ESSAY: Integumentary System

Instructions
Analyze the case study found on p. 198 (“Maria’s Story”) in your textbook by addressing the assigned questions below.

While analyzing the case, be sure to identify the major problems and issues.

Draft a response or strategy for addressing the major problems and issues.
Make recommendations to improve the patient’s health.
Discuss any negative consequences that may occur if the patient’s health issue is not addressed.
Your response should be at least two pages in length. Include at least one reference to support your work in APA style. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

ANSWER

The integumentary system comprises of breasts, subcutaneous tissue, skin as well as skin appendages such as the sebaceous glands, sweat glands, hair, and nails. All these parts work together to regulate, cover, and protect the body from potential internal and external damage. While the integumentary system is critical to the wellness of any individual, its functionality is significantly more crucial to anyone diagnosed with Diabetes, like in Maria’s case. Diabetes tends to affect the system by causing dehydration (Diegel et al., 2018). Another potential major problem for Maria is the slow-healing wounds that caused by Diabetes. The constant high blood glucose levels tend to affect the individual’s neuropathy over time, hence causing poor blood circulation which is critical in skin repair. This means that her sores and wounds are likely to stay open and unhealed for longer making them susceptible to infection….

Despite the complications that come with having Diabetes, Maria is still in a position to ensure that she stays healthy while avoiding all the possible pitfalls and unintended consequences that come with the illness. One of the most important things that she can do is to actively take care of her skin. This could be done by making sure that her body is well dried after taking a shower, especially in the folds where water tends to collect. She also needs to avoid taking long baths, which tend to dry the skin making it itchy and sensitive to touch. Furthermore, she should also make effort to keep her skin moisturized by using a good lotion that can help balance out the dryness, hence avoiding cracks. Additionally, when it comes to keeping her skin moist she needs to take a lot of fluids, apply sunscreen, and be careful about the kind of products she uses on her skin. Besides skincare, Maria must keep her condition under control (Van et al., 2019). While there is no cure for the problem, there are several things she can do to keep healthy despite her situation. She must follow the…