How Can Skilled Nurses Help Your Mom?
Skilled Nursing in Warren County
What do you know about COPD? COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It covers both chronic bronchitis, long-term bronchial inflammation, and emphysema, damage to the air sacs within the lungs. More than 24 million Americans have COPD.
COPD is most common in smokers, but it can also occur in people exposed to long-time secondhand smoke, air pollution, dust (mining or construction), or exposure to lots of fumes and gasses. It’s a disease your mom has. November is COPD Awareness Month, and a good time to consider all the reasons you should hire skilled nursing care for your mom.
What Are the Possible Treatments?
Once your mom is diagnosed with COPD, treatments will begin quickly. First, her doctor may recommend oxygen therapy. She’ll need to learn how to safely use oxygen within her home, and you need to know how to properly store it.
She may undergo surgery to help the lungs by improving lung function. In severe cases, a lung transplant may be necessary, especially in end-stage emphysema. More commonly, she’ll start with corticosteroids and other prescription medications to see if they help. Surgery is often a last resort.
What Can Skilled Nurses Do?
Skilled nursing care is helpful in making sure your mom takes care of herself or has the help she needs if she’s unable to do it on her own. Skilled nurses come to her home after discussing her medical care plan with her doctors. They help her with those treatments and let the doctor know if the plan isn’t working.
One of the first things is to help your mom with oxygen intake. If her doctor recommends oxygen therapy, a skilled nurse can help her find the right level of care. Her nurse can monitor her oxygen saturation levels and ensure they’re high enough.
Does your mom have a hard time getting the right nutrients? She could work with a nutritionist to create meal plans that match her nutritional needs. Plus, you can learn how to make meals and snacks that provide the nutrients that her body needs.
If your mom has surgery to improve her lung function, post-hospital care is important. She will need someone to monitor her vital signs, like blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels. Your mom’s nurse can also help with wound care. Her nurse can change her bandages, clean the healing incision, and cover the incision with sterile bandages.
Your mom must stop smoking if she is a smoker. She may need medications to help ease nicotine cravings. If one isn’t working, she may need another. A skilled nurse can work with her doctor to find medications that help the most.
Call a specialist in skilled nursing care to learn more about COPD care services. Your mom doesn’t have to navigate her changing health on her own. Hire skilled nurses to help.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a professional Skilled Nursing in Warren County, VA, please contact the caring staff at LivinRite Home Care. Call Us Today at (703) 634-9991. Serving Northern Virginia, The Valley, and Surrounding Communities.
Sources:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/stories/november_copd_awareness_month.html
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