what action should a medical assistant need to take when a patient is having extremely labored breathing while being examined by
2 answers:
Answer:
Causes
There are many different causes for breathing problems. Common causes include some health conditions and sudden medical emergencies.
Some health conditions that may cause breathing problems are:
Anemia (low red blood cell count)
Asthma
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sometimes called emphysema or chronic bronchitis
Heart disease or heart failure
Lung cancer, or cancer that has spread to the lungs
Respiratory infections, including pneumonia, acute bronchitis, whooping cough, croup, and others
Some medical emergencies that can cause breathing problems are:
Being at a high altitude
Blood clot in the lung
Collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
Heart attack
Injury to the neck, chest wall, or lungs
Pericardial effusion (fluid surrounding the heart that can stop it from filling properly with blood)
Pleural effusion (fluid surrounding the lungs that can compress them)
Life-threatening allergic reaction
Near drowning, which causes fluid buildup in the lungs
First Aid
If someone is having breathing difficulty, call 911 or your local emergency number right away, then:
- Check the person's airway, breathing, and pulse. If necessary, begin CPR.
- Loosen any tight clothing.
- Help the person use any prescribed medicine (such as an asthma inhaler or home oxygen).
- Continue to monitor the person's breathing and pulse until medical help arrives. DO NOT assume that the person's condition is improving if you can no longer hear abnormal breath sounds, such as wheezing.
- If there are open wounds in the neck or chest, they must be closed immediately, especially if air bubbles appear in the wound. Bandage such wounds at once.
- A "sucking" chest wound allows air to enter the person's chest cavity with each breath. This can cause a collapsed lung. Bandage the wound with plastic wrap, a plastic bag, or gauze pads covered with petroleum jelly, sealing it on three sides, leaving one side unsealed. This creates a valve to prevent air from entering the chest through the wound, while allowing trapped air to escape from the chest through the unsealed side.
DO NOT
DO NOT:
- Give the person food or drink.
- Move the person if there has been a head, neck, chest or airway injury, unless it is absolutely necessary. Protect and stabilize the neck if the person must be moved.
- Place a pillow under the person's head. This can close the airway.
- Wait to see if the person's condition improves before getting medical help. Get help immediately.
Prevention
Some things you can do to help prevent breathing problems:
- If you have a history of severe allergic reactions, carry an epinephrine pen and wear a medical alert tag. Your provider will teach you how to use the epinephrine pen.
- If you have asthma or allergies, eliminate household allergy triggers like dust mites and mold.
- DO NOT smoke, and keep away from secondhand smoke. DO NOT allow smoking in your home.
- If you have asthma, see the article on asthma to learn ways to manage it.
- Make sure your child gets the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine.
- Make sure your tetanus booster is up to date.
- When traveling by airplane, get up and walk around every few hours to avoid forming blood clots in your legs. Once formed, clots can break off and lodge in your lungs. While seated, do ankle circles and raise and lower your heels, toes, and knees to increase blood flow in your legs. If traveling by car, stop and get out and walk around regularly.
- If you are overweight, lose weight. You are more likely to feel winded if you are overweight. You are also at greater risk for heart disease and heart attack.
- Wear a medical alert tag if you have a pre-existing breathing condition, such as asthma.
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