Chronic diseases, cancer diseases, heart diseases may require lifelong follow-up and treatment. While individuals fight with chronic conditions, the treatment process can negatively affect them mentally. Such situations also affect the course of the disease and cause a decrease in the quality of life of the individual. Individuals with chronic conditions are constantly undergoing treatment, so they may need help between hospital and home. Palliative care is preferred to improve the quality of life of people whose treatment continues throughout life and to minimize the negativities characteristic of the disease. The main aim of palliative care is to improve the care available for the person and their parents.
It is natural for people to become ill not only physically but also mentally. According to the situations that develop in human life, it may be necessary to seek special medical assistance. This is why there are specializations in medicine. There are branches such as pediatricians and pediatric dentists that specialize in certain ages and provide medical assistance and treatment for these groups. With the increase in the average age of people, "old age" is now handled under a different heading in the field of medicine.
Which Patients Does Palliative Care Care Care for?
It is applied to reduce the suffering of the sick person and improve the quality of life. We can list the people who benefit from palliative care as follows;
- Dependent people with open bedsores because they are constantly lying down
- People with advanced organ failure
- Cancer patients who do not respond to treatment
- Neurological patients such as Alzheimer's
- People with Parkinson's disease
- People whose nutritional status has deteriorated due to neurological, mental or physical factors and who need nutritional support can benefit from this care.
Which treatments does palliative care cover?
Palliative care is a field of medicine that provides support to people who are not completely well due to chronic conditions or who need help at the end of life. Palliative care includes the following treatment supports;
- Reducing unwanted side effects caused by the condition in the person who is ill
- Alleviating the pain of the sick person
- Easy breathing
- Keeping symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, insomnia, depression under control
- Supporting the patient's nutrition
- Meeting the psycho-social and spiritual needs of the sick person
- Providing education to patients and relatives
- End-stage care of the patient