Question

Give an example of how you could work with a health professional to find out about a consumer’s condition and to understand how this affects the consumer’s risk. Who is the health professional? What is the condition? How does it affect the risk?

Suggest ways in which you could work with the consumer to minimise this risk, In accordance with the varying needs, circumstances and preferences of consumers.

Answer 1

Health professionals study, diagnose, treat and prevent human illness, injury and other physical and mental impairments in accordance with the needs of the populations they serve. They also conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories and operational methods to advance evidence-based health care.

For example

Let us assume we have a patient who is 55 years old, with BMI of 30. In addition to this he has a history of smoking and alcohol intake for the past 35 years. He also has a family history of diabetes, hypertension and thyroid. His diet is not proper, and he eats at odd hours and generally late at night. His lifestyle is sedentary and there is hardly any physical activity.

Physical findings include. FBS of 250 mg/dl, BP- 134/82mm hg and Hb1Ac of 8.6. eye examination – normal.

So patient s condition is he is a type 2 diabetic with obesity

He also has decreased physical activity due to a sedentary lifestyle and bad dietary habits.

The consumer is therefore associated with the following risks-

· Cardiovascular disease. Diabetes dramatically increases the risk of various cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis).

· Nerve damage (neuropathy). Excess sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish your nerves, especially in your legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward.

Left untreated, you could lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. Damage to the nerves related to digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. For men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction.

· Kidney damage (nephropathy). The kidneys contain millions of tiny blood vessel clusters (glomeruli) that filter waste from your blood. Diabetes can damage this delicate filtering system. Severe damage can lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

· Eye damage (retinopathy). Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the retina (diabetic retinopathy), potentially leading to blindness. Diabetes also increases the risk of other serious vision conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma.

· Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of various foot complications. Left untreated, cuts and blisters can develop serious infections, which often heal poorly. These infections may ultimately require toe, foot or leg amputation.

· Skin conditions. Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.

· Hearing impairment. Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes

These risks can be minimized by

Based on the nutrition diagnosis, problems are addressed that aid in alleviation of the diagnosis’ signs and symptoms. Activities are constructed to enable the patient to work towards objectives set for them by themselves and their nutrition professional.

Activities include smoking cessation and decrease in alcohol consumption. consume foods which contain lean protein, high-fiber, less processed carbs, fruits, and vegetables, low-fat dairy, and healthy vegetable-based fats such as avocado, nuts, canola oil, or olive oil. Restrict salt intake to less than 6 gm/day. If consuming fats consume more of fats which contain poly unsaturated fatty acids. Drink adequate amount of water. Perform physical exercise of atleast 30 mins everyday 4-5 times a week and gradually increasing it to 45 minutes..

Aim at loosing weight should be the foremost priority as it would alleviate the disease symptoms. so start by loosing 1lb per week which is a healthy way to loose weight. By loosing 10% of your body weight the Hba1c will be significantly improved. target at BMI of 25. Regular follow up to clinician to record weight and regular estimation of blood sugar. Here, patient was not complying to the earlier treatment, hene compliance should also be ensured by the patient. Prepare a diet chart for the patient and also ask him to maintain a chart whatever he is eating everyday. Ensure he is consuming 40-60% of carbohydrates, 20-25% fat and 20% of protein in his diet, which forms an ideal healthy meal.