Catriona is 37 years old, and she has one child. She is a new patient in dire need for medical interventions. She has scheduled an appointment to improve her posture exercises that will reduce shoulder aches. After she woke up in the morning today, she describes that she experienced a strange feeling on her left face because she felt numbness. Consequently, her tongue was fizzing and tingling. She thought that she had slept in a strong position on her pillow during the night. She suspected such a cause because she experienced mild headaches when she was reading her book before she slept. Such feelings gave her fright after waking up, thus rushing to the bathroom to examine her face in the mirror. She used her hands to feel the sensation on her face while looking on her face in the mirror. She thought her face was normal, although she could not fathom the causes of the uneasiness. She explains that she felt her hands when she touched her face. She continuously touched her face to feel the touch after she drove her child at school. Moreover, she explains that she is experiencing difficulties in communication because words were hampered, and they could not come out, and if she speaks, she experiences problems.
Past medical history
Importance of past medical history help in knowing the risk associated with hereditary diseases and disorders. It provided information about Catriona and her close family friends. The risk of heart disease and diabetes are genetically inherited. However, it is not a guarantee that family friend or relative suffers from the same chronic illness because further examinations are recorded in the hospital for diagnostic. However, it will assist in providing lifestyle guidelines such as increasing exercises
Second, questions on past medical history help in keeping track of medications. It is recommended to provide relevant information for efficient medical intervention. For example, Catriona has not recorded her past medications that revealed she had no past medical history. It is crucial to provide records of medications both in hospital and over-the-counter prescriptions such as painkillers. Third, it assists in helping family members who are vulnerable at risk of disease. Family members are alerted in case of a predisposing factor. For example, Catriona has mild disorders such as fizzling and tingling of the tongue. After examination, if found with contagious or chronic disease, it will be easier to protect the family members. Similarly, such information helps the patient to become a better caregiver. Patients can ask any relevant questions to doctors hence feeling more secure. Patient can become a caregiver after recovery if he or she has adequate information. Medical history acts as a reference in case of a future outbreak. Finally, past medical history can be invaluable in an emergency. In a situation where there is limited engagement between patient and doctor, medical history could mean the difference between life and death. Under normal circumstances, it saves time in search of appropriate medications or allergies. Some questions asked include, describe your past medical history? Have you been to medicines in the last week? Do you have hereditary disorders in the family?
Family medical history
Family medical history is vital to the doctor in various ways. It involves record of three family generations of relatives. Families have some familiar characters such as genes, environment, and lifestyle. By so doing, the information is used to provide medical interventions of the family. Disclosure of particular disorder trait in the family, it makes it easy to predict the future risk to the members of the family and future generations. It helps to determine the higher-than-usual chance of a common disorder in a family such as a stroke, particular cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. Such factors are a result of lifestyle choices, environmental conditions, and genetic factors.
Additionally, it helps in examining rare conditions caused by a mutation in a single gene such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. Besides, a person with no family medical history may be at risk of developing the disorder such as Catriona, who did not provide any family medical history. It helps recommendations for screening, such as mammography and colonoscopy of cancer diseases. Questions asked to patients include, are there health problems within your family? Do you have allergic conditions in your family? Is there anyone in your family that had fizzing and tingling of the tongue?
Patient systems
The importance of examining the patient’s system helps in connecting the present illness to therapeutic outcome. If the history is linked well, successful laboratory tests have carried that act as confirmatory. It helps incorrect diagnosis and management of a particular disorder through pathophysiologic. Some questions asked include, did you have respiratory problems in the past?
Exams
Exams to be conducted include capillaroscopy that is used to distinguish between primary and secondary Raynaud’s and cold stimulation test.
Cold stimulation test
The test is used in conjunction with other tests to diagnose the disorder. A small device for measuring temperature is attached to the figures with a tape. Hands are placed in ice water to trigger symptoms. They are then removed, and the device records the time taken for the fingers to return to average body temperature. However, the test may cause some discomfort, although there are no risks attached to it.
Expected results from the finding
If the device records an average temperature within 15 minutes, the tests are standard. However, if it takes a longer time to return to average temperature, the patient has Raynaud’s. Thus doctor orders for more tests, which include the C-reactive protein test, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and antinuclear antibodies test.
Pathophysiological
Patients with Raynaud’s disease, one or more body parts may have intense vasospasm, which may result in color change under severe conditions. Patients experience three phases that include vasoconstriction, cyanosis, and rapid blood reflow. Affected parts are those susceptible to cold injury that can affect ischemic and face. Vascular tone is affected due to vasoconstriction of endothelial cells, muscular layer, and neuronal stimulation, as witnessed in the Catriona case.
Diagnostic imaging
Catriona does not require radiotherapy because the symptoms she portrayed signifies that she has Raynaud’s disease. She has symptoms such as fizzing and tangling of the tongue, numbness of the face, and mild headache, as discussed in pathophysiology.
Other systems
The patient experience numbness on the face, toes, and fingers. Additionally, she experienced numbness. The patient may portray pulmonary arterial vasospasm in rare cases. It may cause plague build up in the blood vessels that feed the heart with blood. It also affects the nose and throat, although that disorder is mitigated through warming. Besides, it affects the digestive system by blocking calcium channels. It affects the autoimmune connective tissue that transports protein-rich lymph by causing inflammatory in the lymphatic vessels. Moreover, it may have arthritis that is a musculoskeletal disease and affecting the sympathetic nervous system.