Palliative Care

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is primarily aimed at helping people suffering from a serious illness to feel better. In many cases, palliative care treats patients who are terminally ill, have no medical treatment or very severe illnesses that require life-prolonging treatment.

This care treats the symptoms and side effects of an illness or its treatments, such as:

  • Pain management
  • Treating anxiety or depression
  • Fatigue
  • Insomnia
  • Nausea, diarrhea or constipation
  • Lack of appetite
  • Social aspects due to the impact of the disease or treatment.

The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life of patients.

Why is palliative care performed?

The main function of palliative care is to prevent and alleviate suffering during a serious illness. In this way, the aim is to provide patients with the best possible quality of life, within their difficult circumstances. It should be noted that the well-being sought is not only for the patient, but also for his or her family.

Some of the diseases that most commonly require this care are:

  • Cancer
  • HIV/Aids
  • Advanced heart disease
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
  • Chronic renal failure
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Untreated advanced neurological diseases

What is palliative care?

Palliative care can be provided by any health care professional: a team of physicians, nutritionists, nurses, psychologists, etc. In some cases, the professional is specialized in such treatment.

Palliative care may vary according to the disease being treated and may include:

  • Medications
  • Physical therapy
  • Nutritional counseling
  • Occupational therapy
  • Integrative therapy
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Preparation for palliative care

A patient must understand the severity of his or her illness. Understanding the severity, knowing the prognosis and treatment options are vital for both the patient and the families. Obviously, for this it is important to have a bond of trust with the medical team in order to achieve the best possible quality of life.