Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory disease that affects different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease ruins the small intestines, but it can occur anywhere from the larynx to the anus. It is considered an immune disease and produces inflammation of the tract. The usual age of patients is 20-30 years old. Thus, this disease can occur in any age, but prevails among people of Jewish origin. The disease affects both white and black population. The main symptoms are pain in gastrointestinal track, diarrhea, weight loss and arthritis. It is particularly insidious in that the pain and distress from the Crohn’s disease often cause the person to have phases of depression and problems with performance of usual work functions (Warner and Barto, 2007). In spite of great changes in science, the course of the disease is unknown. There is a prediction that strains of mycobacterium (bacteria) can be a cause of the Crohn’s disease. The disease has a great impact on quality of life, and the task of a nurse professional is to help a patient overcome possible problems and reduce negative feelings related to disease. The takes of the nurse is to explain to the patient that the medicines used to treat the Crohn’s disease produce serious side effects and can be addictive. In some case, colectomy is necessary, but living with the ileostomy can be emotionally and socially devastating (Roscher, 2008). There are several subtypes of the disease which includes Crohn’s colitis (pain and bloody diarrhea), Crohn’s enteritis (abdominal pain and diarrhea), Crohn’s terminal ileitis(abdominal pain and diarrhea), Crohn’s entero-colitis and ileo-colitis( pain and bloody diarrhea) (Warner and Barto, 2007).
The fist stage of education plan is to prepare the patient to live with this condition (with Crohn’s disease) for a long time. It is important to understand that strict diet, limited physical activity and regular treatment are the only measures which would help the patient to live longer. It is important to underline that there millions of people with this disease who experience any problem after surgical treatment or drug treatment (Gulanick and Myers, 2007). The second stage is to explain possible problems and difficulties the patient can experience. A patient with this disease usually has excessive absenteeism and decreased job performance when the employee has attacks or is on drug therapy. It is important to help the patient to overcome depression and anxiety caused by the pain. The Crohn’s disease is not linked to the work environment, so the company will not be required to create special work settings in job content. Anxiety occurs when the person is upset about having performance judged and are frightened by the process. One form of control is test anxiety, which has undesirable effects on health. For patients with Crohn’s disease, test distress can be evident in both written examinations and evaluations. Instead of focusing on positive moments, patients with high anxiety worry about their performance and health conditions. In Crohn’s disease, stress is associated with intrusion of such thoughts as preoccupation with feelings of inadequacy, expectation of punishment, and loss of status and self-esteem (Sklar and Sklar, 2007).
The main challenges of the patient are sudden pain and blockage of the intestine. These are the extreme conditions required immediate hospitalization. It is important to recognize that treatment only controls symptoms and slows the inflammatory process, but it has not been extremely effectual in preventing flare-ups of the disease when the person is under unexpected stressful situations. So, the main task of the patient is to avoid stressful and traumatic situations in all aspects of life (Lewis et al, 2007).
Crohn’s disease needs an effective schedule created by a patient for personal needs. This panning should involve regular treatment, diet and avoidance of stressful situations. The nature of Crohn’s disease and its symptoms do not influence ability of a person to work. When the health plan comes up for renewal, the task of the patient is to modify it in accordance with new conditions and changes in his life style.
References
- Gulanick, M., Myers, J. L. (2007). Nursing Care Plans: Nursing Diagnosis and Intervention. Mosby; 6 edition.
- Lewis, S. L. et al. (2007) Medical-Surgical Nursing (Single Volume): Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems (MEDICAL SURGICAL NURSING) Mosby; 7 edition.
- Roscher, B. (2008). How to Cook for Crohn’s and Colitis: More Than 200 Healthy, Delicious Recipes the Whole Family Will Love. Cumberland House Publishing.
- Sklar, J., Sklar, M. D. M. (2007). The First Year: Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. Da Capo Press; Revised edition.
- Warner, A. S, Barto, A. E. (2007). 100 Questions & Answers About Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: A Lahey Clinic Guide. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.; 1 edition.