How to treat terminally ill

• May 5, 2024

A closer look at the final medical care and treatments.

When the time comes and our loved ones suffer serious illnesses and are dying, face decisions about medical treatments, and even care in the last days It is usually too confusing and difficult for family members, as well as for those who care for them.

Here are some important things you need to know to deal adequately with the elderly who suffer from serious illnesses. It is advisable that before taking a decision , know some of the basic meanings of your essential terms .

Advance Directive

This is the term that describes the wide variety of legal instructions to which the patient can register to express their wishes regarding future medical treatments. The directive normally includes a living will, the CPR Directive and a special power of attorney.

CPR Directive

The CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) directive is the prior order to indicate to emergency medical teams that they do not use CPR. In most states, the Delegations of Public Health and the Environment issue a CPR directive form that a patient can use by purchasing bracelets or necklaces from the RCP directive.

Do Not Resuscitate Order

This is a directive written by a doctor, at the patient's request, in which he asks the nursing home or the hospital staff, not to resuscitate a patient if he suffers from cardiac arrest or stops breathing.

Care of comfort

This is a treatment aimed primarily at relieving the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering that patients who are dying often experience. The main goal here is not to cause death, but to allow it to occur in the most comfortable, smooth and painless way possible.

Hospice

This is the care given to patients who are seriously ill by an interdisciplinary team that works in cooperation with a certified doctor. The objective of the team is to provide comfort, whether in the asylum, hospice, hospitals or even at home.

Power before a notary

This is a document signed by the patient in which someone is appointed to act as an agent in making medical treatment decisions when they can not communicate on their own.

* This information may change depending on the country

Terminal care techniques

Understanding Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

The most common form of CPR is breathingmouth to mouth ion. This works by pressing the patient's chest to stimulate the heart and lungs , producing oxygen . Staff trained in CPR management knows how to use air tubes, electro shocks, fast-acting medications and advanced life support. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is very beneficial for patients suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.

What is tube feeding?

Probe feeding is the delivery of nutrients and fluids to patients who can no longer drink and eat by mouth. The tube feeding in the short term it uses a long tube that is usually inserted through the nose and esophagus directly to the stomach. For long-term tube feeding, it can be inserted directly into the patient's skin to the intestines or stomach. The tube that goes to the stomach is called Gastric tube and the one used in the bowels , jejunal probe.

What is mechanical ventilation?

Fans, also called respirators, are machines that pump oxygen to and from a patient's lungs and airways. These are mechanical substitutes for normal breathing.

Although they are not a cure, these machines can give time to see if patients are able to breathe naturally or not. A patient can receive mechanic ventilation in three ways: through a mask , from a tube endotracheal , or a tracheotomy.

Patients who use mechanical ventilators should sit on a chair or be in bed with restricted movements. As with patients with an endotracheal tube, they are not able to speak or swallow correctly .  

Video Medicine: We're Terminally Ill But Living Life to the Full | This Morning (May 2024).