Alcoholism Is An Extremely Common Disease And It Affects

Alcoholism is an extremely common disease and it affects more than just the person who has it. This disease is defined as a family disease in which the person and the family are affected economically, psychosocially, and developmentally. Alcoholism is seen as a family disease because it affects the person and the family as a unit while also having lasting damages. Once someone in the family is diagnosed with alcoholism, it is more likely for others to follow in the footsteps because they see it as normal. The defining characteristics of alcoholism are; loss of control of drinking, denial of problems, alcohol abuse, impaired communication, rationalization, manipulation, dependency, refusal to get help and enabling behaviors. Roughly†¦show more content†¦The article concluded that the teaching of this topic is important in the culture we live in now because substance abuse is becoming more of an issue. To improve care for patients with substance abuse, it is important to start teaching the knowledge in nursing school and to continue the education throughout the nurses’ career to stay on top of ways to care and treat the patients with this disease. It is the responsibility of a nurse to be able to care for each individual patient no matter what their problems may be. The responsibility of a nurse is to treat and care for a patient and to provide the best care that they possibly can. With the enhanced education about substance abuse, the overall care for patients with t his problem will improve drastically. Patients Story: Patient XX is a 50-year-old female admitted to the acute care unit for a GI bleed and is being treated for alcohol withdrawal as well. Her vital signs are; Blood pressure of 117/62 taken in a lying position on the left arm with an automatic cuff, a temperature of 97.2 degrees Fahrenheit taken in the left ear with the tympanic thermometer, a pulse of 68 taken radially on the right arm while in the lying position, a respiration rate of 16 while the patient was lying down, and an oxygen saturation of 99% taken on the right index finger. She states that she feels much better today and she was happy she can finally eat normal food without it hurting her stomach. When asked about how her alcoholShow MoreRelatedAlcoholism : Is Alcoholism A Disease?929 Words   |  4 PagesAlcoholism has raised many debates over the truth of its nature. Many scholars argue that alcoholism can be treated as a disease. Such approach to defining alcoholism means denying that alcohol abusers own a choice. In consequence, the treatment related differs and may or may not actually help alcoholics recover. 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