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Side effects of using corticosteroid to treat Addison’s disease
Patients diagnosed with Addison’s disease needs to take up their medication daily in order to replace the inadequate hormones. This normally helps the patients to live a normal life. Treatment mainly involves use of corticosteroids (steroid therapy) to replace hormones lost and those not produced by the aldosterone. Although these medications are effective, corticosteroids are associated with short term and long term side effects (Bentley, 2011)
The short-term side effects includes stomach upset, increased irritability, weight gain due to water retention, increased fat on the face, unusual hair growth , high blood pressure, and risk of other infections. The long-term side effects include muscle weakness, brittle bones, and stunted growth among the children. To minimize such side effects, people taking the drugs should be watched carefully and of necessary, their doses reduced as low doses can be effective and have minimal side effects (In Arieti, 2014).
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Factors that make it problematic for management Addison’s disease in adolescents
The process of diagnosing Adrenal insufficiency is usually a challenge. This is because most of clinical manifestation are nonspecific, and tend to vary according to the underlying causative agent and extent of disease progress. It is important to make early diagnosis as the disease can be life threatening if not diagnosed early enough. The signs and symptoms and management of the diseases are the main challenges faced by the adolescents diagnosed with Addison’s disease. These include issues such as fatigue, malaise, and general muscle weakness. This negatively impacts on quality of life and their daily activities (Helms, 2015).
Importance of inter-professional team for treatment of Addison disease
Team-work in management of Addison disease is important as it aids in improving patient quality of life, reduce mortality, improve communication, reduce errors, and increase patient satisfaction. In this case study, healthcare staff from the following disciplines should work together when delivering care to Addison’s patients. These include physicians, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists. This will help in developing a detailed case related information, which facilitates the decision making processes (Bar, 2013).
References
Bar, R. S. (2013). Early diagnosis and treatment of endocrine disorders. Totowa, N.J: Humana Press.
Bentley, P. J. (2011). Endocrine pharmacology: Physiological basis and therapeutic applications. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.
Helms, R. A. (2015). Textbook of therapeutics: Drug and disease management. Philadelphia,
Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
In Arieti, S. (2014). American handbook of psychiatry. New York: Basic Books.
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