Risk Factors: include age 55 and older, family history of chronic venous insufficiency, high body mass index, venous reflux in deep veins, medical history of (pulmonary embolism, superficial or deep vein thrombosis, lower extremity skeletal or joint disease), multiple pregnancies, physical inactivity, and a history of venous ulcers.
Continue reading “Venous Ulcer (Reading and Sharing)”Author: Cari
Working hard to get my NI (Nurse Informatics)
Corticosteroids in Hospice and Palliative Care (Reading & Sharing)
Corticosteroids may be used to treat a variety of conditions and symptoms in the palliative care patient, including cerebral edema, spinal cord compression, pain, nausea/vomiting, malignant bowel obstruction, fatigue, and loss of appetite.
***Tumor edema is a common complication of primary or metastatic brain tumors and may cause significant symptoms of elevated intracranial pressure, such as headache, altered mental status, and seizures. Tumor edema may be secondary to tumor cell death, tumor growth, or related to treatment (for example, postoperative edema). The mainstay of therapy for brain tumor edema is systemic corticosteroids, most commonly dexamethasone. ***
Continue reading “Corticosteroids in Hospice and Palliative Care (Reading & Sharing)”Is laughter good for your health?
Heredity vs. Environment, Which is More Important?
The debate over the relative importance of nature and nurture, of heredity and environment, is centuries old. If undesirable traits are determined by heredity, there is not much anyone can do to improve human health or performance. Nowadays, most scientists avoid the debate. They say instead that heredity determines potential capacities, and it sets limits. A child who is born retarded can not grow up to be a Nobel prize winner. But scientists emphasize that both heredity and environment are important and that how a person turns out depends on a complex interaction between the two. An analogy may make the point clearer. It takes moisture and cold to make snow; you can not say that the moisture has twice as much influence as the cold in producing the snow, or half, because both elements are essential.
Breast Cancer – Carcinoma of the Breast (Reading & Sharing)
Breast cancer refers to both in situ and invasive carcinoma of the breast. Breast cancer can be of either ductal or lobular types. Breast canceris nearly exlusively the disease of women, with only 1% of breast cancers occuring in males. It is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and leading cause of death due to cancer in women 20-59 years old. More than 50% occurs in women over age 61.
Risk factors include hormone exposure, family or personal history, lifestyle factors, exposure to radiation; smoking; obesity; early menarche; late menopause; postmenopausal hormone therapy; excessive alcohol use; nulliparity; 5% to 6% are associated with a genetic mutation.
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