider to diagnosis psoriasis be- cause it has been confused with other skin disease, such as eczema (CDC, 2020b). Psoriasis is characterized by raised, red, itchy, scaly patches on various parts of the body. Psoriasis patches can range from a few spots of dandruff-like scaling to major plaques that cover large areas. The areas most commonly affected are the lower back, elbows, knees, legs, soles of the feet, scalp, face, and palms (Mayo Clinic, 2020c). An estimated 125 million people throughout the world (two to three per- cent of the total population) have psori- asis. In the US, more than three percent of the adult population is affected by psoriasis; this translates to more than 7.5 million adults (National Psoriasis Founda- tion, 2021). Figure 6 is a picture of the characteris- tic patches on the skin of a patient with psoriasis. Figure 6. Psoriasis Skin Patches
Note . Image from Unsplash opensource
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