Adult Health Flashcards
What are the risk factors that predispose someone to drug misuse?
- ACEs
- mental health issues
- other diverse factors
What are the impacts of drug misuse?
- smoked: lung issues
- injected: blood clots, bacterial skin infections, viral infections
- struggle with formal work
What support is available for those who misuse drugs?
- GP, secondary care, psychiatry services, specialist services
- methadone (heroin substitute)
- non-medication pain management
What risk factors predispose people to alcohol misuse?
- men and middle aged
- less deprived
- mental illness
- childhood abuse
What are the impacts of alcohol abuse?
- relationship breakdown
- domestic abuse
- crime
- road traffic accidents
What support is available for those suffering with alcohol misuse?
- brief advice + self care + follow up
- planned withdrawal (primary care), reducing doses of chlordiazepoxide then acamprosate
What are the acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms?
- hypertension
- tachycardia
- sweating
- tremor
- agitation
- delirium tremens
What’s included in delirium tremens?
- hypothermia
- confusion
- seizures
- hallucinations
What are does alcohol misuse become a risk factor for?
Wernicke’s Encephalopathy (thiamine deficiency)
What is classified as alcohol misuse?
- > 14 units per week
- binge drinking
What are the health inequalities experienced by men?
- shorter life expectancy
- less likely to show health seeking behaviours
- suicide and mental health
What is the trend seen in the difference in the life expectancy between men and women
The gap between life expectancies is greater in higher income countries
What are the possible reasons that men have a shorter life expectancy?
- suffer life limiting disease sooner
- higher mortality rate
- more accidental injury and interpersonal violence
Why are men less likely to seek healthcare?
- stigma on mental health
- less socially connected
- more prone to substance misuse, alcohol dependence and homelessness
What is the prevalence of men committing suicide?
3/4 suicides are male (females tend to attempt)
Why are men more successful at committing suicide?
- more violent manners of committing suicide
- presents signs of depression differently (more irritable)
What interventions are being put into place to reduce the health inequalities experienced by men?
- workplace health initiatives
- social prescribing initiatives
What is self care?
what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health + to prevent and deal with illness
What are the benefits of self care?
- can modify personal and intermediate risk factors for NCDs
- helps with communicable diseases via risk avoidance!, good hygiene and health literacy
What causes Wernicke’s Encephalopathy?
caused by vitamin B1 (thiamine deficiency)
What symptoms are associated with Wernicke’s encephalopathy?
- gait
- balance disturbance
- altered consciousness
- eye movement abnormalities
What is Wernicke’s Encephalopathy?
a neurological emergency
What is the likely treatment for Wernicke’s Encephalopathy?
IV thiamine
What can be used to maintain abstinence?
- acamprosate
- talking therapy
